Friday, July 15, 2005 - 12:00 AM
Drop seen in Muslim countries' support for terrorism
By Robin Wright
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden's standing has dropped significantly in some key Muslim countries, while support for suicide bombings and other acts of violence has "declined dramatically," according to a new survey released yesterday.
Yet solid majorities in five of the six Muslim countries surveyed — Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey — also now have unfavorable views of the United States. In the sixth, Morocco, views are divided. The governments in all six countries are allied with the United States and get U.S. aid.
In a striking finding, predominantly Muslim populations in a sampling of six North African, Middle East and Asian countries are also as alarmed as Western nations about Islamic extremism, which is now seen as a threat in their own nations, too, the poll found.
"Most Muslim publics are expressing less support for terrorism than in the past. Confidence in Osama bin Laden has declined markedly in some countries, and fewer believe suicide bombings that target civilians are justified in the defense of Islam," concluded the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
Compared with previous surveys, the new poll also found growing majorities or pluralities of Muslims surveyed now say democracy can work in their countries and is not just a political system for the West. Support for democracy was in the 80-percent range in Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco and at 43 percent in Pakistan and 48 percent in Turkey, where significant numbers were unsure.
"They are not just paying lip service. They are saying they specifically want a fair judiciary, freedom of expression and more than one party to participate in elections. It wasn't just a vague concept," said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center in Washington and director of the project. "U.S. and Western ideas about democracy have been globalized and are in the Muslim world."
At the same time, most Muslims surveyed believe Islam is playing an increasing role in politics, which they view as a positive shift in response to economic problems, growing immorality and concern about Western influence. Jordan was the only exception to the trend.
The survey results indicate that growing numbers of Muslims differentiate between the peaceful influence of Islamic values in politics and the use of religion to justify attacks. "The people who see Islam playing an important role in political life are the ones most worried about extremism," Kohut said.
Asked what was responsible for Muslim extremism, close to four out of 10 respondents in Lebanon and Jordan blamed the United States. Pakistanis and Moroccans cited poverty as the leading cause. Turks said a lack of education had the biggest effect. Indonesians said it was immorality.
The survey, conducted from April through mid-June and before the London bombings, polled more than 17,000 people in the six Muslim-dominated countries as well as 11 major Western and Asian nations, including the United States, on attitudes toward Islam, Muslim nations and extremist violence.
The nonpartisan project is co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pew project has measured attitudes in the Islamic world.
The survey found only 2 percent of people surveyed in Lebanon and 7 percent in Turkey expressed confidence that bin Laden would "do the right thing regarding world affairs," while confidence in the al-Qaida leader dropped from almost a half to about a quarter of those surveyed in Morocco and from 58 percent to 35 percent in Indonesia. Bin Laden's standing went up slightly in Pakistan to 51 percent and Jordan to 60 percent.
At least three factors have contributed to the notable shift in views about bin Laden and suicide bombings — incidents of terrorism in Muslim countries, an increase in positive feelings about events at home, and passage of time since the 2003 survey conducted after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, said Kohut.
The decline in support for suicide bombings was the biggest in Indonesia, which has witnessed deadly bombings in Jakarta and Bali.
Jordan was the only country where the majority of those surveyed — 57 percent — still support terrorist acts in defense of Islam, possibly because the majority Palestinian population is emotionally tied to the conflict with Israel, Kohut said.
One of the starkest findings was the divide in views on religions. Most of those surveyed in nine developed countries, including the United States, say they have favorable views of Muslims. But Muslims surveyed have mixed views of Christians, and anti-Jewish sentiment is "endemic," the survey reported.
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