2005 Arab Attitudes toward US: Good News and Bad News
By James Zogby
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Monday 07 November 2005
Arab attitudes toward the United States have somewhat
improved in the past year. Having plummeted to a dangerous low
point in mid-2004, favorable ratings of the US are now back to
their still low, but better, 2002 level.
This was one finding from a six nation poll conducted
during October of 2005. The Zogby International (ZI) poll was
commissioned by the Arab American Institute (AAI). The AAI/ZI
poll surveyed over 3,600 Arabs in Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Jordan.
What the AAI/ZI study shows is that about one third of
Moroccans, Jordanians, Lebanese, and Arabs in the United Arab
Emirates now have favorable attitudes of America. Only in Saudi
Arabia and Egypt do positive attitudes remain in the low range
(Saudi Arabia 9% and Egypt 14%). But in all six countries
surveyed, favorable ratings are up from 2004 and at the levels
they were in 2002.
|
Table 1 |
|
Attitudes toward America, 2005 |
| |
Egypt |
|
Saudi Arabia |
|
Morocco |
| |
2005 |
2004 |
2002 |
2005 |
2004 |
2002 |
2005 |
2004 |
2002 |
|
Favorable |
14 |
n/a |
15 |
9 |
4 |
12 |
34 |
11 |
38 |
|
Unfavorable |
85 |
n/a |
76 |
89 |
94 |
89 |
64 |
88 |
61 |
| |
|
| |
Jordan |
|
United Arab Emirates |
|
Lebanon |
| |
2005 |
2004 |
2002 |
2005 |
2004 |
2002 |
2005 |
2004 |
2002 |
|
Favorable |
33 |
15 |
34 |
28 |
14 |
11 |
32 |
20 |
26 |
|
Unfavorable |
63 |
78 |
61 |
69 |
73 |
87 |
66 |
69 |
90 |
That’s the good news. There’s bad news as well. When the
ratings given to the US are compared with those given to the
other three countries covered in the poll (China, Russia, and
India), the US comes in last place, with China scoring
significantly higher in most of the six Arab countries surveyed.
|
Table 2 |
|
Attitudes toward China, India, Russia, 2005
(favorable/unfavorable) |
| |
Egypt |
Saudi Arabia |
Morocco |
Jordan |
United Arab Emirates |
Lebanon |
|
China |
70/15 |
40/41 |
52/38 |
68/26 |
36/44 |
46/25 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
India |
50/19 |
39/43 |
39/47 |
55/39 |
40/44 |
38/30 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Russia |
28/41 |
21/62 |
30/55 |
55/35 |
30/47 |
45/33 |
Additionally, it appears that the favorable attitudes
toward the US are quite soft, while negative attitudes appear to
have hardened. In response to a separate question, those with
negative attitudes toward the US report that those attitudes
actually worsened in the past year. On the other hand, in
response to this same question, most of those who now report
having a favorable view of the US do not indicate feeling better
about the US during the past year.
As in earlier polls, it is clear that it is American
policy in the region which drives the negative attitude. When
respondents were asked to identify the issues that most shaped
their attitudes towards the US, major factors they identified
are the war in Iraq (the number one issue in all six countries)
and American treatment of Arab and Muslims (the number two
concern in all six countries).
|
Table 3 |
|
Most Important Factor in Determining Attitudes
toward America |
| |
Egypt |
Saudi Arabia |
Morocco |
Jordan |
United Arab Emirates |
Lebanon |
|
Iraq |
57 |
49 |
45 |
48 |
33 |
34 |
|
Democracy |
4 |
9 |
2 |
6 |
12 |
16 |
|
Arab-Israeli Conflict |
8 |
8 |
8 |
13 |
12 |
19 |
|
US Treatment of Arabs and Muslims |
28 |
32 |
40 |
28 |
32 |
22 |
| |
|
Lebanon Breakdown by Religion, 2005 |
| |
Muslim |
Christian |
|
Democracy |
9 |
30 |
|
US Treatment of Arabs and Muslims |
30 |
8 |
On the other hand, the Bush Administration’s advocacy of
democracy, the cornerstone of their policy toward the Middle
East, appears to have resonated only among Christian Lebanese,
who are the only sub-group to give the US an overall positive
rating (57% favorable-39% unfavorable). Lebanese Muslims, both
Sunni and Shi'a combined, give the US a strong negative rating
of 14% favorable versus 80% unfavorable. In Egypt and Saudi
Arabia, two countries which have been targeted for attention by
US democracy initiatives, this advocacy won little support. In
Egypt, for example, only 4% indicated that the “Bush
Administration’s promotion of democracy determined their
attitudes toward the US,” with most of them reporting that this
effort soured their attitude toward the US. In Saudi Arabia, of
the 9% who were impacted by the Administration’s advocacy for
democratic reform, only one-third of this group said they
reacted positively to this US effort. In other words, most
Egyptians and Saudis appear to have reacted negatively to what
they appear to perceive as improper meddling in their internal
affairs. This result echoes another finding from our 2004 poll
which shows that most Arabs did not want US involvement in their
domestic politics.
The clear and sizable lesson emerging from this 2005
AAI/ZI Arab survey is that attitudes toward the US, though
better, remain troubled and shaped by US policies that
negatively impact the region. The promotion of democracy and
reform, while appealing to some small groups, continue to be
trumped by the war in Iraq and the more general perceptions of
America’s poor treatment of Arabs and Muslims.
Dr. James Zogby is the
President of the
Arab American Institute.