A new poll of citizens in Saudi Arabia reveals that they reject the international acts of terror claimed by Osama bin Laden as not being consistent with the values of the Saudi people, nor with the values of Islam.
| Sounds like a whole-cloth propaganda piece to me... |
The survey of 600 Saudi citizens was commissioned by the Arab American Institute of Washington, DC, as part of an on-going study of Saudi attitudes. The survey was conducted by in-person interviews in the principal areas of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Damman. Saudis are nearly unanimous (95 percent) in their belief that Osama’s claimed actions are not consistent with their values, and 88 percent say the actions are not consistent with the values of Islam. More than nine in ten feel the actions have harmed both the Kingdom and the people of Saudi Arabia. Nearly all (99 percent) agree that the May 12, 2003 terrorist attacks on the expatriate compound in Riyadh are not consistent with the values of Saudis or with the values of Islam, and 93 percent agree that the attacks have harmed the Kingdom and its people.
| The numbers are out of line. For believable propaganda, you've got to have a healthy majority but not unanimity, and you've got to be able to plot your trend even if it's phony. 99 percent is way too high. If you ask a representative sample of Americans if 9-11 represented a sneak attack by bloodthirsty Islamists on our country, 80 percent will say yes, 10 percent will say no, it was something else, and 10 percent will ask if today's Thursday. |
More than eight in ten say Osama does not speak for them or their family. They are unanimous (100 percent) in their belief in respect for human life, and more than nine in 10 say innocent citizens did not deserve to die in the World Trade Centre attack.
| Nope. Doesn't jibe with what we've seen before. Gotta tone it down. Gotta be more subtle, showing improvement over the past glee at the attacks on the WTC, but nothing close to 90 percent yet. Save that for a year or two from now... |
More than nine in 10 say the people of Saudi Arabia have no quarrel with the people of the US, yet their overall impression of the American people is 70 percent unfavourable, 24 percent favourable. Last year, the sentiment was 51 percent unfavourable and 43 percent favourable. |