Unity, Spirituality Underpin Hajj Message

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei underlined “unity” and “spirituality” as the cornerstones of the message of Hajj pilgrimage, that if heard and practiced properly by Muslims, can help maximize the impacts of this ritual to a universal level. 
“Unity and spirituality are guarantors of the Muslim world’s material and spiritual enhancement and its enlightenment of the entire universe,” he said in a message on the occasion of this year’s Hajj pilgrimage which is held between June 26 and July 1. 
He elaborated on the concept of unity, saying it means a connection among Muslims and closeness of their thoughts and orientations. 
It also entails trust and cooperation between Islamic governments and collective action against common, definite enemies, according to the Leader. 
“Unity means that the plots designed by the enemy cannot set Islamic denominations, nations, races, languages, and the diverse cultures of the Islamic world against each other,” he said. 
Muslim nations must get to know each other through communication and dialogue, rather than the enemy’s seditious descriptions, he added. 
To realize unity, the Leader said, it is also important that the religious scholars of Islamic sects view each other with tolerance and fairness and encourage coexistence and brotherhood. 
Ayatollah Khamenei said unity also means that political and cultural leaders in Islamic countries should prepare themselves in a coordinated manner for the situation that will exist in the emerging world order.
They need to determine at their own will the proper place for the Islamic nation in the new global experience, which is filled with opportunities and threats, he said. 
“They should not allow the bitter experience of the political and territorial engineering of West Asia by Western governments after WWI to be repeated.” 
Spirituality, as the other message of Hajj, means advancing religious ethics, according to the Leader. 
“The illusion of ‘ethics minus religion’, which was long promoted by Western intellectual sources, has resulted in this unrestrained collapse of ethics in the West,” he said. 
Unity and spirituality are more than ever subject to hostility and sabotage of arrogant powers and Zionism at this point of time, Ayatollah Khamenei said.  
The United States and other centers of arrogance are strongly opposed to the unity of Muslims, to understanding between Muslim nations and governments, and to the piety of the younger generations, and use any possible tool to counter them, he explained. 
“It is the duty of all of us, all our nations and governments, to stand against this evil American and Zionist plot,” he said. 
The Leader called on Hajj pilgrims to make the best use of this great opportunity and reflect the secrets of this unique ritual.
He said Hajj can bless all humanity with spiritual and moral elevation, which is the vital need of humankind today. 
“Hajj can annul and render ineffective all the plans of the Arrogant Powers and Zionism for the moral downfall of humanity–today and in the future,” he said.