Today, more than ever before, it is paramount for Muslims to set aside their religious and historical differences and concentrate on unity in the face of the enemies, said secretary general of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought.

Speaking Sunday morning at the inauguration of the 21st Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri welcomed the attendees and said," The history of the Islamic Unity Conference and the papers, articles, discussions, statements and resolutions presented at various rounds of the event have served significantly to promote the culture of unity among Muslims worldwide."

The Ayatollah said that the theme of the 21st round of the conference is the Charter of Islamic Unity, which was drafted last year at the recommendation of supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei.

"Drafting a unity charter based on the holy Book and the Sunna, one which is acknowledged by scholars and leader from all Islamic schools of thought, has been an accomplishment awaited by Islamic leaders for a long time," he observed.

Referring to the measures taken so far for upholding unity in the Islamic world, Ayatollah Taskhiri said, "Now, the latest step in this regard, namely the draft Charter of Islamic Unity, is before you for consideration, analysis and improvement."

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to today's sensitive conditions in the world and noted that the Islamic world is in more than ever in need of getting united against the enemies of Islam.

The 21st Islamic Unity Conference, organized by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, is underway in Tehran from May 4 to 6. A large number of Muslim scholars and thinkers from some 50 countries are attending the three-day event.