---
title: "Syria’s Neighbors Worry about Extremism, Too"
description: "The prospect of a U.S. military strike on Syria has focused new attention on the role and influence of Islamic extremist groups – including Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and jihadists from Chechnya, Pakistan and other countries – opposing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."
date: "2013-09-13"
authors:
  - name: "No Author"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2013/09/13/syrias-neighbors-worry-about-extremism-too/"
---

# Syria’s Neighbors Worry about Extremism, Too

*By Bruce Stokes, Director of Global Economic Attitudes, Pew Research Center*

Special to [*CNN*](http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/13/syrias-neighbors-worry-about-extremism-too/)

The prospect of a U.S. military strike on Syria has focused new attention on the role and influence of Islamic extremist groups – including Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and jihadists from Chechnya, Pakistan and other countries – opposing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In his address to the nation on September 10, President Barack Obama [asserted](http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/11/opinion/kusnet-syria-obama-speech/?hpt=us_mid) that “al Qaeda will only draw strength in a more chaotic Syria if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death.”

Syria’s neighbors share some of those concerns. Indeed, a new [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2013/09/10/muslim-publics-share-concerns-about-extremist-groups/) survey shows extremism is also a matter of great concern to Muslims in the countries surrounding Syria, with many also worried that the turmoil will spread across their own border.

Read more at [*CNN's Global Public Square*](http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/13/syrias-neighbors-worry-about-extremism-too/) blog