Unity Amounts to Upholding Interests of Muslim Ummah

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said unity in the world of Islam constitutes preservation of the interests of Muslim Ummah and “not racial or geographic unity.” 
“Correct understanding of the Muslim Ummah’s interests … is very important for the realization of unity,” he said at a meeting with Iranian and foreign participants of the International Islamic Unity Conference on Friday, Leader.ir reported.
It is also important for Muslims to know with whom and how they should act as friend or foe, and how they should achieve unity of action against global arrogance, he noted. 
To be able to act in a unified manner, it is necessary to reach a common understanding about the change in the political order of the world, the Leader said. 
The political map of the world is changing, the multipolar system is gradually being deserted and the dominance of arrogant powers is increasingly losing legitimacy, he explained.
In the new world that is taking shape, the Muslim Ummah can have an elevated place and be a pioneering model, provided that it can attain unity and free itself of division, he said. 
Ayatollah Khamenei also stressed the need to prevent religious differences, as those between Shia and Sunni, from turning into conflicts.
In both Shia and Sunni communities, there are extremists whose behavior can prepare the ground for accusations against the nature of the sects, he said, calling for action against those who provoke the other group under the pretext of supporting their own school. 
“Unity among Muslim nations is possible, but requires hard work and efforts, as well as resistance in the face of pressure and difficulties.” 
Problems and difficulties in the world of Islam have difference reasons, according to the Leader, among which is division and separation among Muslims. 
He stressed that such division results in “indignity”, therefore, it is upon the elite and influential figures in the Muslim world to focus on finding practical ways to promote unity while the enemy is working in the opposite front to trigger conflict among Muslim people and states. 

Highest Treason 

A notable attempt of the enemy is the creation of the fake Zionist regime, which the Leader called “a cancer cell”, in the region and in Palestinian territories. 
“Some Muslim countries’ normalization with the Zionist regime is one of the highest treasons,” he said. 
Some argue that Islamic unity is not possible given the policies of certain Muslim leaders, but Ayatollah Khamenei urged the elite to reverse this trend and facilitate the process to reach unity. 
“The greatest hope rests on the Islamic world’s elite and clear-sighted youth, and their role in directing public opinion,” he said. 
An example of such influence is the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the Leader, which was shaped like a sapling and became a mighty tree under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, its late founder.
“We stood up and moved forward,” he said. 
He underlined that resistance has difficulties, but those who surrender also suffer hardship, with the difference that resistance brings about progress while surrender causes retrogression.
“The Islamic Republic has done all in its power to practically realize Islamic unity, a clear example of which is full support of Sunni brothers in Palestine,” he said. 
The resistance front that has been formed in the Muslim world enjoys the support of the Islamic Republic, the Leader said. 
“We have faith in God’s blessing and have hope in the practical realization of the great wish for Islamic unity,” he concluded.