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“Why Do They Hate Us?” Opinions of the U.S. in the Islamic World

As part of its new speaker series entitled “Preventing the Rise of Future Terrorists,” CNP hosted an event with two of the country’s most well-renowned pollsters and experts on the Islamic world’s opinion of the United States, James Zogby of the Arab American Institute and Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.

The purpose of the forum was to discover more about how the Islamic world sees the United States, why they take these positions, and what policy options might address these positions—an issue of vital importance to America’s security and influence around the world. Amongst the most important recommendations of the 9/11 Commission was that the United States must “engage in the struggle of ideas” in order to prevent the continued growth of violent radicalism. Unfortunately, polls taken worldwide show that America is actually losing in the battle of ideas, and that our image across the globe continues to decline, to the detriment of our national security. The U.S. reputation is tarnished and battered in the Middle East and with key allies in NATO.

Zogby’s extensive polling of the Islamic world is instructive for American policymakers. There are also positive building blocks in the data. Most Arabs, his research shows, are positive about Americans and American culture and values, and share the same primary concerns of people in the United States such as education, healthcare, employment and personal security; this provides areas of common concern. His research also shows however, that negative attitudes towards America are hardening in many instances, due in no small part to events like those at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, and America’s perceived “unbalanced” involvement in the internal politics of many Middle East countries.

Mogahed likewise provided research on the psyche of the Muslim world from a groundbreaking Gallup World Poll of 142 countries, and many of the findings were similar to Zogby’s. For example, the Gallup poll also showed fermenting anti-Americanism in the Muslim world, yet deep respect and appreciation for our liberty, democracy, and freedom. The anti-American sentiment, then, stems much more from what America has done in many instances, rather than who Americans are. One of the most disturbing aspects of the polling was the number of so-called “cheerleaders” for radicalism. Though this group is only 7% of Muslims globally, this is 91 million people. However, the study found that their profile was surprisingly different from conventional wisdom. They were no more likely to be religious than the mainstream, and were even more likely to favor democracy as important for Muslim progress. What defined this group was not piety but politics. They were more likely to feel threatened and controlled by the U.S. and less likely to believe in its concern for better relations with Muslims. The United States must find a way to target these radicals without alienating the broader Muslim population. For more information: www.GallupMuslimStudies.com or www.MuslimWestFacts.com.