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Support For Hamas, Hezbollah Collapsing In Region
[IsraelTimes] Support for terrorist groups Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Hezbollah has slipped across the Middle East, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project.The survey was conducted in April and May 2014 (before the ISIL offensive in Iraq) among 14,244 respondents in 14 countries with significant Moslem populations. Hezbollah is seen unfavorably in almost every Middle Eastern country. It does not poll much better in Africa or Asia, Pew found. In its home country of Leb, 59 percent have an unfavorable view of the Shiite organization. Not surprisingly, 88% of Lebanese Sunni and 69% of its Christians disapprove of the party/terrorist group. Still, 86% of the country's Shia approve of Hezbollah. Citizens of majority-Sunni countries across the region largely disapproved of Hezbollah, including Egypt (83%), Jordan (81%), Turkey (85%), and Tunisia (53%). Negative opinions of the group have risen dramatically since 2007, the year after the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah. In 2007, only 41% of Egyptians and 44% of Jordanians disapproved of the organization. Since then, brutal sectarian fighting has broken out across the Middle East between Shiites and Sunnis. The violence has been especially bloody in Syria, where Hezbollah has openly sent thousands of fighters to support dictator Bashir al-Assad in his fight against Sunni rebels. Most Paleostinians (55%) see the group negatively. The Gazoo Strip (69%) is much more hostile to Hezbollah than the West Bank (46%). Israeli Arabs are actually less opposed to Hezbollah than Gazook Paleostinians, with only 65% disapproving of the organization. Hamas's favorability ratings are only marginally better. In Turkey, whose government supported the Mavi Marmara ship which tried to reach the Hamas-run Gazoo Strip, 80% disapprove of the group. Egypt (61%), Jordan (61%), and Leb (65%) all are heavily anti-Hamas. Somewhat paradoxically, 55% of Leb's Shia have a favorable view of the Sunni group. The group doesn't do any better among the Paleostinians for whom it purports to fight — but, paradoxically, Hamas is far more unpopular in the Gazoo Strip (63%) it dominates than in the Paleostinian Authority-run West Bank (47%). Its support has dropped among Paleostinians since it forcibly took over the Gazoo Strip. In 2007, Hamas enjoyed a 62% favorable rating, which fell to only 35% in 2014. Negative opinions of Hamas have grown 12% in Tunisia over the past year, and 8% in Egypt. Of all the countries surveyed, Paleostinians were the most likely to support suicide kabooms against civilian targets "in order to defend Islam from its enemies." Sixty-two percent of Gazooks said it was often or sometimes justifiable, while 36% of West Bank residents said the same. Bangladeshi Moslems were also somewhat supportive of suicide kabooms. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, right, is greeted by Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet... in Ankara, Turkey, March 16, 2012 (photo credit: AP/Yasin Bulbul) The Pew survey found that support for suicide kabooms has fallen sharply since 2001. Support for al-Qaeda is low across the Middle East, with Israel (97%) and Leb (96%) showing the highest levels of disapproval. The Paleostinians are the most supportive of al-Qaeda among all groups surveyed, with 25% seeing the organization in a favorable light. The study also found that concern about Islamic extremism is high across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The levels of concern are on the rise. Posted by: trailing wife 2014-07-02 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=394633 |