Hawzah News Agency- Addressing the opening ceremony of the 38th International Islamic Unity Conference at the Islamic Summit Conference Hall in Tehran Thursday morning, the president said Muslims should be Yadd Wahida (one hand) in the face of enemies but unfortunately that is not the case today.

The Europeans have enmities among themselves but they have formed a union and have a single currency, he said.

However, there are still borders separating Muslim countries, Pezeshkian added, stressing that it is the enemy that is fomenting discord in the Islamic world.

He stressed even acts of worship such as prayer and fasting are for achieving unity.

“We must show unity in action and not just in words… Unity in action means demonstrating that we all pray facing the same Qibla…,” he stated.

“Let’s become brothers indeed. If we hold fast to the rope of God, no power can defeat us,” Pezeshkian reiterated.

The 38th International Islamic Unity Conference will run until Sunday, September 21.

Political and religious officials and figures from various countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas and African are taking part in this year’s conference, whose main theme is Islamic cooperation to achieve common values with an emphasis on Palestine.

The International Islamic Unity Conference is organized by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought during the Islamic Unity Week every year.

The 17th day of Rabi al-Awwal, which falls on September 21 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 (Thursday, September 16) as the birthday of the last prophet.

The interval between the two dates was declared the Islamic Unity Week by the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, in the 1980s.