This week spans 12-17 Rabi al-Awwal the two dates believed to be the auspicious birthday of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).
The Islamic Unity Week is undoubtedly the brainchild of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini, who as one of the great reformers took this dynamic move to foster solidarity in the Muslim World.
He realized that bridging the gaps of the centuries is impossible without intellectual measures, for the current stagnation of the Islamic world including divisions, is the result of various factors including the intellectual and cultural decline of Muslims and the hegemony of colonialist powers and despotic regimes over them.
Redressing this wrong is indeed a gargantuan task and needs mobilization of Muslims all over the globe. But this is not impossible despite the obstacles thrown in the way of Islamic unity by the pro-western regimes ruling Muslim states, in view of the fact that despite minor differences, the Islamic world is a monolithic entity which enjoys historical, cultural, political and religious commonalities.
For this reason, regarding the return to the original culture of Islam, the Late Imam had said: "We Muslims enjoy a rich culture. So Muslims should rediscover themselves and their own innate culture. The oppressed nations' biggest dependence on superpowers is intellectual dependence more than the political one, and in order to overcome this deficiency what is required is intellectual dynamism amongst Muslims. Music
In Imam Khomeini's thought Islam is an intellectual and practical creed which caters to all needs of human life. Islam is the code of life, and should be properly understood. According to Imam Khomeini, the dynamism of Islam transcends national, political, and geographical borders, as well as personal interests.
Imam Khomeini's practical strategies for materializing unity were based on his approach towards the factors and causes of discord in the Islamic world.
The Imam considered foreign agents as the most important factor of discord in the Islamic world believing that these mercenaries are engaged in undermining unity in Islamic societies.
The Imam said in this regard: Those who want to loot the resources of Muslims put the yoke of oppression on Muslim people first to sow the seeds of discord among Muslims.
They sometimes create differences between the Shiites and Sunnis.
This is in fact, a major tool of the enemies and the ignorant amongst the Muslim easily fall prey to it. Those who raise sectarian differences are neither Sunnis nor Shi'ites, and are in fact, consciously or unconsciously agents of the superpowers.
The Imam considered any ethnic and religious discord which overshadows the solidarity of Muslims as improper and stressed the commonalities among all denominations of Islam, like belief in God, the Prophet, the holy Qur'an, etc.
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