Shaikh Mahmud Khosh khabar, an Iranian thinker, has stressed that Islamic convergence and unity means solidarity of Muslims despite religious differences.

 The full speech is as follows:
 
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God and his righteous servants
And then...
May the peace, blessings, and mercy of God be upon you
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the World Assembly for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought (WAPIST) and the organizers of this conference, especially the honorable WAPIST General Secretary, Dr. Shahriari, this wise and tireless scholar, and all his colleagues, who serve without expectations, and I wish him more and more success. We ask God Almighty for success of these loved ones.
We are on the threshold of the 37th International Islamic Unity Conference (IIUC - 37th), and we desperately ask God Almighty that these gatherings and meetings will be a source of good and blessing for the Islamic Ummah, and the cause of greater convergence and brotherhood of faith, and a witness to a better situation in the Islamic world than what we are in today.  
While thanking and appreciating for the time given to me, the topic of my speech is related to the effective factors in honoring the unity and convergence between Islamic schools of thought.
By Islamic convergence and unity, we mean solidarity of Muslims despite religious differences.
Islamic unity does not mean the unification of religions, but rather, it means putting aside conflicting issues and relying on commonalities and placing them as a basis for interaction with each other and issues related to the Islamic world and the international scene. In such a way that Muslims move in the same direction and in the same path regardless of differences and avoiding division and dispersion in the issues facing the Islamic world.
Our differences should not prevent the brotherhood and fraternity in faith. The unity of Muslims should always prevail.
The Holy Qur'an declared and said that believers are brothers to each other: “The believers are but brothers, so make peace between your brothers.” Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) said, “A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim, he does not wrong him or betray him.”
The practical example of this unity and connection among the beloved family and household of Prophet (PBUH) can be clearly seen. Those whom God Almighty has described, “For the poor emigrants who have been expelled from their homes and their property, seeking bounty from God and His pleasure, and to help God and His Messenger. They are the truthful and those who settled in the abode and the faith before them love those who emigrated to them and do not find in their breasts a need for what they have been given. they prefer themselves even if They had a shortage.”
This verse describes brotherhood of faith to the extent that those `Ansar’ people of Medina divide their wealth and property for the emigrants, and this is the fruit of the brotherhood in faith that our society needs more than ever today. The conditions in which the enemies of Islam have used all their efforts to fight and confront Islam, Islamic unity seems much more necessary than in the past, and dealing with differences and divisive issues will have no result but wasting funds and enemy’s using the differences.
The first and most important factor for the unity and convergence of the Islamic Ummah is the correct understanding of Islam and following the commands of God Almighty, and the biggest reason for the difference is Muslims’ ignorance of true Islam.
Defying teachings of the religion and ignoring them, and disrespect to the religious injunctions are the instances. Principally, the core of unity in Quran is commitment to divine laws.
Almighty God has stated that the requisite for convergence and solidarity is to avoid division. Adhering to the commandment of God is the only thing that God has introduced to avoid division, where God instructs you to hold on to God's rope, that is, adhering to God's law and decrees.
The nation of Islam is a good nation: “You were the best nation brought forth to mankind.”
In order to save himself and the nation from this dispersion and division, he is obliged to hold fast God's rope: “And hold fast to the rope of God all together, and do not become divided.”
Because the more people move away from knowing and practicing Islam, the more they turn to division. That’s what God Almighty has forbidden, saying: “... and do not become divided.” What is the “rope” of God? The rope of God is the religion of God and the life-giving law of God. The Islamic law is called a rope because on the one hand it binds us to God and on the other hand the people of faith and this rope and God, which is God's law. They gather together and form an ummah with a specific goal.
When Qur’an says, “Hold Fast to the Rope of God,” it means “everyone” should hold fast; it should be collective. “And hold fast to the rope of God all together.”
As we pray in the so-called break, but we say in daily prayer, “You we worship and You we seek help.”
We address the Islamic Ummah in prayer and we ask God that we are all in your service and in the service of your servant.
