Fears of Extremism Rise in Lebanon, Muslim Nations
Fears about Islamic extremism are rising in Lebanon and other large Muslim populations from the Middle East to South Asia and support for radical groups is on the slide, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Concern about extremism has increased in the past 12 months amid the dragging war in Syria and attacks by Nigeria's Boko Haram militants, the Pew Research Center found after interviewing more than 14,200 people in 14 countries.
Extremist groups such as al-Qaida, Hizbullah, Boko Haram and even Hamas, which won elections to take control of running the Gaza Strip, are also losing support.
And backing for the use of suicide bombings against civilian targets has dropped significantly in the past decade following a slew of brutal attacks.
The review was carried out from April 10 to May 25, before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- now renamed the Islamic State -- took over the northern Iraqi town of Mosul in a lightning offensive which has seen it seize a large swathe of territory.
In Lebanon, which shares a border with Syria, as many as 92 percent of those interviewed said they were worried about Islamic extremism.
That figure was up 11 points from 2013, and was spread evenly among Lebanon's Sunni, Shiite and Christian communities.
Last Wednesday, a Saudi suicide bomber blew himself up at Duroy Hotel in Beirut during a security raid. It was the third suicide bombing in Lebanon in less than a week.
Wednesday's attack was claimed by the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Previous bombings were claimed by the al-Qaida-linked group, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
They have warned that such attacks will continue as long as Hizbullah takes part in Syria's civil war alongside Syrian President Bahsar Assad's troops.
Only29 percent of the Lebanese Muslims believed that suicide bombings could be justified against civilians, down from 74 percent in 2007.
And the figure among Palestinians has fallen from 70 percent in 2007 to 46 percent today.
Concern has also risen in Jordan and Turkey, both of which border Syria and have taken in significant numbers of refugees fleeing the three-year war to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, in which extremists have increasingly moved into the chaos.
Some 62 percent of Jordanians voiced fears about extremism, up 13 points since 2012, while in Turkey half of those polled shared the same concerns, up 18 points from two years ago.
"In Asia, strong majorities in Bangladesh (69 percent), Pakistan (66 percent) and Malaysia (63 percent) are concerned about Islamic extremism," the Pew report said.
However, in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, such fears were not shared, with only four in ten people voicing any anxiety about extremism.
An overwhelming majority of Nigerians (79 percent) were against Boko Haram, behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls earlier this year, while 59 percent of Pakistanis said they have no love for Taliban militants.
Just over half of Palestinians (53 percent) have an unfavorable opinion of Hamas, blamed this week by Israel for the murders of three teenagers, and the figure rises to 63 percent in the Gaza Strip, higher than on the West Bank controlled by the rival Fatah party.
02 July 2014, 07:26
64
just like shiism grew after Khomeini took over iran, now sunnis are finding their way into extremism to face this Iranian terrorism.
extremism creates extremism, and this has been the goal of Israel and iran: for them to persist they need extremism in front of them.
this is going to be a long bloody sectarian war in the region, definitely not in favor of shia (the numbers do not add up in their favor: sunni v/s shia accros the world = 100 to 1 at least)
02 July 2014, 13:04
21
babbling?
ft there isn't any poster on this site that will not give you the scar for stupidity :)
each day you show us more how stupid you are.
02 July 2014, 08:15
56
Thank you Saudi Arabia for importing terrorism into Lebanon and for tarnishing a once great country. Filthy terrorists.
02 July 2014, 10:36
43
Thank you Karim for being an obedient servant of Kahmeneï. You are a brave soldier in the Mahdi army. Bless you my son!
02 July 2014, 11:29
33
karim seems to forget that iran allied with alqaeda in yemen because it suited their interests at the time LOL
02 July 2014, 11:40
42
To the idiot Karim : How is Hezbollah, the "Islamic Resistance in Lebanon" any less extremist than others ? You can no longer find alcohol in Shiia villages just as Sunni villages.
