Former Iran president calls for healing Sunni-Shiite divide

Khatami insisted on the "importance of a rapprochement between the currents, religions and civilisations... to confront those looking to divide the sons of the Islamic nation."

The former president, known for his stormy and ultimately futile eight-year battle to moderate Iran's hardline clerical regime, called on Al-Azhar to work towards mending the divides within Islam, "particularly those between Shiites and Sunnis to realise total cooperation between Muslims."

The call comes just a day after savage sectarian attacks resulted in the deaths of scores of Sunnis and Shiites in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar in a cycle of revenge that has become increasingly common in the war-torn country.

The biggest challenges for the Muslim world, according Khatami, are "Islamophobia, which is the fear of Islam and the unjust accusation of terrorism made by the great powers" as well as "underdevelopment and despotism in the Muslim world."

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