Unity is a topic that is discussed heavily by all aspects of society.  It is something of absolute importance to those that are under threat and is something that is used to keep people such as those from ethnic or religious minorities in existence.  When under attack, whether it be physical, psychological, or even on a philosophical level, unity is what keeps that particular community intact.  Without it, differences in opinion would simply cause a disbanding amongst certain members of that particular community, and disharmony will eventually set in causing a rift within. 

However, I’d like to argue the case that when a community becomes much larger, more agile, and has a big say in the public sphere, unity can become an annoying issue and people start thinking that because there are differences in opinion over a topic, this must be a bad thing because the survival of that community is at stake.  Firstly, one must realise that in a large community, survival is no longer the name of the game.  Trying to get a local community to get involved in politics, to link up with other societies, and to have a voice among the sea of opinions out there are more pertinent issues.  As a result, the issue of unity goes straight out of the window simply because it is only necessary in times when there is a threat to survival.

I have seen time and time again, where mountains are made out of molehills.  Issues which are so mundane are debated for unnecessary reasons and this, for any society, is a bad thing.  As a British Muslim, I have been asked whether suicide bombing is something which I would advocate to eliminate an enemy combatant, and my simple answer to that is two words: “Irrelevant question”.  The question is not about how someone dies, but who is going to die and why they should.  Whether you kill a man with an AK47, a knife, or a bomb thrown from thousands of feet, it doesn’t matter.  What matters is why that person is going to die and what has he done to deserve being killed.  We squabble over such irrelevant issues when there are bigger things going on out there. 

My final point is that there is a fundamental difference between unity and uniformity.  Differences in opinion are always there but we should just accept that and celebrate the fact that variety and diversity exist.   Unity is simply when a group of people share the same ideas, but uniformity is both sharing the same ideas and executing them in the same way.  If people execute ideas in different ways, I believe it is of no problem whatsoever.  It is quite simple really, that in a community which is full of different races, religions, and cultures such as the UK, one must celebrate the fact that we have a variety of people with contrasting opinions, and that is what makes us unique. 

“Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams – they all have different names, but they all contained water. Just as religions do – they all contain truths”- Muhammad Ali

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