"Enemies sowing discord in Islamic world"

"There are always some hypocrites who wish to undermine Islam in a bid to serve their own worldly interests such as keeping themselves in power; in fact, Islam or infidelity are the same to these hypocrites, however, the vast majority of Muslims in the world do not hold such beliefs and truly support dignity of Islam," said a senior Iranian cleric.

Hawzah News Agency (Qom, Iran) – Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi received a group of seminary students in Qom on Friday, July 14.

During the meeting, he highlighted the importance of maintaining unity within the Islamic community; "When the interests of Islam are at stake, religious disagreements must not be highlighted since the enemies are sowing discord within the Islamic community. It’s our main duty to first preserve the foundation of Islam in order to pave the way for holding religious discussions among different sects."

Pointing out that the majority of Muslims seek dignity and prosperity of the Islamic community, he asserted, "There are always some hypocrites who wish to undermine Islam in a bid to serve their own worldly interests such as keeping themselves in power; in fact, Islam or infidelity are the same to these hypocrites, however, the vast majority of Muslims in the world do not hold such beliefs and truly support dignity of Islam."

The seminary lecturer further underlined that Shia and Sunni Muslims share some religious goals and this is something favored by Allah (swt). Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi then made remarks on the character of Martyr Mamousta Mohammad Sheikh-ul Islam, a Sunni cleric, and said, "He truly supported Wilayat-e-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) and the Islamic Republic of Iran."