Lebanese thinker: Establishment of society on justice, tolerance leading to proximity

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Our greetings be upon Mohammad (pbuh) and His pure Progeny and His Companions

At the beginning I wish to congratulate birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet of Islam to all people involved in organization of the 36^th meeting of the Islamic unity conference as well as all brothers and sisters participating at this event. The Holy Prophet of Islam was of a divine personality who ushered people from darkness towards light; from ignorance to knowledge. And He did this by relying on the principle of Towhid and belief in the Almighty God Who in the Holy Quran, as the main source of the inspiration of the Holy Prophet of Islam, stipulates: “You are the best nation ever to be brought forth for people.”
One of the main roles of proximity and intimacy among Muslims lies in the establishment of a society on justice and tolerance; the society whose members are enjoying a good and dignified life and this life is in line with the human nature which is revolving around brotherhood values as the Almighty God stipulates in the Holy Quran: “The Believers are but a single Brotherhood.”
Today, all have reached to this understanding that unity and intimacy among different Islamic schools does not imply that followers of a certain Islamic shall give up their own beliefs. What intimacy and unity among Islamic schools implies, today, is that Muslims shall put away their subtle differences which may lead to animosity and enmity and takfiri approach considering the shed of blood of other Muslims as permissible making the peaceful coexistence among Muslims impossible. Further intimacy of different Islamic schools requires religious dialogues based on mutual respect.
The prime purpose of these dialogues is realization of the Islamic unity particularly due to the fact that interfaith dialogues settlement of the is the core target. It goes without saying that such dialogues will promote mutual respect and friendship among different parties within the Islamic Ummah. On the other hand, bringing Muslims closer to each other requires the sufficient knowledge and wisdom. The proximity is of great significance in the lives of the Islamic ummah as well as its status among other nations and peoples in present or in future as well. If some of our efforts for bringing Muslims closer to each other fails we shall not put the blame only on arrogant powers and despotic systems who has always been trying to fan the flame of division among Muslims within the region disregarding the role of all Ulammas in the Islamic world. Therefore, within the same respect we shall attend to the internal reasons within the Islamic world as well. It is quite natural that religious extremism, tribal and racial fanaticism as well as the takfiri approach are among the main internal reasons for our failures in establishing unity. Now, I wish to refer to three important issues within the same respect. First of all, we shall explain the values and significance of unity among Muslims to all. We shall explain to Muslims that unity is a positive development in their life. As I mentioned before we need to have Islamic dialogues to this end; the dialogues which shall be dominated with spirit of brotherhood and Islamic values. It goes without saying that fanaticism and sectarianism helps enemies and the global arrogance in order for them to dominate the Islamic sources creating division particularly among young Muslim population. If we have division and conflict among Muslims as well as fanatic approach then the global arrogance will take advantage of it to disappoint young Muslim populations for living in the Islamic countries.
Secondly is that in realization of unity among Muslims all the responsibilities shall not be only rested upon the shoulders of political, intellectual and religious personalities. But all Muslims shall get involved in this process by making a very precise plan. And this is a very important mission at individual and societal level. Therefore, we shall not ignore roles of people and society in favor of the establishment of the Islamic unity. We shall turn the academic dialogue between the intellectuals to the ordinary dialog wherein both people and society shall get involved.
In favor of establishment of unity all organizations, ministries and bodies are also responsible to fulfil their duties. Out of them we can refer to the ministry of education and ministry of culture and Oghaf (endowments). Within the same respect all media shall practice their own role as well arranging dialogue among Muslim young populations. The third point relates to those wish to create division within the Islamic Ummah. We have two mechanisms to deal with these people; the soft one and the hard one. The hard one is for certain number of those wish to fan the flame of division. For example, the Islamic resistance in Lebanon had to resort to the hard one to deal with the takfiri terrorists in Jaroud Arsal in 2014. If these terrorists were not dealt with in 2014 then prevention of division and protection of the religious internal security could not be realized. The Islamic resistance foiled all the pro-division plots of the terrorists and their supporters. On this basis the route for realization of unity and proximity among Muslims shall be a full-fledged one and it needs great wisdom.
In conclusion, I must say that integrity among Muslims is a necessary step for completing the Islamic unity. The Islamic unity is the biggest desire of all Islamic societies at the present juncture given to the fact that Muslims today are facing different challenges and problems who cannot deal with if they are separated. Putting away differences is the first and foremost priority that Muslims shall give. And of course, we shall not ignore and forget the role of mosques, religious centers, universities, pro-unity bodies as well as mass media in realization of proximity and unity. We shall accept and admit that in addition to our views there exist other ones’ as well. Within the same respect the Almighty God in the Holy Quran stipulates: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.” It goes without saying we do not wish to deny differences Islamic schools. As the Almighty God in the Holy Quran says: “For each of you, We have assigned a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you a single community, but He tests you through what He has given you. So, compete in righteousness.”
In the end, I wish to notify that religious and cultural differences will persist until the day of judgement. What is important is that how we shall deal with our differences. It is naturally not good for us to deny such differences. Therefore, all Islamic schools shall respect each other and admitting to such differences in their views and schools.