KUWAIT CITY — Acts of terrorism and the practice of Islamic extremism aim to divide Muslim world, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Wednesday at a meeting of Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries (OIC) in Kuwait.

“We have been committed in confronting the challenges of extremism and violence,” Jubeir said in one of the meeting’s opening statements. “Terrorism, extremism and sectarianism aim to divide the Muslim world.”

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah called for combating the spread of militant organizations and condemned the ISIS-linked suicide bombing on Friday that killed 21 worshipers at a mosque in al-Qadeeh village in Saudi Arabia, a statement by the OIC said.

“We must take a serious stand on the sectarian malady that has been shaking the structure of our nation and fragments it,” the emir told foreign ministers and representatives from the 57-member OIC at its annual meeting.

OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani said terrorism has posed daunting challenges to the security and stability of Muslim countries and the global community. 

“Vicious groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban operate in violation of Islamic principles and even threaten the survival of some OIC member states,” he added. 

Madani said extremism should not only be addressed from a security perspective.

“Sustainable long-term solutions require stronger civil society engagement, the need to utilize religiously sound counter-messaging and to address socio-economic challenges like unemployment that extremist recruiters exploit,” he said.