Statements at the Meeting with Officials of the System and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and infallible progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I congratulate all of you, dear brothers and sisters, esteemed ambassadors of Islamic countries, and guests present at this meeting, as well as the great nation of Iran and the entire Islamic Ummah across the world on the joyous occasion of Eid al-Fitr. I hope that, God willing, the Almighty God bestows His blessings upon this great Ummah and that this Eid is truly a blessed occasion for the Islamic Ummah.

The truth is that today the Islamic Ummah is facing numerous problems; wounds have been inflicted upon the body of this Ummah and continue to be inflicted. The most significant of these is division. The enemies of Islam strive to create discord among Muslim groups under various pretexts, to sow discord and enmity; under the pretext of ethnicity, under the pretext of religion, under the pretext of geography, under the pretext of territorial and border issues; all these pretexts are at their disposal, and unfortunately, the enemy takes advantage of them, while we, as the officials of Islamic governments, remain heedless of this enemy's actions.

I think to myself, when one hears that a certain American senator, who is opposed to the essence of Islam and Islamic countries, expresses concern for the Sunni community against the Shia, when one observes this ploy, it is indeed a cause for serious concern, and one must be vigilant. An enemy that opposes the essence of Islam now expresses support for one Islamic group against another! What else can this be but malice, conspiracy, and the creation of enmity? And unfortunately, this is precisely what exists today; we must be mindful, we must understand.

All Islamic countries suffer from division and all of them benefit from unity. The unity of Islamic countries, their coming closer together, and not using their forces against one another is in the interest of the united countries and in the interest of the Islamic countries themselves. We must understand this; it is a divine wisdom, an Islamic wisdom; unfortunately, this is not given due attention. Today, we are facing problems within the Islamic world, we are experiencing bloodshed; there are bloody wounds today. Yemen is one example of this. These matters must be taken into account. The issues in Syria, the issues in Iraq, the issues in North Africa, the various problems that one observes in the Islamic world, all are signs of division and conflict, and this is detrimental to Islam, detrimental to the Islamic Ummah. This problem must be resolved.

One of the highlights of the Quds Day march is precisely this. You observe; in almost all small and large cities of Iran, people on Quds Day, with their mouths fasting - and this year in this hot weather - take to the streets, as you have seen in Tehran and other cities, the massive gatherings of people; these are the same Shia people who express sympathy and solidarity for the Palestinians who are Sunni. This is the meaning of unity, this is the meaning of adherence to the unity of the Islamic Ummah, which the Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) established, and today the people are moving.

One of the great dangers that threatens the Islamic world today is the diminishing and forgetting of the important issue of Palestine; unfortunately, this is a course of action that is being taken. Some Muslim countries behave, speak, and act in such a way that the Palestinian issue is overlooked, that the Palestinian matter is forgotten. This is a very great danger. Palestine is the foremost issue of the Islamic world. An Islamic country has been completely usurped; this is not merely about a small piece of land or a city or a village, it is about a country; a nation has been driven out of its home; those Palestinians who still live in their homeland face immense hardship and pressure. They are constantly subjected to killing, humiliation, and oppression. Is this a trivial matter?

According to Islamic jurisprudence - whether the jurisprudence of the Sunni schools or Shia jurisprudence and perhaps other schools - there is no doubt that when an enemy gains control over the land of Muslims, it is the duty of all to fight against him, to engage in jihad; in whatever form of jihad is possible. Today, fighting against the Zionist regime is obligatory and necessary for all of the Islamic world. Why do they shy away from this duty? Thanks be to God, our nation is awake and vigilant in this regard; nonetheless, the Islamic world needs unity, it needs coalition, it needs solidarity. Nations are generally sympathetic to one another; it is the governments that have responsibilities here, it is the governments that can play a role. And we hope that the Almighty God, by the blessing of the blessed month of Ramadan and the blessing of the Eid al-Fitr - which is the Eid of Muslims and a source of dignity and honor for the great Prophet of Islam - brings our hearts closer together; makes Muslims kind to one another; and, God willing, empowers the Islamic Ummah against the enemies of Islam with the necessary strength, authority, determination, and will.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.