Speaking at the second international conference on “Takfiri Threats in Today’s World,” Ayatollah Arafi said that the backwardness of the Islamic world, colonialism and oppression of the people of Islamic countries and the lack of religious-based democracy have led Muslim youth toward extremism.

Iraq's top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemns bombings on Sunni mosques in the province of Diyala.