WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON -- With the war in Iraq a fresh memory, majorities of citizens in seven of eight Islamic countries surveyed in a new poll -- including longtime U.S. military ally Turkey -- said they fear a U.S. military attack.
The war has deepened hostility among Muslims toward the United States, damaged the image of the United Nations as a peacemaker, and convinced many Europeans that they need greater independence from the United States, according to the poll, part of the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
According to the poll, 74% of Indonesians, 72% of Nigerians and 72% of Pakistanis were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about a perceived military threat from the United States. In Turkey, 71% had similar fears, as did 53% of Kuwaitis, whose government has also had a close relationship with the United States.
Additionally, 58% of Lebanese and 56% of Jordanians were found to have such fears. The only Islamic country in the poll lacking a majority who shared that opinion was Morocco, where the figure was 46%.
The survey, overseen by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, was conducted April 28 to May 15, and involved 16,000 interviews in 20 countries and parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
It also indicated that, as the United States is pushing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, there is a widespread view -- even among Israelis -- that the United States favors Israel too much. Of the 21 regions surveyed, pluralities or majorities in all but the United States believed that U.S. policy favored Israel too much.
Among Israelis, 47% believe that the United States favors Israel too much, while 38% say the policy is fair and 11% think the United States favors Palestinians too much.
Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, said the 47% figure reflects the existence of a large peace movement in Israel, and that 19% of Israelis are Arab.
Kohut said the poll shows the challenge the administration faces in trying to win Islamic support for the U.S.-led rebuilding of Iraq and U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians. The results also show the difficulty, he said, of trying to convince the public in Islamic nations that the U.S. "war on terrorism" isn't a war on Islam.
"It's going to be a real challenge to turn Muslim opinion around," Kohut said.
