Ayatollah Rafsanjani made the remarks in his address to a group of officials from the Ministry of Sports and the Youth.Rafsanjani referred to a verse from to the holy Quran which calls on the Muslims to refrain from division warning that useless quarrels would only weaken the Muslims themselves.He said: "Regrettably, we, the religious leaders ignored and repeatedly inflamed the divisions between Shia and Sunni Muslims."He urged both sides to work on unity instead of focusing on the divisive issues.Ayatollah Rafsanjani, a veteran Iranian politician and a Shia cleric well-known for his moderate viewpoints, asked his fellow Shia Muslims to refrain from sectarian divide which would undermine the status of Muslim countries in the world.Once united, the Islamic Ummah, with a population of 1.7 billion, the 60 Muslim countries would serve as the strongest heavyweight in the international community, the Ayatollah said.2222**1416