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Americans View Afghans Favorably, but Not Taliban Government

Americans View Afghans Favorably, but Not Taliban Government

Express generally positive views of people of Islamic faith and Arabs

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The Bush administration has repeatedly stressed that the military campaign under way in Afghanistan is being waged against terrorists and those who harbor terrorists, not against the Afghan people themselves or against those of the Islamic faith. The latest Gallup poll suggests that the American people are following this line of thought, and are making clear distinctions among the key groups involved in the ongoing campaign against terrorism. A majority of Americans hold favorable opinions of Arabs, the people of Afghanistan, and people of Islamic faith, while at the same time, the vast majority of the American public views the ruling Taliban government in Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden negatively.

The poll, conducted October 11-14, finds 52% of Americans with a favorable view of the people of Afghanistan, although only 9% say they are "very favorable." Almost two-thirds of Americans also say they have a favorable opinion of people of Islamic faith. These opinions stand in stark contrast to how Americans view the ruling Taliban government in Afghanistan -- only 3% have a favorable opinion and 93% have an unfavorable opinion, including 73% who say they are "very unfavorable" toward the current ruling body in Afghanistan. The public also has extremely negative views of Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network. Ninety-seven percent have an unfavorable view of bin Laden, including 83% whose opinion is very unfavorable.

Opinion of the People of Afghanistan
Oct. 11-14, 2001
Opinion of the Ruling Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Oct. 11-14, 2001

More Americans Have Favorable View of Arabs Today

The poll also shows more Americans hold positive views of Arabs today than did so the last time Gallup asked about them -- in a poll conducted shortly after the initial World Trade Center bombing in February 1993. The current poll shows 54% of Americans with a favorable opinion of Arabs, 37% with an unfavorable view, and 9% with no opinion. The earlier poll, conducted in March 1993, showed 39% of Americans rating Arabs favorably, 32% unfavorably, and 29% not expressing an opinion. In the time between the two polls, the percentage of Americans without an opinion of Arabs dropped 20 percentage points, while favorable ratings of Arabs increased 15 points and unfavorable ratings increased 5 points.

Opinion of Arabs: 1993
Oct. 11-14, 2001
Opinion of Arabs: 2001
Oct. 11-14, 2001

Americans with college education are more likely than are Americans who did not attend college to say they have positive views of Arabs (62% vs. 44%). In fact, among those who did not attend college, equal proportions have favorable (44%) or unfavorable (44%) opinions of Arabs.

Survey Methods

The results reported here are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,011 adults, 18 years and older, conducted October 11-14, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Please tell me if you have a very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of each of the following. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

A. Arabs

 

 

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Mostly unfavorable

Very unfavorable

No
opinion

           

2001 Oct 11-14

9%

45

25

12

9

           

1993 Mar 12-14

7%

32

20

12

29



B. The people of the Islamic faith

 

 

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Mostly unfavorable

Very unfavorable

No
opinion

           

2001 Oct 11-14

15%

51

16

11

7



C. The people of Afghanistan

 

 

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Mostly unfavorable

Very unfavorable

No
opinion

           

2001 Oct 11-14

9%

43

26

14

8



D. Osama bin Laden[Oh-SOM-ah Bin LAH-den]

 

 

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Mostly unfavorable

Very unfavorable

No
opinion

           

2001 Oct 11-14

1%

*

14

83

2



E. The ruling Taliban government in Afghanistan

 

 

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Mostly unfavorable

Very unfavorable

No
opinion

           

2001 Oct 11-14

2%

1

20

73

4



F. British Prime Minister Tony Blair

 

 

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Mostly unfavorable

Very unfavorable

No
opinion

           

2001 Oct 11-14

49%

33

4

3

11

           

* Less than 0.5%



FAVORABILITY SUMMARY TABLE

 

2001 Oct 11-14
(sorted by "very favorable")

Very favorable

Mostly favorable

Total favorable

Total unfavorable

%

%

%

%

British Prime Minister Tony Blair

49

33

82

7

The people of the Islamic faith

15

51

66

27

Arabs

9

45

54

37

The people of Afghanistan

9

43

52

40

The ruling Taliban in Afghanistan

2

1

3

93

Osama bin Laden

1

*

1

97

* Less than 0.5%




Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/4999/Americans-View-Afghans-Favorably-Taliban-Government.aspx
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