Hawzah News Agency- the international conference called ‘Recognizing the place of Hajj in strengthening Islamic integration, opportunities and challenges’ was held in Qom on Thursday, July 7 at the Center for Peace and Dialogue in the University of Religions and Denominations.

The conference started with the message of Shia scholar Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani at Imam Musa Sadr Hall of the University of Religions and Denominations.

The detailed message of Grand Ayatollah Sobhani to this conference is as follows:

In the name of God

Hajj al-Tamattu is one of the Islamic duties, whose nature and content shows that it is not just a religious ritual, rather besides its original religious aspect, it also has social and political dimensions. In other words, the worship prescribed in Hajj rituals does not only organize the relationship between the human and God, but also seeks to boost the relationship of Muslims with each other. Hajj has been legislated so that the people of the Kiblah can reach the monotheism of the word in addition to deepening their belief in the word monotheism.

Islam is based on two pillars; Monotheism and unity. Hajj is the highest center and the highest manifestation of the realization of these two divine principles, that is, the call to the one God and the call to the unity of the word.

It is clear that unity and proximity never means giving up one's religion or falling short in religious beliefs. Islamic unity seeks the convergence of the Islamic Community towards common goals and against common enemies and challenges. Naturally, for any type of convergence, everyone must know other's beliefs properly before any practical step is taken.

This mutual understanding is precisely the duty and responsibility that is in the authority of religious scholars and all Muslim elites.

Hajj can be a good opportunity for such compliment or mutual understanding. As we know, our holy imams (PBUT), especially Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) would set up discussion tents during the Hajj season and even during Tashriq days, and he would call the scholars of the Companions and would respond positively to the requests of religious opponents and even atheists for dialogue.

I would like to thank the organizers of this conference, who have made the unity of Muslims during the Hajj season the focus of their discussion; I ask the participants of this conference and all the scholars and elites of the Islamic world to discuss the ways to strengthen Islamic unity and to come up with the ways to realize them and make the most out of the opportunity and capacity of Hajj to realize these ideals.

Good luck in your endeavors

It must be noted that this conference was attended by scientific and international personalities, and the participants were given a certificate of attendance.