Statements in Meeting with a Group of Scholars, Friday Prayer Leaders, and Managers of Sunni Religious Schools in the Country

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 Muhammad, his pure family, his chosen companions, and those who follow them with goodness until the Day of Judgment.

It is very interesting, sweet, and beautiful for me to see this gathering that has formed here today by the blessing of the sacred name of the Noble Prophet. In the past, we occasionally had gatherings with our Sunni scholar brothers — especially the Baloch scholars, with whom I have a long history — but it has been a while since we have visited such a gathering; today, thanks be to God, you are here. I have had connections and friendships with some of these gentlemen, such as Mr. Molavi Abdul-Rahman, Molavi Sadati, Mr. Molla Qader — who, of course, is not present in this session — and Mr. Molavi Abdul-Samad; some from the time of exile in Iranshahr, some from the early days of the Revolution. Thanks be to God, the present gathering is a splendid bouquet of the Sunni elements of our country. The statements you made were very good and correct, and may God, God willing, help us all to move towards the lofty goals of Islam.

The fundamental issue for me is the matter of the "Islamic Ummah." For years, I have deliberately emphasized the term "Islamic Ummah" so that we do not forget that we are one Ummah. Yes, some of us are Iranian, some are Iraqi, some are Syrian, and so on, but these borders do not change the reality of the "Islamic Ummah." All the efforts of the enemies of Islam have been to make us indifferent to the single identity called the "Islamic Ummah." It is not acceptable for me to consider myself a Muslim while being oblivious to the suffering of a Muslim in Myanmar, Gaza, India, or elsewhere; this is impossible; it contradicts Islamic teachings and principles. You may personally be unable to do something to help them, but empathy and compassion are a reality; this must exist.

My greater effort and concern regarding the issues of Shia and Sunni and the matters that exist in the country are aimed at ensuring that we do not forget the title of the "Islamic Ummah." I urge you, gentlemen, to repeat this title of the "Islamic Ummah" in Friday prayers and in large gatherings related to prominent Sunni elements in various sectors. Make it so that we awaken and understand that in addition to being Iranian, we have a higher and more important attribute, which is being Muslim and being a member of the Islamic Ummah; this is a main point.

The second point is that this gathering of a few dozen people sitting here will certainly provoke a reaction from enemies in the world; the very act of our sitting together will incite a reaction from some. They do not want this event to happen; they do not want there to be religious unity. Of course, the British have more experience in this regard, and the Americans have recently learned from them. We must know that there are effective intellectual, promotional, media, and economic factors working to separate Shia and Sunni within our country and everywhere else. In our country, after the victory of the Revolution, this activity increased significantly; several times more than before the Revolution. Before the Revolution, enemies were less active in this regard; after the Revolution, they found motivation to intensify and create a source of discord, and the best of all for them was religious discord; to incite some from this side to insult and slander the other side, and to incite some from that side to do the same to this side. This opposition exists; now that this opposition exists, the remedy is that we emphasize "unity."

Unity, as he pointed out, is not merely a tactic; unity is a principle of Islam, unity is a Quranic matter. The verse that says, "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of God, and do not be divided" is very important; it means that in holding fast to the rope of God, which is one of the most important actions, we must gather; [meaning] even in holding fast to the rope of God, which is exemplified by, for instance, Hajj, and the Friday prayer; that is, gathering even in holding fast to the rope of God is emphasized in the Quran and Islamic law; this is very important. Or in the verses of Surah Al-Hujurat, "And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. And if one of the two factions oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of God"; this means that the issue of agreement and unity is so important that if someone oppresses, they must be fought against, that Muslim must be fought against to bring them back to unity; unity is that important! These cannot be overlooked. Then, "Indeed, the believers are brothers, so make settlement between your brothers"; this means that the issue of unity is a Quranic principle, and we must not neglect it.

Some people disrupt unity; some knowingly, some unknowingly. The common people from both sides do this unknowingly; many of the elites do this knowingly; we must confront them. They do not understand; they do not grasp the harm of religious discord for the Islamic world, for Islam itself, for the Islamic Ummah, for each of the Muslim nations; one is astonished at how they do not comprehend this meaning. They provoke the opposing current; you see a takfiri current emerging, attacking Shia scholars, attacking Sheikh Al-Islam of Sanandaj, attacking Molavi Hussein-Bor of Balochistan; it makes no difference to them, for them, Shia and Sunni are the same; they oppose anyone who has the motivation for unity. Well, this is the enemy; we cannot overlook this meaning.

Of course, I truly thank God that, thanks be to God, across the country, the Sunni community, despite the existence of so many plots and hostile motivations, has resisted and fought back. They pointed out that we have had fifteen thousand martyrs from the Sunni community — both in the Sacred Defense and in other places; we have had many martyr scholars; how many Sunni scholars have been martyred in the path of truth, in the path of the Revolution. Our goal is the dignity of the Islamic Ummah; the dignity of the Islamic Ummah cannot be achieved except through agreement and unity; we must all strive in this regard.

Today, in my opinion, one of the definite obligations is to support the oppressed in Gaza and Palestine; this is certainly one of the obligations that God Almighty will question us about on the Day of Resurrection if we do not fulfill this obligation. Everyone can contribute in their own way; some can give money, some can provide weapons, some can offer political support, some can promote the issue in sermons, in Friday prayers; if we evade this duty, we will certainly be held accountable. We hope, God willing, that God Almighty will elevate the Islamic Ummah.

I am very grateful to you dear brothers for coming here today and also to Mr. Mohammadian and his friends who arranged this session and provided me with the opportunity to visit you here.

May God, God willing, elevate the Islamic Ummah; may God, God willing, bring the hearts of Muslim brothers from different sects and religions closer together day by day; may He magnify the commonalities in their eyes. We have so many commonalities, yet we do not see these commonalities; we often focus on points of divergence. May God, God willing, help us to act on these matters.

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