TEHRAN - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that “unity and integrity” and also “serious move to make scientific advances in all sciences” are the most important needs of the Islamic world.

During a speech at the Congress on the Role of Shia Islam in the Emergence and Promotion of Islamic Sciences, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Today, ‘awareness’ has been created in the world of Islam which has laid the grounds for more tendency towards Islam and heralded a better future in spite of the Westerners’ efforts to deny it.”

He added that any move that helps mutual understanding among various Islamic groups and sects is a good deed.

Pointing to efforts being made to fuel confrontation among Muslims, he said, “In such a situation, any action that helps Muslims know strengths of each other and also help them converge will result in integrity of the Islamic community.”

The Leader added it is of paramount importance to prevent any division among the Islamic sects.

Elsewhere, Ayatollah Khamenei said lack of scientific advances is the main reason behind domination of the West over Muslims.

“After centuries of scientific stagnation, the Western world could increase its wealth and political, military and scientific power and at the end create the current situation in the Islamic countries through colonization,” the Leader regretted.

“This situation should be changed by the scientific advances of Islamic countries, and the world of Islam can be once again at the top of the civilization,” Ayatollah Khamenei suggested.

The Leader went on to say that Iran is on the path to scientific progress and this can serve as a successful example for other Muslim nations.

“According to reports by international scientific centers, the speed of scientific progress in Iran has been 13 times higher than the global average during the past years,” he explained.“According to reports by international scientific centers, the speed of scientific progress in Iran has been 13 times higher than the global average during the past years,” he explained.

He added that unlike the Westerners, Iran is ready to transfer its scientific knowledge to other Islamic nations. 

Elsewhere, the Leader said, “Today, the youths in the world have many questions and seek their answer within the framework of Islam. So, scientific move in the world of Islam should be expedited and the Islamic community should reach highest level of science and civilization to prevent the enemies of Islam and the U.S. to give orders to heads of the Islamic countries.” 

NA/PA