TEHRAN – Iranian President Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has underlined the need for unity among Muslims, saying the Islamic Republic considers this unity a strategy and not a tactic.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the 36th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Raisi pointed out that holding this meeting can play a significant role in promoting unity among Muslims. 

“The role of scholars, prominent people, cultured people, history makers, and future makers is irreplaceable. Today, unity is not a tactic for us, but a very basic strategy,” Raisi said, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

Ayatollah Raisi stated, "The meaning of this statement and the translation of this view is that whoever contributes to the unity of the Islamic world by writing, speaking, deed,… has moved in the direction of the necessary strategy of the Islamic world."

At the ceremony, Raisi congratulated the birth of the Prophet of Islam and Imam Jafar Sadiq (AS) and said, "The comprehensiveness of Islam can meet all the needs of today's mankind and contemporary man can create a happy life for himself by relying on God, self-confidence and religious learning."

He added, "The comprehensiveness of Islam meets all the needs of contemporary man and gives him the strength to stand against cultures that are not compatible with religious life."

Thanking the attendees of the conference, Ayatollah Raisi said, "This meeting will lead to a common understanding among all influential figures in the Islamic world regarding the huge capital called religion and religious values; a great capital in the name of religious people and Muslims and believers in religion, as well as Islamic lands, which today with all the material and spiritual wealth are at the disposal of Muslims."

Raisi considered educated young people with a tendency towards spirituality, the spirit of resistance and standing against the enemy, readiness to take risks in the path of a religious life as other great assets of the Islamic world. 

"The thinkers of the Islamic world are a great asset who are ready to stand together from various fields, universities and scientific and research centers against atheistic thinking, secular trend, takfiri and extremist thinking."

Pointing out that men and women in Islamic countries are ready to unite with each other in the name of religion and frustrate the enemies, President Raisi stressed the need to understand the tricks of the enemy in downplaying the abilities of Muslims and exaggerating their own incapacity.

He added, "The flag that Imam Khomeini (RA) raised was the flag of unity between all Muslims all over the world, with all dialects, in all regions and with all viewpoints."

Ayatollah Raisi further referred to the synergistic capacity of Islamic countries and said, "Today, Muslims have many commonalities that can create a great religious and civilizing power in the world and stand tall and raise their flag."

President Raisi went on to say that the main message of the 36th Islamic Unity Conference is to create a common understanding among all elites and intellectuals of the Islamic world in direction of unity. 

"The message of this summit to enemies is that we want the life of contemporary man to be in the name of the religion."

Referring to the important role of the martyrs of the global Islamic movement in awakening the nations, Ayatollah Raisi clarified, "Those who thought that religion is an individual and personal matter and has nothing to do with social, economic, political and cultural affairs, have awakened throughout the world thanks to the pure blood of the martyrs."

He added, "What made the arrogant powers to conspire against Muslims after the Second World War was that they came to this conclusion in their thinking rooms that Islam is the only obstacle against unilateralism of the domineering system."

They came to this conclusion that the only power that can stand proudly against the system of domination is only Islam and those who truly adhere to religion and religious values, the president remarked.

He said the enemies have launched a wave of Islamophobia to counter the unity of Muslims. "To promote Islamophobia, they launched the current of terrorism and many other conspiracies and seditions in the Islamic world, but what was able to defeat their conspiracies was coherence and unity."

Referring to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution's emphasis on Jihad of Explanation, Raisi said, "Today, everyone has a duty to enlighten by any means they can, and to explain both the position of Islam and Muslims, as well as the state of the enemy and their weakness."

The president went on to say that the way to achieve this goal is resistance. "Those who thought that the way to save Palestine is at the negotiation tables and thought that you can talk with those who do not understand logic, are wrong."

Ayatollah Raisi raised the question of whether the Sharm el-Sheikh, Oslo, or Camp David agreement did anything, and basically, whether the Zionists believe in and adhere to the agreements, and clarified, "The Zionist regime does not understand covenants, because if they believed in the covenant, they would remain loyal to it."

He pointed out, "What should be done against those who break the covenant, the logic of dealing with such people is to resist and stand up; What the dear Palestinians and Lebanese, Palestinian and Lebanese groups, Hezbollah, Hamas and other resistant groups did."

Stressing that the hero of fight against terrorism was Haj Qassem Soleimani, Raisi said, "The Americans officially announced during their election campaign that they have formed ISIS."

"Those who are claiming to be advocates of human rights are themselves in the position of anti-human rights," he said.

He added, "The biggest violators of human rights are the Americans themselves, the Zionist regime and some Western countries".

He referred to the dark history of self-proclaimed human rights advocates in the 70 years of crimes against the Palestinian nation, saying, "Today, it is the duty of educated people to make the people of the world aware of this double-standard policy of self-proclaimed human rights advocates about how they are committing crimes against humans."