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Poll: Palestinian Support for Suicide Attacks Highest in Arab World

(Pew Global Attitudes) A new survey finds that in key Arab nations and other predominantly Muslim countries, views of the U.S. remain negative, as they have been for nearly a decade. In Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan, views are even more negative than they were one year ago. In Jordan, Lebanon and Pakistan, most say their own governments cooperate too much with the U.S. In Lebanon, while nearly nine-in-ten Shia offer a positive view of Hizbullah, nine-in-ten Sunnis and three-quarters of Christians rate Hizbullah negatively. Recent surveys have documented a decline in support for suicide bombing and the percentage of Muslims who say this type of violence is often or sometimes justifiable stands at 10% or less in Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan, with steep declines over the last decade in Lebanon and Jordan. Palestinian Muslims, however, remain an outlier on this question: 68% say suicide attacks in defense of Islam can often or sometimes be justified, a level of support essentially unchanged from 2007. And in Egypt, support for suicide bombing is actually on the rise - 28% believe it can be justified, up from 8% in 2007.
2011-05-19 00:00:00
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