Fears over rise of extremism in Muslim nations

A strong majority of people in Bangladesh are concerned about Islamic extremism, while they have negative opinions of extremist groups like al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Pakistani Taliban, according to a Pew Research Centre survey.
Such fear is on the rise in nations with large Muslim populations in the Middle East and South Asia, the survey says.
It says 69 percent people in Bangladesh, 66 percent in Pakistan and 63 percent in Malaysia expressed their concerns about extremism.
And the fear increased in the past one year in most Middle Eastern countries, according to the survey conducted among 14,244 respondents in 14 countries from April 10 to May 25 this year.
Asked whether suicide bombing or other forms of violence against civilian population can be justified to defend Islam, some respondents say that this form of violence is often or sometimes justified, but such support has generally diminished in the last decade.
Still, Muslims in a few countries, including Bangladesh, say it can be justified, according to the Washington-based research centre.
Highest 47 percent in Bangladesh support the view, followed by 46 percent in the Palestinian territories.  
The survey was done to see how people view extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and the Taliban.

Of them, al-Qaeda is losing support in all the 14 countries -- Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia and Israel.
In Bangladesh, 66 percent people have negative opinions of al-Qaeda. However, 23 percent Bangladeshis out of 1,000 surveyed have a favourable opinion of the group.
In Bangladesh's case, the margin of error is nearly 4 percent.   
Roughly, 40 percent in Pakistan and 32 percent in Malaysia also see the group unfavorably, but many in these countries offered no opinion.
An overwhelming majority in Nigeria have an unfavorable opinion of Boko Haram, the terrorist group that has been wreaking havoc in the northern regions of the country, including a high profile kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls during the early stages of the fieldwork for this survey.
Overall, 82 percent of Nigerians have an unfavourable view of Boko Haram, whose name means Western education is forbidden. However, 10 percent of Nigerians have a favorable view of the group.
The Taliban, which has a base of operations on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, is seen unfavourably by 59 percent in Pakistan. Only eight percent have a favourable view of this extremist group, with a third of Pakistanis not offering an opinion.
Hezbollah, the militant organisation headquartered in Lebanon, is seen unfavourably in all the Middle Eastern countries surveyed. Opinions of the extremist group, which is labelled as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union, are negative in Asia and Africa as well.
Hamas is also viewed negatively, even in Palestinian territories, as more than half of Palestinians have an unfavourable view of the group with about a third (35 percent) expressing positive views.