Iranian President: Economic, Cultural Bonds Essential for Muslim Unity

Addressing the opening of the 29th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran on Sunday, President Rouhani expressed deep concern over the spread of extremism and violence in the name of Islam, saying that Muslims should unite to prevent spread of a negative picture of the religion in cyberspace and the real world.

He further pointed to the ISIL (Daesh) terrorist group’s violent crimes and said the group’s recruitment has its roots in economic and cultural poverty in the Islamic community.

For years, the Islamic world has spoken of unity, but unity is not possible without economic connection and cultural connection, Rouhani said.

The ISIL Takfiri group has been committing heinous crimes against all ethnic and religious groups, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Izadi Kurds and others in Iraq, Syria and several other countries.

The 29th International Islamic Unity Conference opened in the Iranian capital on Sunday morning with high-ranking officials of Muslim countries and Shiite and Sunni scholars in attendance.

The conference comes as Muslims are celebrating the Unity Week, an annual occasion marking solidarity among different Islamic schools of thought. The birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) falls in the week, which started on Thursday.

The main purpose of the gathering is to discuss ways to promote unity and solidarity in the Islamic world and bring closer views of Muslim clerics and scholars’ on diverse religious issues.

The event will also focus on problems that have beset the Islamic world, particularly the threat posed by the Takfiri thoughts and sectarianism.

Participants are also planned to discuss the issue of Palestine, propose solutions to settle its problems and adopt a common stance on the issue.