Template: Uzh
Week of Unity ( Persian هفته وحدت , Hafte-ye vahdat) is a holiday in Iran dedicated to the unity of Sunnis and Shiites , which is celebrated during the third lunar month, Rabbi al-Avval [1] .
The history of this holiday began after the 1979 Islamic Revolution . The initiator of the Unity Week was Ayatollah Khomeini . Since the followers of Shiism believe that the Prophet Muhammad was born on 17th Rabbi al-Aval (December 27), and the Sunnis celebrate this holiday on 12th Rabbi Al-Aval (December 22), Ayatollah Khomeini proposed to name the gap between these two dates of Unity Week. Celebrating the birthday of the prophet is an innovation in Islam [2] . For the first time, Mavlid was celebrated only 300 years after his death. Since the lunar calendar is traditionally used in the Islamic world, the date of birth of the prophet is “floating.”
During the Week of Unity, representatives of both areas of Islam can honor the memory of the most respected person who has ever lived and forget about mutual hostility, since both Sunnis and Shiites profess the same religion, follow the instructions of the Qur'an , perform five-time prayers and fast. Khomeini viewed Unity Week as a symbol of Muslim unity. He believed that in the difficult situation of many countries of the Islamic world, Muslims should remain united.
The week of unity is celebrated in many countries of the Islamic world, organizing special programs that are dedicated to the community of Sunnis and Shiites. This annual event has played an important role in uniting various Islamic schools.
From December 27 to 29, an international conference on Unity Week is annually held in Tehran. In 2015, at the 29th conference for the first time in the history of the event, 130 Shiite and Sunni clerics from 70 countries, as well as ministers of the Islamic world, came to Iran.
The issue of Muslim unity is handled by two organizations based in Iran - the World Assembly for the Rapprochement of Islamic Madhhabs and the Organization of Islamic Propaganda. Their main task is cultural and propaganda activities aimed at deepening the knowledge of world society about Islam.