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New Polls throughout Muslim World: Humanitarian Leadership by US Remains Positive
Despite historically high levels of anti-Americanism, positive American leadership, particularly humanitarian assistance, results in a more favorable view of the United States. For example in Pakistan, 75 percent of Pakistanis are more favorable towards the United States due to American earthquake assistance. Even 68 percent of those who are unfavorable generally toward the United States feel more favorably because of American earthquake relief.
Similar results occur in Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Territories where despite nearly universal disapproval of the United States generally, strong majorities still want America to increase its involvement in trying to settle the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
In other findings, Iran’s Turkish, Saudi and Pakistani neighbors want the United States to accept a nuclear-armed Iran, rather than take military action to prevent it. Moreover, a surprising number of Turks, Saudis and Pakistanis actually favor Iran developing nuclear weapons, including an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis.
While Saudi Arabia and other governments in the region officially oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, two-thirds of Pakistanis, one third of Saudi Arabians and more than one-fifth of Turks actually support a nuclear-armed Iran from the outset, with large percentages in each country undecided. If all diplomatic means fail to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, however, a plurality of Saudis and Turks and more than two-thirds of Pakistanis favor the United States and other countries accepting a nuclear-armed Iran as the eventual outcome, rather than taking any military action to stop it.
In fact, fueling these views, the Terror Free Tomorrow surveys show a powerful singular perception behind Muslim public opinion: Two-thirds of those surveyed in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey (majorities in the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian Territories) believe that the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad reflect Western antagonism against Islam itself.
For the complete poll results and report, including methodology, click here (PDF).
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