Religious Diversity Aids Development

President Hassan Rouhani praised religious diversity in the country as a good opportunity to strengthen national unity. The chief executive made the statement on Sunday in a meeting with Sunni scholars from across the country in the runup to the Islamic Unity Week (Dec. 12-18).  As per a call made by the late founder of Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, the week is marked each year as a period of convergence among Muslims, Press TV reported. Religious and ethnic diversity in the country, Rouhani asserted, should not be viewed as a threat, but a great opportunity to promote national unity and development "The government plans to maximally use [the capacities of] ethnicities and religions toward convergence and reinforcement of cultural and national unity," he said. "The Islamic Republic has, from the beginning, been based on tolerance toward religious, ethnic and cultural diversity." The scholars emphasized the need for unity between Shia and Sunni Muslims. They also detailed their standpoints concerning domestic and regional affairs, condemning the acts of terror being perpetrated by the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria in the name of religion.