There are a ton of statistics reported here at The Daily Star and it is pretty eye-opening so I do suggest you read the whole article but I've excerpted below some of the findings:
The study also showed that 78 percent of Lebanese are "very" or "somewhat concerned" about the rise of fundamentalism within Lebanon. This overwhelming level of concern led all other countries polled.
Now, I don't get too excited about these numbers because most of the reporting here is from the Lebanese point of view and Lebanon has about every possible sect and off shoot of islam as any country. What I do find interesting is the lack of support for Osama bin Laden. Now granted, bin Laden has pretty much been a non-entity for several years now and at the same time, I think the al Qaeda in Iraq situation hurt his popularity. Not only has al Qaeda been humiliated in Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces, but the atrocities that al Qaeda committed on the Iraqi people has sent some shockwaves through the muslim world. Couple all of that with the bloody battles between the Lebanese government forces and the al Qaeda band up in the camps of northern Lebanon and al Qaeda's PR has been dealt a heavy blow in recent times.
But bottom line, I don't see any of this as a positive indicator that muslims across the globe are giving up on their war of terror. This report simply indicates to me a shift in some areas from a centralized admiration for al Qaeda to support of more "home grown" jihad factions. And the worrisome part of the whole survey is the result that islamists in Pakistan and Indonesia still are clinging to strong support of bin Laden and al Qaeda.
The number of Lebanese Muslims who believe suicide bombings against civilians in defense of Islam are justified has fallen 42 percent since 2002, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Despite the dramatic decline (from 74 percent in 2002 to 32 percent in 2008), support for the practice remains higher in Lebanon than in all other countries polled in the survey, except Nigeria which stood in a statistical tie with Lebanon.
A corresponding trend was noted in popular Muslim support for Al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden. According to the Pew survey, only 2 percent of Lebanese Muslims hold a positive view of bin Laden, down from 20 percent in 2003. This was the lowest favorability rating for the terrorist leader in all countries surveyed.
Support for bin Laden saw a similar decrease in Turkey - from 15 percent to 3 percent between 2003 and 2008. Jordan saw the largest decrease in popularity for the Qaeda chief, where positive views fell from 61 percent in 2005 to 19 percent today.
Nevertheless, Pakistani and Indonesian Muslims still showed solid support for bin Laden, with more than a third of all respondents in those countries expressing positive views.
The study also showed that 78 percent of Lebanese are "very" or "somewhat concerned" about the rise of fundamentalism within Lebanon. This overwhelming level of concern led all other countries polled.
Now, I don't get too excited about these numbers because most of the reporting here is from the Lebanese point of view and Lebanon has about every possible sect and off shoot of islam as any country. What I do find interesting is the lack of support for Osama bin Laden. Now granted, bin Laden has pretty much been a non-entity for several years now and at the same time, I think the al Qaeda in Iraq situation hurt his popularity. Not only has al Qaeda been humiliated in Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces, but the atrocities that al Qaeda committed on the Iraqi people has sent some shockwaves through the muslim world. Couple all of that with the bloody battles between the Lebanese government forces and the al Qaeda band up in the camps of northern Lebanon and al Qaeda's PR has been dealt a heavy blow in recent times.
But bottom line, I don't see any of this as a positive indicator that muslims across the globe are giving up on their war of terror. This report simply indicates to me a shift in some areas from a centralized admiration for al Qaeda to support of more "home grown" jihad factions. And the worrisome part of the whole survey is the result that islamists in Pakistan and Indonesia still are clinging to strong support of bin Laden and al Qaeda.
Lebanese Muslims turning backs on suicide bombings
BEIRUT: The number of Lebanese Muslims who believe suicide bombings against civilians in defense of Islam are justified has fallen 42 percent since 2002, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Despite the dramatic decline (from 74 percent in 2002 to 32 percent in 2008), support for the practice remains higher in Lebanon than in all other countries polled in the survey, except Nigeria which stood in a statistical tie with Lebanon.
Of the Lebanese Muslims polled, Shiite respondents were more than twice as likely as Sunnis to consider suicide bombing "often" or "sometimes" justified (46 percent to 21 percent, respectively).
The study surveyed respondents in Lebanon, Nigeria, Jordan, Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey.
Egypt was the only country in which support for suicide attacks underwent a significant positive change, increasing five percent. The national average, however, remained at a relatively low 13 percent.
A corresponding trend was noted in popular Muslim support for Al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden. According to the Pew survey, only 2 percent of Lebanese Muslims hold a positive view of bin Laden, down from 20 percent in 2003. This was the lowest favorability rating for the terrorist leader in all countries surveyed.
Support for bin Laden saw a similar decrease in Turkey - from 15 percent to 3 percent between 2003 and 2008. Jordan saw the largest decrease in popularity for the Qaeda chief, where positive views fell from 61 percent in 2005 to 19 percent today.
Nevertheless, Pakistani and Indonesian Muslims still showed solid support for bin Laden, with more than a third of all respondents in those countries expressing positive views.
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