The majority of residents of Muslim countries have an unfavorable opinion of the United States because they believe it is ruthless and arrogant, according to a new opinion poll reported by CNN on Tuesday.
The survey, conducted by Gallup in December and January, includes the viewpoints of 9,924 residents of Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Fifty-three per cent of those questioned had unfavorable opinions of the US, while 22 per cent had favorable opinions.
Most respondents stated they thought the US was aggressive and biased against Islamic values, citing specifically what they termed as a bias against Palestinians.
Interestingly, Lebanon residents had the most favorable opinion of the United States, at 41 per cent, followed by Turkey where the US approval rating stood at 40 per cent, the report said.
Pakistan yielded the most anti-American results, with only five per cent saying they liked the United States.
Twenty-eight per cent of Kuwaitis, 27 per cent of Indonesians, 22 per cent of Jordanians, 22 per cent of Moroccans, 16 per cent of Saudi Arabians and 14 per cent of Iranians surveyed said they had a favorable view of the US.
Fifty-eight per cent of those surveyed had unfavorable opinions of US President George W Bush, compared with 11 percent who thought favorably of the American leader.
Despite news reports that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudis, only 18 percent of those polled said they believed that Arabs carried out the attacks, the Gallup poll indicated. (Albawaba.com)
