Promoting Islamic Unity a Principled Policy

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called for promoting unity as an absolute duty of the Muslim society assigned by the Holy Quran.
“Islamic unity is a principled affair, not a tactical one pertaining to a particular situation,” he said in an address to authorities and guests in a ceremony commemorating the birth anniversaries of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Imam Sadeq (PBUH) on Sunday, Leader.ir reported.  
He added that this unification would strengthen Muslims, giving them an upper hand in dealing with non-Muslim states.
The reason for repeated emphasis on Muslim integration, according to the Leader, is the large space between the branches of the religion and the enemies’ serious attempts to increase this distance.  
“Today, the words Shia and Sunni have entered the American’s political literature too, whereas they are opposed and hostile to the core of Islam,” he said, highlighting efforts by the United States and its agents to create chaos anywhere in the Muslim world.
Achieving the important goal of building a modern Islamic civilization is impossible without unity between the Shia and Sunni, he underlined.
He said holding conferences and annual gatherings on the theme of unity is insufficient, stressing the need for constant discussion, clarification and encouragement along with planning and sharing of responsibility.
The main benchmark of Muslim unity is the issue of Palestine, according to the Ayatollah Khamenei.
“The more serious effort is put in to uphold the rights of Palestinians, the stronger the Islamic unity would get,” he said.
He described certain regional states’ normalization of ties with the occupying Zionist regime as “a grave sin and mistake”, calling on those governments to quit this movement against Islamic unity and make up for their great error.

Islam’s Comprehensiveness

The Leader later described Islam as the “comprehensive plan for mankind’s salvation,” saying another duty of Muslim societies is to promote the inclusiveness of this religion.
He said political powers have always tried to introduce Islam as a religion that is restricted to individual belief and behavior, maintaining that it is no intellectual reference or practical guide for issues such as management of the society, economy and distribution of power and wealth, war and peace, domestic and foreign policy, justice and fight against oppression.
This is while Islam’s realm of activity encompasses all aspects of human life, from personal prayers to political, economic, social, security and international spheres, he noted.
“Whoever denies this concept, has certainly been inattentive to multiple verses of the Holy Quran.”
Islam’s emphasis on social issues and the task of creating a civilization indicates its need to reach ruling levels, according to Ayatollah Khamenei.
“Social order in Islam is not possible without considering the issue of ruling and designating Imams … meaning leaders and commanders of the society,” he said.  
The Leader later instructed the Iranian nation and authorities to follow the path of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), especially the three principles of “patience”, “justice” and “ethics”.
“Our claim of being Muslim and an Islamic Republic must come with action and we must practically follow the order of the great Prophet,” he said.