(Pew Research Center) Across predominantly Muslim nations, there is little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations Hamas and Hizbullah, although there are pockets of support for both groups. Reservations about Hamas are particularly common in the portion of the Palestinian territories it controls - just 37% in Gaza express a favorable opinion of Hamas, compared with 47% in the West Bank. While 61% of Palestinians and 51% of Jordanians have a favorable view of Hizbullah, only 43% agree in Egypt and 35% in Lebanon. In Lebanon, 97% of Shia Muslims express a positive opinion of Hizbullah, while only 18% of Christians and 2% of Sunni Muslims feel this way. Iranian President Ahmadinejad was generally unpopular among most of the Muslim publics surveyed, with his highest ratings in the Palestinian territories (45% confidence). 51% of Palestinians expressed confidence in al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
2010-02-08 08:01:43Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive