The Gallup polling organization, the largest surveyor of public opinion in the world, has just unveiled a new unprecedented comprehensive poll of people in the Muslim world to take a measure of their attitudes. 50 thousand people who call themselves Muslims in 40 countries were questioned over a 6 year period.
The result is a book called, “Who Speaks for Islam” and a lot of statistics that boil down to a remarkable result. Most Muslims have common views with Westerners about government, free speech, Democracy, religion and morality and all the talk of an ideological conflict is just unsubstantiated speculation because the statistics show Muslims, like Westerners really just want good jobs and security in their lives and for their families.
The extensive public opinion poll did find that most Muslims think the governments of the United States and Europe have policies that are anti-Muslim, but those asked distinguished that from the people of Western societies who they said are not in particular against Muslims although the poll found that most Muslims believe the negative attitudes of Westerners to Muslims and Islam is the main cause of friction and will eventually radicalize more Muslims to become militants.
Surprisingly, the survey found that in Iran for example, the general attitudes about government and religion are the same as in the United States. Most Muslims, like most Westerners say that attacks against civilians is morally wrong. Most Muslims however criticized the West for what they called its moral decay and abandonment of traditional values.
But overall, Muslims and Westerners see eye to eye on most everything having to do with how government should be run, that people should have Democracy, but not necessarily American style Democracy, and that all people should have the right to live in peace and liberty...with religion playing a large role, but a secular state administering the government.
At the Washington news conference where the first of its kind survey was released, hardly any media showed up to report it...and missed the message of the poll, that there really is no war going on between most Muslims and Westerners, that 9 out of 10 times, when asked, Muslims agree with the same standards and ideals most Westerners hold dear, and that for the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, America and what it stands for, at least before George W Bush, is an admirable thing.
So then, have the last 6 years since September 11th really poisoned the relations between the Muslim World and the West. The poll found that the West's reaction to 9-11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the general foreign policy postures of the U-S, Britain, France and the other great Western powers have alienated many Muslims, but that Muslim populations understand that America, the country, is a wonderful place to send children to get educated and a wonderful place to live, except under the current US and British administrations.
Most Muslims do not, says the survey results, sympathize with Al Qaeda and other militants who use violence to achieve political goals, but admitted that the anger in the Muslim World over the perceived West's aggressive and expansionistic foreign policies in the Middle East is driving many young Muslims into the arms of the radicals.
The authors of the survey, the Gallup Organization, say the results show the West needs to do a lot more to bridge the gap in understanding between the two major cultures of Muslim and West, but that when it comes to organizing society, Muslims, like Westerners desire personal freedom, a somewhat limited role for government, a large role for religion but not religious figures actually running the government, and more respect for morality and so called traditional standards.
It is this commonality that surprised the researchers, that the gulf between the Muslim World and the populations of the Western countries is not nearly as large as some would have us believe, most of them politicians, and that based on the findings, policy makers in the West should adjust their approach to, as they constantly proclaim they must do, win the hearts and minds of a billion Muslims.
It is heartening to see, finally in hard data, 50 thousand people interrogated, a representative sampling of most Muslims that the so called ideological struggle of the 21st century, as portrayed by Western politicians, is not in fact true. US and European politicians continually tell their people that they must reach out to Muslims, inside their own countries and in predominantly Muslim countries to win their friendship.
The survey finds that people to people, the friendly feelings are still there despite the post September 11th policies of western governments.
The media pretty much ignored the new poll, and sad to say, probably so too will those who lead the policies that Muslims say are the primary cause of friction. But the Gallup Polling organization has with its research shown the way to a more peaceful safer world.
The question is, is anybody listening?
