CONCLUSION

"He has ordained for you the same religion he enjoined on Noah, and that enjoined on Abraham, Moses and Jesus; namely that you should remain steadfast in religion and be united in it. But that to which you call them is unacceptable to idolators. God chooses to himself those whom he will, and guides to him those who turn to him"⁽¹²⁵⁾.

This divine verse call upon the faithful to apply religion and refrain from disagreement over it. It is, indeed, a call for intellectual and political unity that preserves the strength and resources of the Muslim in the face of hostile cultural and ideological challenges. It also instructs Muslims to behave in accordance with the divine laws and apply them by bringing Muslims together into a community and a single state.

In compliance with this divine command, Muslims are obliged to focus their efforts on upholding their religion, uniting their ranks and abandoning controversy and schism. The ingredients of this unity are obvious: all Muslims Sunnis as well as Shiites - share a belief that whoever pronounce the Shahadatain, i.e. the two testimonies bearing witness that there is only one God. namely Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet is a Muslims. Also all Muslims believe in God, his Books, Apostles, angles, divine destiny and predestination, the Day of Judgement and that the Islamic creed is based on the Quran, the prophet's traditions and permits recourse to ijtihad or logical deduction.

Muslims also agree on the basic obligations of the faithful and the necessity of performing them such as praying, fasting, performing pilgrimage, paying zakat or religious tax, taking part in just wars, propagating virtues and prohibiting vice and upholding that whatever the Prophet Muhammad allowed is permissible until the Day of Judgement and whatever he disallowed is forbidden until that day.

Disagreement among Islamic sects must be subjected to unbaised analysis and objective criticism and should not make us lose sight of the overwhelming consensus among Muslims regarding basic tenets. Responsibility for bringing this fact to all Muslims falls primarily on Islamic scholars and thinkers who are urged to concentrate their efforts on unifying Muslims and disseminating Islamic thought, law and culture in conformity with God's command:

"Cling one and all to the faith of God and let nothing divide you"⁽¹²⁶⁾.

And 'Observe this religion and be united in it'⁽¹²⁷⁾.