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.

whitelion553 wrote: 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

Can you give an example of how the "colonial powers" are setting Sunni against Shia?

By the way, why is it that you remove all punctuation and paragraph breaks when you quote your leaders?  It makes it very difficult to read.

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that students should not let their differences of opinion lead to hostility and resentment, saying: "I seriously ask everyone to avoid letting their differences of opinion with other people - in the way one analyses and interprets certain realities - lead to hostility and resentment."

His Eminence reiterated: "As Imam (r.a.) recommended, you should behave like seminarians, who are very serious when they debate with one another, but who behave in a friendly way towards one another at other times."

He stated: "Islamic Awakening is a very important phenomenon and it cannot be destroyed by arrogant antitheses."

"As you can see, the events which occur in Egypt and in a number of other countries signify that Islamic Awakening exists in these countries. Of course, such events were not managed in a good way. They made foolish mistakes."

Ayatollah Khamenei added: "Today, global arrogance has a peculiar deployment. It has built a long rampart against such an awakening. You can see parts of this fortification in these regional countries, in these regional events and in similar events in our own country."

His Eminence stated: "One of the issues which can be studied and researched is the strategic depth of the Islamic Revolution in regional developments. When one looks at regional developments, one notices something which is the strategic depth of the Islamic Revolution in these countries. There are certain events which act like a tree root or like the pieces of rope which support a tent. These events are considered as a source of strength for a country. This is strategic depth."

He added: "In those days, the reason why Imam (r.a.) was outspoken on the issue of revolutions in other countries and on revolutionary movements was that he wanted to create such a depth and he created it. Today, global arrogance is nervously fighting against this strategic depth. Of course, their efforts have not produced and will not produce any results."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the efforts of the enemies of Islam for creating discord between Shia and Sunni, stating: "They suppress Shia Muslims in different parts of the world because they think that Shia Muslims are a natural base for the Islamic Republic. But they do not know that in many countries, Sunni brothers defend the Islamic Republic more strongly."

An al-Qaeda linked group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a recent series of bombings that killed dozens of people across Iraq.