Iran's Rouhani urges Muslim countries to unite



"There is neither a Shiite nor a Sunni crescent. We have an Islamic moon"

TEHRAN: -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday (December 27) called on Muslim countries to unite and strive to improve Islam’s public image.

He deplored the divisions and violence plaguing the Muslim world.

“We must remove Islam’s negative image from today’s cyber and real space,” Rouhani told the 29th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran.

“There is neither a Shiite nor a Sunni crescent. We have an Islamic moon. We, Muslims, are in a world where we must be united,” he added.

The Arab world has been polarised for years in a worsening proxy conflict between Iran and Gulf powers, particularly Saudi Arabia, fuelling tensions and conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites.

Shiite Iran supports Yemen’s Houthi rebels, while its Sunni-ruled regional rival Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition that has been bombing them in support of the loyalists since March.

Tehran also backs the Syrian regime, whose army is fighting rebels and jihadists, including the group calling itself Islamic State, or ISIL, that has taken over large swathes of the country and neighbouring Iraq.

Fighting misery

“Does the destruction of Syria help strengthen Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or other countries? Is anyone pleased by Syria’s destruction apart from Israel?” Rouhani asked.

He called on all Muslim countries to fight extremism from groups like ISIL, and the misery pushing young people to join their ranks.

“If some groups like Daesh can recruit soldiers, the reason is financial and cultural poverty,” Rouhani said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

Both types of poverty should be eliminated from “Islamic society”, he said, adding: “Terrorism will not be destroyed by bombs.”


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-12-28

At last those senior Muslim clerics are speaking out, we can but hope their message is heard and acted upon.

These terrorists don't represent Islam,they represent their own power&greed agendas,using Islam as a facade.

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There is neither a Shiite nor a Sunni crescent. We have an Islamic moon"

Good luck on that mission. I think you are going to need it.

It is a very positive thing for these clerics to be speaking out. It is a necessity, to save Islam. If the moderates do not start speaking out, and make an effort to show the world they are not in agreement, or complicit, with the super freak, murderous gang rapists, we could be headed toward something truly horrible.

At last those senior Muslim clerics are speaking out, we can but hope their message is heard and acted upon.

At last mainstream media are reporting it...you will find the condemnation has been voiced a lot already.

At last those senior Muslim clerics are speaking out, we can but hope their message is heard and acted upon.

At last mainstream media are reporting it...you will find the condemnation has been voiced a lot already.

It's because their collective rear-ends are on the line. They haven't changed much. I note he said this: "Is anyone pleased by Syria’s destruction apart from Israel?” Rouhani asked."

They just want to refocus who the enemy is.

Islam fractured just as soon the founder died and it has remained fractured ever since with each faction using the same religious text to justifying killing the other faction and it aint going to end any time soon. However its fractured and murderous history merely reflects what has happened in other religions of the Abrahamic persuasion.

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There is neither a Shiite nor a Sunni crescent. We have an Islamic moon"

Good luck on that mission. I think you are going to need it.

They have a lot of robes on could they possibly "moon" us?? Eliminate poverty? Tell that to the Saudi sheiks and princes. They already do not want to share their oil/wealth with Muslim refugee's They do not wish to water down their wealth.

Edited December 28, 201510 yr by elgordo38

It is a very positive thing for these clerics to be speaking out. It is a necessity, to save Islam. If the moderates do not start speaking out, and make an effort to show the world they are not in agreement, or complicit, with the super freak, murderous gang rapists, we could be headed toward something truly horrible.

I agree, though also think in order to move on towards a selfless race for the good of planet earth -- by first eradicating Islam and all other religions -- the way to get the ball rolling is to go down the 'horrible' path.

Why should Syria's destruction please Israel?

Why should Syria's destruction please Israel?

It wouldn't, but it is clear that the Mullah's are trying to narrow the battle. They want to unite the Islamic world and they will need a single enemy, that enemy is Israel.

Why should Syria's destruction please Israel?

Because of oil and because Israel would gladly steal the rest of the Golan heights from Syria.

Why should Syria's destruction please Israel?

It may also have something to do with the Zionist dream of gaining control right up to the Euphrates. God's promise and all that.

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There is neither a Shiite nor a Sunni crescent. We have an Islamic moon"

Good luck on that mission. I think you are going to need it.

Wow how does the Islamic moon looks like

I know the one we have

Why should Syria's destruction please Israel?

From Military Threats to Israel, The Jewish Virual Library, Nov. 2015:

"The potential upside of the Syrian civil war for Israel is that Bashar Asaad will be driven from power and the new leadership - likely led by Sunni Muslims - will end Syria's alliance with Iran and Hezbollah, weakening both. That potential outcome explains why Iranian and Hezbollah fighters have joined the fight to try to save Assad."

It is not the destruction of the Syrian nation but the removal of Asaad that benefits Israel. However -

"The prospects for Syrian-Israeli peace are undermined by the likelihood that Bashar Asaad will be replaced by someone even more extreme and less interested in a compromise with Israel on the Golan Heights, and by increased Israeli concerns that an agreement would not be long-lasting because of the possibility of another change in regime." ibid.

At last those senior Muslim clerics are speaking out, we can but hope their message is heard and acted upon.

At last mainstream media are reporting it...you will find the condemnation has been voiced a lot already.

Isn't that freedom of speech/freedom to agree/disagree ?

Why should Syria's destruction please Israel?

It wouldn't, but it is clear that the Mullah's are trying to narrow the battle. They want to unite the Islamic world and they will need a single enemy, that enemy is Israel.

The only force that Daesh is afraid of is Israel.

As far as Islamic nation's unity ... the chances of that are bupkis, but yes they do have their hatred of Israel in common.

Send me a memo when the Saudis and the Iranians become close buds.

Edited December 28, 201510 yr by Jingthing