Takfir A Combination of Ignorance, Spite: Iranian Cultural Official
In an address via video call to an international seminar titled “Requirements of Islamic Unity in Contemporary World”, Abbas Khameyar said these views have been created by Takfiris.
Takfir is a combination of ignorance and spite and this approach is in the ideology of some extremists who act in the name of religion, he regretted.
He further said when one talks about Islamic proximity and unity, they do not mean integration of Islamic schools of thought.
What proximity and unity means is respecting one another’s views and convergence on the basis of common beliefs, he stated.
Both Sunni and Shia scholars believe today that the differences in religious views between the two schools of thought are less than seven percent and more than 90 percent of their beliefs are similar, Khameyar stated.
All Muslims have one Qibla, one Holy Book, one Prophet, and one God, he noted.
Enumerating other problems on the path of unity, Khameyar said rulers of some Muslim countries have been giving a religious hue to political differences in order to stabilize their own dominance in those countries.
Secularism and removing the link between religion and politics is another challenge that has led to the elimination of political Islam is also a challenge.
As for ways to thwart enemy plots against Islamic unity, he said the media play an important role here as they can enlighten the public opinion and promote convergence and unity and solidarity in the Muslim Ummah.
It is important to use new technologies and also arts in this regard, the Iranian cultural official went on to say.
The Research Institute of Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution hosted the seminar on Wednesday, October 20.
It organized the event on the occasion of the Islamic Unity Week in cooperation with Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) International University and the International Quran News Agency (IQNA).
Custodian of Imam Khomeini mausoleum Hojat-ol-Islam Seyed Hassan Khomeini, President of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) International University Hojat-ol-Islam Jazari, and President of University of Islamic Denominations Abdolkareem Biazar Shirazi were also among the speakers who attended the seminar in person.
Also addressing the event via videoconference were Maulana Ishaq Madani, who is a member of Supreme Council of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, and Sheikh Ahmed al-Qattan, who heads the Qawluna wal Amal (Our Word and Deed) Association in Lebanon.
The 17th day of Rabi al-Awwal, which falls on October 24 this year, is believed by Shia Muslims to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), while Sunni Muslims regard the 12th day of the month as the birthday of the last prophet.
The interval between the two dates is celebrated every year as the Islamic Unity Week.
Late Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Khomeini (RA) declared the occasion as the Islamic Unity Week back in the 1980s.