02 July 2014, 18:35
11
Maybe it's because they bomb any deken that does !
FYI :
- 99% of villages in Lebanon have mixed populations. Most muslim villages are mixed with christian populations.
- Shia, like Sunnis all drink alcohol. They just don't do it in public. And when you do visit those villages, they offer you alcohol and tell you they need to drive 3-10 villages away to find some depending on where they are.
Anyway, point being, Hezbollah is as extremist, islamic and jihadist as the next terrorist organisation.
02 July 2014, 21:01
00
@FD : sorry, never been to Iran. Apparently, you either know nothing about your country of live among hypocrites!
02 July 2014, 08:58
33
hate breeds hate and every action is met with an equal and opposite reaction. Hizbiz committed suicide in Syria and is dragging us with him.
I call to boycott all Hizbizillah's merchants, businesses, institutions, schools, and supporters.
It's time to show the world that we are not liable for this freak party policies.
02 July 2014, 09:18
32
No, it was 74% in 2007 coz the bombings were in Iraq who was occupied by the US troops.
anyway, 29% of muslim lebanese justifying suicide bombing against civilians is stil a very high number
02 July 2014, 09:21
14
92 percent of those interviewed said they were worried about Islamic extremism.
That figure was spread evenly among Lebanon's Sunni, Shiite and Christian communities.
At last something we all agree on, in all sects !
02 July 2014, 10:59
00
let it be the ,sunni shiia war in Lebanon and let the stronger wins ou khalsouna ba2a
02 July 2014, 11:08
00
Geha find me one person who was Iranian who conducted terrorism in Lebanon? Are you able to find me a source? When did Iranians conduct terorrism in Lebanon and if so please tell me because I'm strugglign to know. Your saudi brothers tried to suicide bomb the other week, what a deluded person.
02 July 2014, 15:50
20
Islam is idol warship. They are in error, the prophets would be ashamed of your collected stupidity. You bow to stone idols, praise things you do not understand and worship a books calligraphy more than the message of the book itself (The book has no proof). The quran is a book capable of communicating to individuals on a different level of consciousness. That means that one person will understand it differently from another. More so, the same person could understand it differently if he read it today or read it one week from now. Muslims attribute this to a miracle since very few books contain the ability to do this.(the bible on a small scale.). The only other example I have found are the emerald tablets of ancient Egypt. Go read them and compare it's ability to communicate with the reader. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
02 July 2014, 16:34
10
@bigjon: Listen, for thousands of years the jews have had it far worse. They were able to emerge because of their unity, patience and perseverance. Of course they jewed around for a while but do it less and less today. What they are doing is wrong, but we will never be able to stop it until we learn to think like they did. We need to reduce corruption in our own countries, abolish sectarianism, and by far most importantly, conform to western standards of education, particularly European education since American highschool is a joke. It is easier than ever and if arabs spent half or the energy they use to hate isreal or to worship their god on trying to provide an unindoctranted youthful generation, the problems would subside within two decade. This process is bound to happen either way, but I think it is sick for parents to force religion and hatred on their children. It is only confusing them because these teachings make no sense at all and the digital media is a safe haven.
02 July 2014, 16:58
00
I hate it when Lebanese say "sure there are these problems everywhere". I have heard it so many times at this point that I automatically discard what the person is saying. Just because things happen everywhere doesn't make them ok. Also, Lebanese do not realize that these things that happen everywhere, happen to a far more sever extent in Lebanon (racism, poverty, radicals.). These so called things do happen, but they happen so much in Lebanon that they are in control and inertia because people think it's ok. We should strive to be perfect and end up good in the process of trying to be perfect (that's how success works.). So never say things happen everywhere. Please. It is not an excuse to dismiss what is wrong, in fact you should learn more about these problems if you are willing to say they happen every where. When my father told me they happen everywhere, it pushed me to learn more and come to a valid conclusion that he was 90% wrong and such a statement is far from truth.
