Burkina Faso’s President, Ibrahim Traoré, said in a speech that around 800 of his country’s citizens are studying Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia, adding that no one knows how they left the country, what they are doing there, or when and how they will return.

He added that Wahhabism is an extremist political form of Islam and said that those students would not provide any benefit to their country upon their return.

Traoré called on people to pursue useful fields of study, including religious sciences, provided they are free from extremism.