Liberated from a dictatorship 14 months ago, Syrians are struggling to unify their pivotal Middle East country. One example was an attack last month by the new government on an ethnic Kurdish area. A negotiated settlement has since calmed the region – a small step toward democracy – but it has also brought a fresh focus on an old problem: What to do with the former fighters of the Islamic State group and their families?

While ISIS forces were decisively defeated in 2019 through a multinational effort, northeastern Syria is still home to pockets of former fighters – and more than 20 prison camps administered until now by Kurdish forces with U.S. support.

Some governments and analysts worry that these camps are potential hotbeds for fomenting continued radicalism. Many of the estimated 50,000 prisoners are family members of ISIS fighters from Syria and Iraq. Approximately 8,000 – including women and children – are citizens of other countries, indicating the cross-national appeal of ISIS’ aims.

Iraq and Central Asian nations brought several thousand nationals back home from the camps soon after 2019. But countries such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands have been slow to do so, fearing returnees would bring back radicalism with them.

U.S. officials, as reported by NPR, “argue that, for long-term global security, you’ve got to get those people out of there and reintegrate them into society.” The Trump administration has urged that ISIS-affiliated women and children be reunited with relatives in their home countries, calling it a “high priority” and the “only durable solution.”

Such “reintegration and recovery” of innocent children is “fully possible,” a grandfather or several repatriated minors in Sweden told Human Rights Watch. “My grandchildren are evidence of this,” the man said, adding, “All children should ... get a new chance in life.”

Shifting attitudes in the Middle East help support a more hopeful, less fearful expectation for the future: There, both civilians and religious leaders are increasingly calling for a separation of faith from politics – and for democratic rule over autocracy.

A December report by Arab Barometer noted that a majority of Arabs prefer democracy, which they “conceive of ... as dignity, prioritizing social and economic outcomes over procedural features such as elections.” And a 2023 Cambridge University study of the region found what it called “a nuanced view” of the relationship of Islam to the state. “Citizens can desire formal recognition for religion without supporting religious leaders’ direct involvement [in governance],” it said.

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In January, the secretary-general of the Muslim World League spoke out against “exploiting religious texts as tools to ignite unjust wars or to deny legitimate rights.”

“True religious leaders are not spokespeople for power,” said Sheik Dr. Mohammed Alissa. “Rather, they are guardians of virtue and justice, and advocates of dialogue and peace.”