There are two different narrations regarding the date of birth of the Prophet, although the month and year is the same that is Rabi al-Awwal, Aam al-Feel or the Year of the Elephant, corresponding to 570 AD. Sunni Muslims, citing narrations from the companions of the Prophet, who became acquainted with him when he over 40 years of age consider the 12th Rabi al-Awwal as the birthday. Shi'ite Muslims, who regard the family accounts to be more reliable maintain that as per narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt, the Prophet was born on 17th of Rabi al-Awwal. This is not any issue of dispute and only a minor difference for both groups of Muslims. In order to bridge this 5-day gap, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (may his soul rest in peace), initiated the Islamic Unity Week, which over the past three decades has gained momentum and succeeded in bringing the Ummah on a common platform. This is a welcome development since it is Islamic solidarity that can defeat the sordid campaign of Islamophobia launched by the enemies of Islam and Muslims.
Among the serious dangers threatening the Islamic community is internal discord. The enemies, especially the Americans and the Zionists are trying to exploit such differences, and this warrants the Ummah to be on guard. The Muslims, unlike the myriad sects in which Christianity and other creeds are splintered, have no differences on the fundamental beliefs of Islam. For instance, both the Sunnis and Shi'ites belief in the indivisible monotheism of God Almighty, consider Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) to be the Last Divine Messenger, believe in the Day of Resurrection, face the Ka'ba as the focal point of the five-times-a-day obligatory prayers, fast in the same month of Ramadhan, perform the Hajj pilgrimage in the same month of Zilhijja, etc. Thus in view of these share beliefs, it was the foresight of the Late Imam Khomeini to initiate the Islamic Unity Week. The enemies are scared of Islamic unity, and are trying feverishly to sow seeds of discord. At the same time they have intensified their Islamophobia campaign in a bid to distort the image of Islam and prevent people in the West and other places from embracing the truth of Islam. The propaganda of the enemies includes anti-Islamic films, books, news, TV serials, and Internet sites, to portray Islam as violent and against human rights.
Islam is the world's fastest growing religion, and despite this poisonous campaign of the West, more and more people are turning to the truth of Islam. The new Muslims, who are mainly intellectuals, have embraced the realities of Islam after deep studies. This has further confused the Zionist-controlled western regimes. Their main goal is to create suspicion amongst Muslims and Muslim states in order to plunge them into civil into civil strife and wars, so that Muslims become weak, and the West could dominate the world. The indirect creation of terrorist groups who shamelessly call themselves Islamic despite shedding the blood of fellow Muslims, is part of the West's plot.
The intention is to embroil Muslims with each other, and at the same time carry out the Islamophobia campaign by insulting the sanctities of Islam including the spotless personality of the Prophet. Thus, in order to counter Islamophobia and the plots of the Zionists and the western regimes, Muslims of all denominations should close ranks. The governments of Muslim states should also cooperate with each other, instead of bowing to the dictates of the West. The birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) affords us the best opportunity every year to foster Islamic solidarity. The press, TV, and the Internet could be effectively used by Muslim groups and Muslim governments to educated the masses and preach the message of love, affection, and amity, instead of unnecessary fueling friction by magnifying the minor differences
