Sunni and Shia are muslim and brother

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei: concord and harmony among the Islamic Ummah at our time is a more important point.

We are not trying to say that all the differences between the Shia and the Sunni have always been fomented by the colonial powers as their own sentiments as well as certain cases of ignorance and prejudice and misconception have also contributed to their differences However the fact of the matter is that when the colonial powers emerged on the scene they took the utmost advantage of these differences This is the reason why the prominent Islamic personalities who are renowned for their struggle against the colonial powers have all placed great emphasis on the unity of the Islamic Ummah Sayyid Jamaluddin Asadabadi his disciple Sheikh Muhammad Abduh and others Shia ulema such as the late Sharafuddin Ameli and others made every effort to prevent the differences of opinion from turning into a weapon against the Islamic world in the hands of the colonial powers The late magnanimous Imam Khomeini always stressed the need for the Islamic unity The colonial powers have capitalized on and taken the utmost advantage of the differences and among them Britain is more skilled at doing so than others The reason is that the British have been present in Iran Turkey the Arab countries and the Indian Subcontinent for many years and they know how to set the Sunni against the Shia and how to turn the Shia against the Sunni They know very well how to do this and they have done so Ever since the victory of the Islamic Revolution the colonial powers have been stepping up their attempts at fomenting discord and schism between the Shia and the Sunni We have been witnessing the signs of their attempts and giving the due warnings However over the past years considering that the Islamic Republic of Iran has accomplished a noble objective and conquered a high summit which is the awakening of the Islamic world the arrogant powers now have a stronger motive for the creation of discord and division among Muslims and they will do everything to attain this goal Today they are seeking to turn the Shia and the Sunni against each other in Iraq they are also trying to do the same thing in Pakistan and in Afghanistan They will do the same thing in our country and anywhere else if they can We have been informed that their agents have even gone to Lebanon to set the Shia against the Sunni in that country Therefore they are making every effort to achieve their goal Those agents that are seeking to sow the seeds of discord are neither Shia nor Sunni Muslims they are not interested either in the Shia or in the Sunni they have no respect for the sanctities of either the Shia or the Sunni.