Help us and guide us to the right path, and God has entrusted us with this task so that we learn unity from our prayers and to learn to be united. The Holy Qur'an considers cooperation and assistance based on goodness and piety to be the criterion and standard of unity. where it says, “Aggression and cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.”
Therefore, whenever and wherever Muslims abandoned the basic teachings of religion and the practice of religion, they focused on details and minor matters and scattered like the people of the book. God has cautioned Islamic Ummah not to be dispersed like previous nations and says, “And be not like those who became divided and differed after clear proofs had come to them, and for them is a grievous chastisement.”
Yes, God commanded the Ummah to obey him and his Prophet and warned against quarrels, “And obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel, lest you lose heart and your spirit departs.”
What is the conflict? Conflict means that two people have different thoughts and tastes.
They stand in front of each other and beat each other until one of them wins over the other.
It is clear that the fruit of this is nothing but dispersion, laziness, and weakness. Therefore, God has ordered you to avoid these. Why, because otherwise you will become weak and scattered, and if you disagree, you will become weak and feeble, and as a result, your strength, greatness and majesty will be lost.
The Holy Qur'an considers factionalism and disunity as one of the plans of polytheists and pagans: “And fear Him and establish prayer, and be not of the polytheists of those who divided their religion and became sects.”
They were divided into groups and this is one of the characteristics of the polytheists, not the characteristics of the believers.
Among other things, honoring unity and cohesion, maintaining the sanctity and respect and personal protection of each other, and preserving the character and personality and faith of the Islamic Ummah, every religion has a sacredness, every person needs to be respected, and these sanctities should not be broken and should not be mocked. Making fun of and using nicknames and ugly names, cursing, and ridiculing is very ugly behavior. Yes, it is in the upbringing of every human being, and if he is not nurtured and restrained through upbringing, these types of interactions will cause harm to others. Sarcasm and laughter are humiliating factors for the separation of the Islamic Ummah.
            So, God Almighty has forbidden all of the above and says, “No people mock another.”
And also, the Messenger of God (PBUH), who raised a cohesive and united nation, refers in his glorious words to being one, being of the same fabric.
He says, “A believer to a believer is like two heaped buildings pulling together.” He adds, “Dear people! You must be in congregation, and beware of division.”
Unity is a source of mercy, division is a source of punishment.
Seyed Ali Karim, May God bless his face, peace be upon him, has said nicely, “And you have to communicate and dissipate, and don't take turns and intersect.”
Yes, one of the reasons for the necessity of Islamic unity is the minimal use of Islam, the strength of the Islamic society requires that Muslims unite around their common axis.
The common axis is both correct knowledge of Islam and practice of Islam.
The best unifying factor is the emphasis on commonalities
The commonalities between the Islamic Ummah are not few, but there are many commonalities to be dealt with.
The Supreme Leader also emphasizes on the same basis and says: “The call of the Islamic Republic is to highlight the commonalities between Islamic schools of thought and to remove the grudges and walls built by the enemies of Islam.”
Yes, this unity and cohesion have obstacles as well.
The obstacles to unity must also be lifted. The main obstacle to unity is misunderstanding and ignorance, not knowing each other, not talking to each other. Judging each other from a distance needs to be removed. It is necessary to create an atmosphere of enlightenment and insight. The field of interaction and cooperation between Sunni and Shia thinkers should be increased.
The cooperation of Shiite and Sunni thinkers to consolidate unity and honor their Islamic religions can be the basis for resolving understandings and connecting hearts more and more closely.
What the Islamic Ummah needs today is the convergence of hearts and hearts. We ask God Almighty to grant the Islamic Ummah to be saved from negligence and disunity. A united nation and an ummah that only knows God and serves God and worships God, but together and beside each other. God Almighty does not need a worshipper, who has distanced himself from society. God Almighty loves servants who are in the company of believers and are building Islamic culture and civilization together.
May God reward you with goodness, peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings