Islamic unity, without returning to theology, is reduced to a slogan

Only through reconstructing a “unity‑building theology,” he argued, can the ontological foundations of the Islamic Ummah be properly understood.
Speaking at a ceremony honoring the late Dr. Ahmad Omar Hashim, former president of Al‑Azhar University, held at the Islamic Denominations University, Moballeghi highlighted the historic role of Al‑Azhar in promoting proximity among Islamic schools of thought.
He noted that Al‑Azhar experienced one of its most influential eras with the establishment of the Dar al‑Taghrib bayn al‑Madhahib al‑Islamiyyah, an institution that inspired profound transformations across the Muslim world and paved the way for the creation of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought.
Moballeghi stated that the experience of Dar al‑Taghrib demonstrated how recognizing the legitimacy of different schools of jurisprudence and acknowledging their followers can heal historical wounds and foster

religious coexistence—an approach also pursued in the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the principles of the Revolution and the unity‑oriented thought of Imam Khomeini.
Ethics and jurisprudence are not enough
Raising the question of Al‑Azhar’s current role in the path of proximity, he stressed that while ethical, jurisprudential, and social recommendations are necessary, they are not sufficient for achieving Islamic unity.
“The most powerful discipline for creating unity is theology,” he said.
He criticized earlier approaches that avoided theology out of fear that discussing doctrinal differences might reignite historical sensitivities.
“This led to sidelining theology and focusing only on shared principles or moral advice. But the only discipline capable of explaining the ontological foundations of the Ummah is theology.”
A philosophical return to theology
Moballeghi called for a “philosophical return to theology,” arguing that without theology, Islamic unity cannot be realized.
He emphasized the need for a deep, existential theology—not a superficial or list‑based one—that examines the very being of the Ummah and interprets foundational concepts of Islamic society within the framework of divine ordinance.