In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

(Arabic prayer)

I congratulate all of you, brethren and sisters and esteemed ambassador of Islamic countries and [other] guests, who are present in this meeting, and the entire great nation of Iran and the entire huge Islamic Ummah across the world on the occasion of the auspicious Eid al-Fitr. I hope that, God willing, the Almighty God will pour down his favors on this great Ummah and this Eid (festive occasion) would be blessed for the Islamic Ummah in the real sense of the word.
The truth is that today, the Islamic Ummah is plagued with many problems. Many wounds have been inflicted on the body of this Ummah and continue to be inflicted, the most important of which is discord. The enemies of Islam try to sow discord among [various] Muslim groups under various excuses and create division and hostility [among them]. [They try to sow discord] on the pretext of ethnicity, on the pretext of religion, on the pretext of geography, [and] on the pretext of territorial and border problems. All these pretexts have been provided to them and, unfortunately, the enemy takes advantage [of them] and we, who are officials of Islamic governments, neglect this effort of the enemy.
I think to myself [about this issue]; when one hears that a given American senator, who is averse to the essence of Islam and Islamic countries, expresses concerns about [the situation of] the Sunni community in the face of [the] Shia [community], when one sees this ploy, he has right to be extremely worried, [and] has right to be extremely cautious. [It is source of concern when] that enemy, who is averse to the essence of Islam, now expresses support for an Islamic group against another [Islamic] group! What does this mean except evilness, except conspiracy, [and] except [an effort aimed at] creating hostility [among Muslims]? And, unfortunately, this happens to exist today. [Therefore,] we must think [about this issue], [and] we must understand [it ulterior motives].
All Islamic countries will be at loss as a result of division and all of them will benefit from unity. Unity of Islamic countries, their being close to one another, [and] not using their forces against one another, are [all] beneficial to united countries themselves, [and] are beneficial to Islamic countries themselves. We must understand this, [because] this is a divine philosophy, [and] is an Islamic philosophy; [however,] unfortunately, it is not receiving [due] attention. Today, we have problems within the Islamic world, [and] we are losing blood; [I mean,] there are bleeding wounds [in the body of the Islamic Ummah] today. Yemen is one example of those wounds. Attention must be paid to these [problems]. Problems facing Syria, problems facing Iraq, problems facing North Africa, [and] various problems that one observes in the Islamic world, all of them are signs of the existence of discord and existence of dispute, and this is detrimental to Islam, [and] is detrimental to the Islamic Ummah. [We] must solve this [problem].
This is one of the salient features of demonstrations on the [International] Quds Day. You just observe; almost in all small and big cities of Iran, people pour into the streets on the Quds Day while fasting – and in these [recent] years in this hot weather – and you observed huge gatherings of people in Tehran and in other cities. These [demonstrators] are this very Shia people, who are expressing sympathy and unity with Palestinians, who are Sunnis. This is the [true] meaning of unity, [and] this is the meaning of commitment to the unity of the Islamic Ummah, [for] which [our] honorable Imam [Khomeini] founded [this Quds Day demonstration] and today, people are moving [along the same line].
One of the great perils, which is threatening the Islamic world today, is downplaying the important issue of Palestine and letting it slip into oblivion. Unfortunately, this is what is being done right now. Some Islamic countries behave in a way, talk in a way, and act in a way as to make the issue of Palestine be ignored, [and] make the issue of Palestine slip into oblivions. This is a very great peril. The issue of Palestine is the number one issue of the Islamic world. An Islamic country has been totally usurped. The issue is not about a small land or a city or a village, [but] a whole country is the issue. A nation has been driven out of its homeland. [Even] those Palestinians, who live in the land of Palestine today, are living under maximum duress [and] under maximum pressure. They are constantly exposed to massacre and humiliation and indignity and pressure. Is this a small matter?
According to the Islamic jurisprudence – both jurisprudence of Sunni denominations, and Shia jurisprudence and perhaps other [Islamic] denominations – there is no doubt that when an enemy takes control of Muslims’ land, it is a duty for all to fight against it, [and] engage in jihad against it in any form of jihad, which is possible. Today, fighting against the Zionist regime is obligatory and necessary for the entire Islamic world. Why some [Muslim countries] shun this duty? Thank God, our nation [is] watchful and vigilant in this regard. At any rate, the Islamic world needs unity, needs unanimity, [and] needs empathy. Nations are oftentimes empathetic toward one another; it is governments, which shoulder a duty in this regard, [and] it is governments, which can play a role [in this regard]. And I hope that due to the blessing of the auspicious month of Ramadan and the blessing of the Eid al-Fitr day – which is an Eid for Muslims and source of dignity and honor for the Grand Prophet of Islam – the Almighty God would bring our hearts closer together, make Muslims kind towards one another, [and] God willing, give the Islamic Ummah necessary power and might and necessary resolve and determination in the face of the enemies of Islam.

Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings