Tiny Minority Not So Tiny
Thu, Apr 26, 2007 at 9:01:56 am PDT
That “tiny minority” of radicals has somehow become a “large majority” who support jihad, Al Qaeda, and terrorism, want to establish shari’a in every Islamic country, deny Al Qaeda’s responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, and believe the US wants to “undermine Islam.”
UPDATE at 4/26/07 9:12:10 am:
More details (and more attempts to spin this to minimize the threat) from al-Reuters: Muslims believe U.S. goal to weaken Islam: poll.
Attitudes toward Al Qaeda, we are told, are “complex.”
“Attitudes toward al Qaeda are complex. On average, only three in ten view Osama bin Laden positively. Many respondents express mixed feelings about bin Laden and his followers and many others decline to answer,” WorldPublicOpinion.org said.
More than half believed al Qaeda’s goals included achieving a strict application of Sharia law in every Islamic country, with more than 70 percent agreeing with that aim.
More than 50 percent believed the militant Islamist group was pushing the United States to remove its bases and military forces from all Islamic countries and 63 percent agreed with that goal.
But the poll found uncertainty about whether al Qaeda was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. Some 20 percent believed the U.S. government was behind the attacks.
“On average less than one in four believes al Qaeda was responsible for September 11th attacks. Pakistanis are the most skeptical — only 3 percent think al Qaeda did it,” said WorldPublicOpinion.org.
“There is no consensus about who is responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington; the most common answer is ‘don’t know’.”
UPDATE at 4/26/07 9:38:49 am:
Here’s the story at World Public Opinion:
Most significantly, large majorities approve of many of al Qaeda’s principal goals. Large majorities in all countries (average 70 percent or higher) support such goals as: “stand up to Americans and affirm the dignity of the Islamic people,” “push the US to remove its bases and its military forces from all Islamic countries,” and “pressure the United States to not favor Israel.”
Equally large majorities agree with goals that involve expanding the role of Islam in their society. On average, about three out of four agree with seeking to “require Islamic countries to impose a strict application of sharia,” and to “keep Western values out of Islamic countries.” Two-thirds would even like to “unify all Islamic counties into a single Islamic state or caliphate.”
UPDATE at 4/26/07 10:38:25 am:
Judith Klinghoffer looks at the survey in depth, and concludes it’s a dishonest “push poll:” Poll: US unpopular but winning War on Terror.
Frank says:
