America's Image Remains Dim in Muslim World, Poll

Poll: American image remains dim in Muslim world

www.chinaview.cn 2008-06-15 20:37:19

AMMAN, June 15 (Xinhua) --

The image of the United States remains overwhelmingly negative in most of the predominantly Muslim countries surveyed, a latest global poll.

According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, in Jordan, one of the key regional allies of the United States, 79 percent respondents have a negative light of the world power, registering the highest unfavorable rate among the surveyed Muslim nations. Only 19 percent hold positive views.

The survey was conducted among more than 24,000 people in 24 countries between March 17 and April 21.

In Egypt, another key ally of the United States in the Middle East, 22 percent of respondents expressed a favorable view of America, while 39 percent saw the United States as an "enemy" and 19 percent as a "partner."

Turkey, also a main ally of the United States in this region, had 12 percent of respondents expressing a favorable view of the United States, the lowest positive rate in the entire survey, with70 percent seeing America as "an enemy."

Lebanon was the only Arab country polled where a majority of 51percent held a favorable opinion of the United States, although this sentiment was divided along sectarian lines as no Shi'i respondents expressed a favorable view of the United States.

However, another major trend highlighted by the poll was that most countries held the American people in a more favorable view than the US government.

In Jordan, there was a gap of 17 percentage points, with 36 percent of Jordanians expressing a favorable view of the American people, compared to 19 percent of the US government.

The largest gap of favor ability ratings was found in Lebanon, where 74 percent had a favorable view of Americans, compared to 51percent of the US government.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project, part of the Washington-based "fact tank" Pew Research Center, is a series of worldwide public opinion surveys ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world.

Editor: Amber Yao

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.