The Islamic Unity Week is marked between 12-17th Rabiul Awwal on the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Prophet Mohammad SAW. This period in which Muslims ponder on the fundamental call of unity according to the Holy Quran was proposed by the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini SA, following the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.
Since then, the Unity Week is only marked in Iran, but also throughout the world, and has played an important role in bringing the various Islamic Schools of Thought on a single platform, since Allah is One, and Muslims believe in the single Qur’an and bow towards the same focal point, that is the Holy Ka’ba, five times a day during daily prayers.
Other commonalities among Muslims including fasting during the same month of Ramadhan and performance of the annual Hajj pilgrimage on the same dates of the month of Zil-Hijja. In view of these and other remarkable factors of unity, it is but natural for Muslims following the different schools of jurisprudence to close ranks in solidarity, especially in view of the divine commandment in the Holy Qur’an to “And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited.” (Holy Qur'an 3:103)
Bridging the gap
The late Imam Khomeini’s foresight helped bridge the gap of five days between the two dates believed to be the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). According to Sunni Islamic narrations, the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal is recognized as the birth date of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). On the other hand Islamic sources relied upon by Shia Muslims and based on the narrations from the Ahlul Bayt (The Prophet's pure progeny); the auspicious birthday of the Holy Prophet (SAW) was on 17th of Rabi-al-Awwal.
In order to bridge this difference and use it as an opportunity to unite the ranks of Muslims, the founder of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Imam Khomeini (SA) designated the period of Milad-un-Nabi celebrations from 12th to the 17th of Rabi al-Awwal as the Islamic Unity Week. This dynamic concept aims to bring all Muslim schools of thought on the common platform of Islamic unity.
There is indeed unity in diversity and the idea of Islamic Unity Week has awakened Muslims from centuries of slumber largely because of the discord sowing policies of the enemies of Islam especially the Western colonialists and their local ignorant agents. The Ummah has also begun to realize that it is only unity and solidarity that will enable Muslims to utilize their vast untapped potential and rescue them from the never ending devious plots of their enemies who range from imperialists, Zionists, arrogant powers and Islamphobes. Islamic unity is the need of the hour, especially after the crusading campaign against Muslims unleashed by western governments, led by the great Satan, the US, in the name of combating terrorism following the highly suspicious incidents that rocked New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
The US has since occupied two Muslim countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, and is threatening other Islamic lands. Yemen is emerging as yet another theatre of the never ending US crusades to occupy Islamic countries while Somalia suffers from interfering policies of the U.S. The issues of Palestine continue to linger on as Zionists and their western allies, aware of lack of solidarity within Islamic ranks, continue to occupy the Holy Quds, the first Qibla of Muslims. The plight of 1.5 Million besieged Palestinians in Gaza is should serve as a call to unity among the over 1.5 Billion Muslims in the world. In view of the threats, it is essential for the Islamic world to close ranks and coordinate efforts to counter the Zionist and U.S led aggressions. The predators have hatched a variety of plots to plunder the vast wealth and natural resources of Muslim countries through different means and at the same time brainwash minds of uninformed Muslims by way of distorted media reports, glamorous yet misleading films and TV programs, deceptive newspapers and magazines, decadent internet websites and the violence-filled computer games.
This is in stark contrast to the logical reasoning of Islam that gave the world a lasting civilization at a time when Europe was languishing in the dark ages. It is the quest for knowledge, the respect for others rights and fostering of humanitarian values that made Islam and true believers dynamic, much to the detriment of the detractors. It is the lifestyle and guidance of the Prophet (SAW), the immaculate members of his household, the Ahlul Bayt and the rightly guided companions which draws out the path of righteousness by giving a practical demonstration of the revealed word of Allah for the betterment of human society and acts as a beacon of light for mankind.
Muslims thus ought to follow the Prophet’s perfect path of establishing unity and solidarity, and thereby becoming immune from the onslaughts of their common enemies. They should be on guard against divisive tendencies since the Zionist regime and Western imperialists have made no secret of their plans to divide and rule. Alas, our failure to check the evil ambitions of the US and the devilish plots of our avowed enemy the illegal Zionist entity called Israel, have been due to lack of unity. Solidarity can neither be superficial by mere expressing of words of sympathy nor can it be imposed. The plight of the Palestinian Muslims and the American atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan, are examples in this regard. Our lethargy and our mere lip service makes matters more complicated matters. Unity and solidarity ought to be based on sincerity of purpose. This is possible only by heeding what God Almighty commands in the Holy Qur’an and what was practically demonstrated by the Prophet. Therefore, it is wrong to believe that slogans and submissive ties with the enemies will save Muslims. A true Muslim state has to be independent and independence is not possible unless people strive for self-sufficiency, solidarity and security.
Through authentic unity Muslims will certainly attain progress and conquer the pinnacles of powers in all fields, including political, social, cultural, technological, economic and industrial.
Although foreign policy with focus on building inter-Muslim solidarity is welcome, it is essential to pursue cultural and intellectual methods to help bridge the gulf of the past centuries. This is possible through expert gathering in different fields with sincere efforts to study and remove the root cause of differences among Muslims. The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown the way through annual international and national Islamic unity conferences.
This year, 1433 AH concurrent with 2012 CE, Iran will be hosting the 25th Islamic Unity which will focus on the wave of Islamic awakening sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa. The conference which like previous years is organized by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought will also evaluate the of the performance of the forum over the past 20 years. Other Islamic Unity conferences will also be held in Iranian frontier provinces.
Through sincerity of purpose and the strong resolve to unite the Islamic Ummah, the conference will have a fruitful outcome. Islamic scholar and intellectuals shoulder a great responsibility at this hour of need.
Muslims worldwide also expect the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Arab League and other national, regional and international Islamic bodies to play a leading role in fostering Islamic Unity.
As the Supreme Leader of the Islamic leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei pointed out recently 'wherever it is felt that something is being done which would benefit Israel and America, we must be vigilant. We must know that it is a foreign move. We must know that it is not an insider move. Wherever there is an Islamic, anti-Zionist, anti-arrogance, anti-tyranny and anti-corruption move, that move would be a correct move and all of us would be insiders. Then it would not matter whether we are Shia or Sunni, or whether we are from this or that country. All of us must think in the same way.
As an obvious example, notice that today all media companies of the world are trying to isolate the people of Bahrain and their movement. What is the reason? The reason is that the issue is a Shia-Sunni issue: they want to foment discord. They want to draw lines and separate Muslims. There is no difference between pious Muslims who have a tendency towards this or that Islamic denomination. Islam is the aspect that all of these denominations have in common. Unity of Islamic Ummah is the aspect that all of them have in common. The secret behind victory and the continuation of the movement is reliance on God, trust in Him and maintaining unity and cohesion'.
The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought takes this opportunity to convey its heartfelt felicitations on the occasion of the Maulid of our Great Prophet Mohammad SAW and the Islamic Unity Week.