New York – A new study conducted by the Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies revealed that 89 percent of the populations the Arab World hold “negative” or “very negative” views toward the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
The “2015 Arab Opinion Index”, the largest public opinion poll in the Arab World, interviewed 18,311 people from 12 Arab countries. The Survey’s results were published on December 21 during a press conference in Doha, Qatar.
Three percent of all respondents among the 12 countries surveyed held “very positive” views about ISIS and 4 percent were “positive to some extent”.
Jordanians have the worst opinion of ISIS with 96 percent saying their views are “very negative”. Tunisians come second with 94 percent holding “very negative” views. Nighty-three percent of Iraqis hold negative views of the terrorist organization. Lebanese and Saudi Arabians expressed “very negative” views with 91 and 89 percent, respectively.
According to the report, 68 percent of Moroccans hold “very negative” views, 15 percent regards as “negative to some extent”, while only 3 percent have “very positive” opinion of the terrorist organization.
The Arab country with the highest numbers of ISIS sympathizers is Mauritania, where 10 percent of respondents said they had “very positive” views, while 62 percent hold “very negative” view of the terror group.
Results of the poll showed no significant correlation between having a favorable view of ISIS and religiosity. Supportive views of ISIS were equal among respondents self-described as “very religious” and those “not religious”.
Conversely, support for extremist organizations in the Arab world is correlated to political conflicts within the Arab region and not to faith. There was a direct correlation between countries with deep-rooted political grievances and those who viewed the extremist group as positive.
The 12 countries surveyed in the “2015 Arab Opinion Index” were: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Together these countries represent 90 percent of the world’s Arab population, the study noted.
Negative views toward ISIS have increased since last year’s poll results in which 85 of Arabs stood against the terror group, compared to 89 per cent this year. The poll also surveyed the most pressing current issues in the Arab World, including the Iranian nuclear deal, radical extremism and the Syrian revolution.
In addition, respondents’ answers provided information on Arabs’ attitudes toward democracy, religion and state, and the implications of the Arab Spring.
