Religious diversity promotes national unity: Iran president

Meeting with Sunni scholars from across the country, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has praised religious diversity in the country as a good opportunity to strengthen national unity.

The Iranian chief executive made the remarks on Sunday, addressing the scholars in the run-up to the Islamic Unity Week. As per a call made by the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini, the week is marked each year as a period of convergence among Muslims.

Religious and ethnic diversity in the country, Rouhani asserted, should not be viewed as a threat, but a great chance to promote national unity and development.

“The government plans to maximally use [the capacities of] ethnicities and religions towards convergence and reinforcement of cultural and national unity,” he noted.

“The Islamic Republic has, from the beginning, been based on tolerance towards religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity,” Rouhani added.

The scholars, for their part, laid emphasis on the need for unity between Shia and Sunni Muslims.

They also detailed their standpoints concerning domestic and regional affairs, condemning the acts of terror being perpetrated by the Daesh Takfiri group in Iraq and Syria in the name of religion.