President Pezeshkian: Islamic unity does not mean abandoning justice

Speaking at the 40th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran on Thursday, Pezeshkian said Muslims do not have to become identical to live together peacefully, arguing that differences should not turn members of the Islamic world into enemies.

Unity does not mean becoming the same. It means that differences do not turn Muslims into each other’s enemies, he said, emphasizing that Shias would remain Shias and Sunnis would remain Sunnis, while different schools of jurisprudence and theology, as well as nations, governments and national interests, would continue to exist.

Pezeshkian referred to the Prophet Mohammad’s efforts in Medina, where different groups of Muslims became brothers and former rival tribes were brought together under a common framework. He said the Prophet did not force Muslims to abandon their differences but taught them how to live together under a shared covenant.

The Iranian president stressed that Islamic unity must not come at the expense of truth or justice. “If a brother is oppressed, people must help him, and if he is an oppressor, brotherhood requires them not to allow him to continue oppression,” Pezeshkian said.

He argued that the Muslim world does not suffer from a lack of capacity, but from an inability to transform its dispersed capabilities into common will and collective power. Referring to the Quranic warning against disputes that weaken communities, he said population alone does not constitute power, wealth without cooperation does not create collective strength, and natural resources without science and technology cannot guarantee independence.

Pezeshkian proposed three practical measures for strengthening cooperation among Islamic countries. First, he called for a mutual security and non-aggression pact under which Muslim countries would respect each other’s territorial integrity, refrain from using their territory, airspace or facilities against other Islamic countries, and reject support for destabilization and fragmentation.

Second, he proposed establishing a permanent mechanism for mediation and conflict prevention within the Islamic world, enabling the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to intervene before disputes escalate into armed conflicts.

Third, he called for transforming Islamic countries from separate markets into a network of practical economic and scientific cooperation. He proposed joint projects in artificial intelligence, medicine, water management, energy, agriculture and advanced technologies, alongside greater intra-Islamic trade and investment.

On the recent US-Israeli war on Iran, Pezeshkian said Iran had not initiated the war but had responded with strength to attacks on its territory.

He said the attacks occurred while diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States were still underway, resulting in casualties among commanders, officials, scientists, students and ordinary civilians, as well as damage to cities and infrastructure.