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New York Monthly Herald. July 2006 Issue P. 48                                                                                           

SOCIAL ISSUES & POLLS

Survey highlights Islam-West rift
DID ARABS CARRY OUT 9/11?
British Muslims: 56% No
French Muslims: 46% No
Indonesia: 65% No
Egypt: 59% No
Turkey: 59% No
Jordan: 53% No
(Source: Pew Center)

 

Some saw the cartoon row as sign of a "clash of civilisations".

Deep mutual suspicions exist between the Muslim world and the West, a survey of global opinion suggests. Many Westerners see Muslims as fanatical, violent and intolerant, according to the study by the Pew Research Center in Washington. Muslims, for their part, tend to view the West as selfish, immoral, and greedy - as well as fanatical and violent - the survey says. The researchers canvassed the opinions of 14,000 people in 13 countries. Insiders say a string of events, from last year's London bombings to the more recent row over cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad, appear to have taken their toll on relations between Islam and the West. The Pew Research Center's survey, published on Thursday, speaks of a "great divide" between the two. It says that Muslims and Westerners blame each other for deteriorating relations. Muslim people "have an aggrieved view of the West" and are "much more likely than Americans or Western Europeans to blame Western policies for their own lack of prosperity", the authors contend. By contrast Western publics say Muslims are held back by "government corruption, lack of education and Islamic fundamentalism", they add. The report says the "chasm" between Muslims and the West is also seen in judgments about how the other side treats women. Westerners, by large margins, do not regard Muslims as "respectful of women", while majorities in four of the five Muslim countries said the same about the West. Despite the divide, attitudes are not uniformly negative. Solid majorities in France, the US and Britain retain overall favourable opinions of Muslims, while positive views of Muslims have declined sharply in Spain (from 46% to 29%), the survey notes. It says about eight in 10 people in both Spain and Germany associate Islam with fanaticism - a view that is less prevalent in France (50%), Britain (48%) and the US (43%). Likewise, Muslim opinion is far from uniform, with Muslim minorities in Europe often attributing positive attributes to Westerners - including tolerance, generosity, and respect for women. On the other hand, in Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia large majorities describe the West as "selfish", "arrogant", and "violent". Muslims and Al-Qaeda: In one of the survey's most striking findings, majorities in Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan said they did not believe Arabs carried out the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001. The report says this attitude is not limited to Muslims in Muslim-dominated countries - 56% of British Muslims said the same. The survey cited a dramatic drop in support for Osama Bin Laden in Jordan as a sign of falling support for terrorism in Muslim countries. Less than 1% of respondents in the country - hit by triple hotel bombings last November - expressed confidence in Bin Laden, down from a quarter last year. Confidence in the al-Qaeda leader had also fallen in Pakistan, where 38% of people expressed some confidence in him, down from 51%. However 61% of Nigerian Muslims had at least some confidence in bin Laden, a sharp rise from 44% in May 2003.
 

 

 

 

Poll: Public opposes Olmert's Convergence Plan 56%:37%
By Dr. Aaron Lerner  

The following are the results of a poll of a representative sample of 515 adult Israelis (including Israeli Arabs) carried out on the evening of 7 June by Dialog for Haaretz.  The poll was supervised by Prof. Camille Fuchs of Tel Aviv University.  Sample survey error +/-  4.4 percentage points: Do you support convergence?  [AL: aka "Consolidation" aka withdrawal from most of the West Bank], Support 37% Oppose 56% Don't know 7%. Do you think that the Convergence will be carried out or not? Yes 51% No 32% Don't know 17%. Are you satisfied by the performance of: Olmert: Yes 35% No 35%, Livni: Yes 53% No 17%, Peretz: Yes 31% No 41%. Who should be the next president - Rabbi Lau or Reuven Rivlin? Lau 47% Rivlin 28% Other replies 25%. Who should be the next president (open question). Peres 32% Lau 26% Aharon Barak 16% Rivlin 8% Ben Eliezer 4% Other 13%. Who should be the next leader of the Likud? (Likud voters only). Netanyahu 67% Katzav 13% Shalom 9% Other 9%. Are you planning to buy the package to view all the world soccer competition games? Already did 5% Haven't but plan to 5% Won't 84% Undecided 6%

 

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