Muslim Unity Needed for Foiling Enemy Plots: Former Tanzania Mufti
Speaking to IQNA on the sidelines of the 37thInternational Islamic Unity Conference, Sheikh Salim al-Naghshbandi said discord and disunity will weaken the Muslim world, so it is essential that Muslims move toward bolstering unity to prevent the enemies from infiltrating their ranks and implementing their plots.
He noted that achieving Islamic unity is not easy but requires Muslims to strive hard.
Promoting proximity among Islamic schools of thought is an important step in that direction, the cleric stated.
He described the existence of differences among Muslims as natural but underlined that these differences should not be allowed to turn into causes of disunity.
The Holy Quran calls on Muslims to get united, he said, referring to Verse 103 of Surah Al Imran: “And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves.”
Sheikh Naghshbandi further described the Islamic Unity Conference as a successful measure aimed at enhancing unity and said holding such events is in the interest of the Muslim Ummah.
He also hailed the idea proposed by Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi about formation of a union of Muslim states and said the idea should be promoted and discussed further.
Asked about the recent acts of desecration of the Holy Quran in the West, the Tanzanian cleric described such sacrilegious acts as despicable and said followers of all faiths must respect the sanctities of one another.
In order for that to happen, there is a need for followers of different religions to learn more about one another, he added.
The enemies of Islam are behind such acts of desecration as they hate Islam and Muslims, he also stressed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Sheikh Naghshbandi voiced concerns about the situation in Palestine and the Zionist regime’s violations of Palestinian rights, saying Muslims must take support for the issue of Palestine and al-Quds very seriously.
The 37th International Islamic Unity Conference, held both in-person and online, was inaugurated at Tehran's Summit Hall on Sunday.
More than 200 Iranian and foreign intellectuals and religious figures from various Muslim countries are participating in the conference, which is organized by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought. The event concluded on October 3.
The conference is annually held during the Islamic Unity Week.
The 17th day of Rabi al-Awwal, which falls on October 3 this year, is believed by Shia Muslims to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), while Sunni Muslims regard the 12th day of the month (September 28) as the birthday of the last prophet.
The interval between the two dates is celebrated every year as the Islamic Unity Week.
Late Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Khomeini (RA) declared the occasion the Islamic Unity Week back in the 1980s.
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