Infiltration of Colonialism among Challenges on Way of Muslim Unity: Islamic Jihad Official
Speaking to IQNA on the sidelines of the recent International Conference on Islamic Unity, Ali Abu Shahin, who heads the Palestinian Islamic Jihad office in Lebanon, said westernization among some of the Islamic Ummah’s elites and influential figures is another challenge on this path.
He said Colonialism enters with two strategies before any occupation and domination: first westernization and second splitting up Muslim countries.
According to Abu Shahin, two kinds of factors, internal and external, have led to conflicts in the Muslim world.
The internal factors include lack of awareness among people in Muslim countries and the westernization of elites and influential figures, he said, adding that such individuals are under the influence of the West and want Islam to be separated from people’s life and from society.
“This has turned them into tool for the infiltration of outsiders and their dominance on the Muslim Ummah”.
The external factors include colonialism and the outsiders’ attempts to foment discord among Muslims, he stated.
Abu Sharif added that it is incumbent upon all Muslims to surmount these problems and impediments and realize that unity is the key to victory.
There is no other way than unity and peaceful coexistence for Muslims, the Islamic Jihad official underscored.
He noted that unity does not mean the merging of schools of thought or abandoning one’s beliefs, but it means managing differences and promoting coexistence.
Islam recognizes differences of opinion and plurality of ideas and thoughts, he said, adding that it is a point of strength for Muslims.
What matters is that followers of every Islamic school of thought and every nation should respect other schools and other nations and live together based on common goals, he said.
Abu Sharif further said that fighting a common enemy, namely the Zionist regime of Israel, is a factor around which the Muslim Ummah can strengthen unity.
He said the Zionist enemy seeks to provoke disunity and strife in order to weaken the Islamic Ummah and these attempts must be thwarted.
Al-Quds is the first Qibla of all Muslims and it can be the main factor to unite the Muslim Ummah, he stated.
The 36th International Conference on Islamic Unity was held here in the Iranian capital last week.
Some 200 foreign guests from 60 countries and 100 Iranian guest addressed the conference in person and virtually.
The International Islamic Unity Conference is annually held in Iran by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought (WFPIST) on the occasion of the Islamic Unity Week.
The 17th day of Rabi al-Awwal, which fell on October 13 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 (Sunday, October 9) 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.
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