Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said that adversaries only raise distinctions between Sunni and Shia muslims for the purposes of creating divisiveness and discord.
In a post shared on X, Gayoom asserted that at the end of the day all muslims are one, be they from Sunni, Shia or Salafi sects. These different labels serve no purpose other than to create disunity, he said.
"Confrontation, condemnation and accusations of irreligiousness against one another are not characteristics of the religion of compassion," Gayoom wrote.
The debate on Sunni and Shia muslims arose again after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in US-Israel attacks at the start of the ongoing war.
A Facebook post by religious scholar Ahmed Sameer further added fuel to the debate.
Sameer posted to his 60,000+ followers strong criticisms against Iran's leaders, emphasizing differences in belief under Sunni/Shia divides.
