A recent survey by the University of Michigan seems to contradict more than a few stereotypes: http://www.umich.edu/news/Releases/2003/Mar03/r031003b.html Cheers,
There is much inside this survey. The difficulty of doing such surveys in theis region remains, however, in the fact that honest questioning about sensitive subjects is prohibited in various nations. For instance, as hopeful as the story portion is, click inside, and look at a bargraph of favorability ratings of the US and France, (presumably conducted last summer, if the subsequent chart is indicative: oddly, no explicit date is given)--and one finds Jew-hating France leading, besting Germany, while the US is left in the dust. If these are proxies for other opinions, then the news is not good at all. A second bargraph of Jordanians on the trustworthiness of OBL versus Bush is similarly depressing. (But it's worth remembering: these countries have mostly state controlled media. Therefore, bias IS expected.) --Orson
Further thoughts: these results are likely spurious. It claims that Palestinians want peace with Israel and various Arab and Middle-Eastern peoples are pro-democracy. THINK of the smell tests: Palestinains in the streets in joy after the towers fell--the poll after poll after poll showing that 60 to 80% last want suicide terrorism against Israeli's to contiinue--or consider the public street demos after funerals of palestinian martyrs are buried, resulting in violent confrontations with IDF...Think of you rfavorites, like babies named "Osama." There are simply too many counterexamples indicative of the stereoptypes to accept these results. (Go further: IF democracy is so widely accepted as their ideal, where are the revolts and revolutions?) Here's what needs explaining: these Michigan folks are very reputable in their surveying and polling of the public--but in free societies, not oppressed mid-east ones where family, clan, tribe, and religion trump national identity and citizenship. What the press release does not explain is how they did--or did not--control for the obvious sources of bias in a state controlled societies (closer to communist ones than ours), where the motives to please questioners--who are probably obviously westerners--is deeply established. Their culture is, of course, not to offend hosts. Pleasing answers to questioners is The overweening entrenchment of attitudes to please anyone in authority is tough to get around. That was an issue with the prominant one with the poll about a year ago appearing in USA Today. It was touchy to circumvent there, and expensive. But this goes unexplained in the PR release. Perhaps the journal's published details will answer these suspicions, but I suspect bias from questioner cuing explains the outcome. --Orson