In the first place, we would like to stress that at a time when the enemies of Islam are encroaching Muslims from every side, all Muslims including Sunnis, Shiites and Wahhabis should unite hands together to face such overwhelming threat. Our role as Muslims is not to concentrate on the differences among different Muslim sects, but our role is to highlight the points of agreement among those sects in an attempt to achieve the desired Muslim unity.
With this in mind, we should stress that the priority for Muslims at all times must be to educate themselves in the sound teachings of their religion and to act accordingly. Most of the confusion prevailing in the Ummah is due to lack of proper understanding of Islam. The Qur’an makes it imperative for us to educate ourselves first; that is why Imam Bukhari in his work, As-Sahih says, “Knowledge comes
before speech or action!” The pious Caliph `Umar ibn `Abdul-`Aziz said, “Whoever acts without knowledge, he is bound to be more destructive in his approach rather than doing something constructively.”
Having said this, I must also add: As an Ummah we need to consider the challenges facing us as a community and chalk out a program of action. Such an effort must be done by an Islamic think-tank consisting of Muslim intellectuals, scholars and leaders.
One lesson we could learn from the seerah (biography) of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he was a planner par excellence; so we would only be following his footsteps if we plan out steps carefully after due thought, consultation, and discussion. May Allah guide our steps. Ameen.