TEHRAN – The International Islamic Unity Conference kicked off in Tehran on Thursday, with President Hassan Rouhani delivering the opening remarks aimed to unify the Islamic world.

The conference marks the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). 

Named “Ummah Unity in Defending the al-Aqsa Mosque,” this year’s event is scheduled to end on November 16, with 350 personalities from 93 countries in attendance.

The International Islamic Unity Conference is held in Iran annually in an effort to lay the ground for unity and solidarity among Muslims and provide solutions for their problems.

It gathers Shia and Sunni scholars from all over the world. Many Iranian Shia and Sunni scholars also attend the event.

“All Muslims of the world are brothers,” Saeed Babaki, a Sunni cleric from Gonbad-e Kavus, Golestan province, told the Tehran Times on the sidelines of the conference.

“Shias and Sunnis are brothers and they should strive for more unity so that the Islamic world would progress,” he said.

He added that the event creates empathy between Sunnis and Shias of all countries and creates more unity among Muslims throughout the world. “As a result, the religion of Islam would thrive.”

Asked to respond to certain Western countries’ claim that the Islamic Republic creates divisions among Muslims in the region by following sectarian policies, he said, “I totally disagree with this notion. The Islamic Republic promotes unity between Sunnis and Shias and it is not after creating divisions.”

“The general policy of the system is to boost the Sunni-Shia unity, and the Islamic Republic does not distinguish between followers of the two branches of Islam,” Mr. Babaki emphasized.

He also praised the security of the Islamic Republic, saying, “Iran, in terms of its security, is the best country in the region. Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), our country is very secure.”

Jamal Jafari, another Sunni scholar from Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, told the Tehran Times that the International Islamic Unity Conference is necessary for Muslims.

“Such events benefit all branches of Islam and are a source of blessings for the Islamic Ummah. It is necessary that such conferences are held each year to create unity,” he said.

“The fact that the Islamic Republic has so many enemies attests to its grandeur. It would have been more surprising if the Islamic Republic didn’t have any enemies,” Kurdish and Sunni scholar Jamal Jafari notes.

Mr. Jafari said as a Kurd and a Sunni – both of whom are minorities in Iran – he rejects any claim that the Islamic Republic does not tolerate religious and ethnic minorities.

“Those countries that do not want to see the dignity of the Islamic Iran create obstacles and try to find fault with the Islamic Republic,” the scholar said.

“The fact that the Islamic Republic has so many enemies attests to its grandeur. It would have been more surprising if the Islamic Republic didn’t have any enemies,” he added.

Mr. Jafari said he has attended the conference six times, maintaining that the event is a bedrock to “strengthen our ties with our Muslim brothers from other countries.”“We tell them (Muslims from other countries) about the unity that exists between Sunnis and Shias in Iran. They are unaware of many things. When they come here and see the closeness and empathy that exists between Sunni and Shia brothers, they would reach the conclusion that Islam’s enemies are lying and the enemies of the Islamic Republic spread falsehoods,” he said.

“We hold very friendly meetings with our friends who come from other countries,” he added.

MH/PA