Across predominantly Muslim nations, there is little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, although there are pockets of support for both groups, especially in the Middle East.

Four years after its victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas receives relatively positive ratings in Jordan (56% favorable) and Egypt (52%). However, Palestinians are more likely to give the group a negative (52%) than a positive (44%) rating. And reservations about Hamas are particularly common in the portion of the Palestinian territories it controls — just 37% in Gaza express a favorable opinion, compared with 47% in the West Bank.

A survey conducted May 18 to June 16, 2009 by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project also finds limited support for the Lebanese Shia organization Hezbollah.¹ While most Palestinians (61%) and about half of Jordanians (51%) have a favorable view of Hezbollah, elsewhere opinions are less positive, including Egypt (43%) and Lebanon (35%). As with many issues in Lebanon, views of Hezbollah are sharply divided along religious lines: nearly all of the country’s Shia Muslims (97%) express a positive opinion of the organization, while only 18% of Christians and 2% of Sunni Muslims feel this way.

Meanwhile, Turks overwhelmingly reject both groups — just 5% give Hamas a positive rating and only 3% say this about Hezbollah. There is also little support among Israel’s Arab population for either Hamas (21% favorable) or Hezbollah (27%). Outside of the Middle East, many in Pakistan, Indonesia, and Nigeria are unable to offer an opinion about these groups.

Lukewarm support for extremist groups among Muslim publics is consistent with other Pew Global Attitudes findings in recent years, which have shown declining public support for extremism and suicide bombing among most Muslim populations. The same surveys have also found decreasing confidence in Osama bin Laden. In addition, a 2009 Pew Global Attitudes survey in Pakistan — a country currently plagued by extremist violence — found growing opposition to both al Qaeda and the Taliban.²

Little Enthusiasm for Most Muslim Leaders

There is limited enthusiasm for most of the Muslim political figures tested on the survey, with the exception of Saudi King Abdullah, who is easily the most popular. In Jordan (92%) and Egypt (83%) for example, large majorities say they have confidence that King Abdullah will do the right thing in world affairs. The king receives quite positive ratings outside the Middle East as well, especially in the largely Muslim Asian nations Pakistan (64%) and Indonesia (61%). However, the Saudi monarch does not receive high marks everywhere — only 8% of Turks voice confidence in him. And overall his ratings are less positive than they were in 2007.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah receives less positive reviews. Only 37% of Lebanese overall express confidence in Nasrallah; however, the country’s Shia community shows almost unanimous confidence in him (97%). He also receives relative high marks in the Palestinian territories, and especially in the West Bank, where 71% say they think he will do the right thing in international affairs.

Confidence in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has declined since 2007, especially in the neighboring countries of Egypt (67% confidence in 2007; 33% in 2009) and Jordan (53% in 2007; 33% in 2009). His ratings have dropped slightly among Palestinians overall (from 56% in 2007 to 52% in 2009); however, they have declined markedly among Gazans, falling from 69% to 51%.

Even before their disputed elections last year, both Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were generally unpopular among most of the Muslim publics surveyed. Ahmadinejad’s highest ratings are in the Palestinian territories (45% confidence) and Indonesia (43%), although even among these publics fewer than half express a positive view of his leadership. There is no country in which even 40% express confidence in Karzai, and in Pakistan (10%), Turkey (7%) and Lebanon (7%) one-in-ten or fewer hold this view.

As mentioned previously, ratings for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have generally declined in recent years, and he receives little support among most Muslim publics. However, about half (51%) of Palestinians express confidence in him and in Nigeria, 54%-majority of the country’s Muslim population say they are confident in bin Laden’s leadership. In Pakistan, where many believe bin Laden is now hiding, only 18% express confidence in him, although 35% do not offer an opinion. Very few Turks (3%) or Lebanese (2%) express support for the terrorist leader.

Across most of the 25 nations included in the spring 2009 Pew Global Attitudes survey, U.S. President Barack Obama received positive reviews, although this was less true in predominantly Muslim countries. Even so, his ratings were consistently higher than those of his predecessor, George W. Bush, and in some cases higher than for the Muslim leaders included on the survey. For example, only 33% in Turkey have confidence in Obama, but this is still more support than Abbas, Nasrallah, Abdullah, Ahmadinejad, or Karzai receive. And the American president is quite popular among some largely Muslim publics, especially in Indonesia, where he spent several years as a child: 71% of Indonesians voice confidence in him. Obama is also popular among Nigerian Muslims (81%), Israeli Arabs (69%), and Lebanese Sunnis (65%).

Sunni-Shia Conflict

There is a widespread perception among Muslims that conflict between Sunnis and Shia is not limited to Iraq’s borders. In nine nations, Muslim respondents were asked whether the tensions between Sunnis and Shia are limited to Iraq or are a growing problem in the Muslim world more generally, and in seven of those nations, a majority of Muslims say it is a broader problem.

This is a rare point of agreement among Muslims in Lebanon, a country that has experienced considerable sectarian conflict for decades. Overall, 95% of Lebanese Muslims Sunni-Shia tensions are a broad problem in the Muslim world, including 99% of Sunnis and 91% of Shia.

Most Pakistani, Egyptian, Jordanian and Nigerian Muslims also see a general problem that is not limited to Iraq. Israel’s Muslim minority community is roughly divided on this question — 42% say it is a more general problem, while 38% feel it is limited to Iraq. Indonesia is the outlier on this question — 25% of Indonesian Muslims say Sunni-Shia tensions are a general problem, while almost half (47%) think it is essentially a problem for Iraq (28% offer no opinion).

Lebanon’s Growing Divide

On several measures, the already large divides between Sunni and Shia in Lebanon are growing even wider. For instance, in 2007 94% of Sunnis and 57% of Shia expressed confidence in Saudi King Abdullah; in 2009, 94% of Sunnis and only 8% of Shia hold this view. A similar example is evident in attitudes toward Hamas. Although it is a predominantly Sunni organization, Hamas has grown from generally popular among Lebanese Shia in 2008 (64% favorable) to almost universally popular in 2009 (91%), while Sunni support for the group has gone from low (9%) to almost nonexistent (1%).

Notably, views of the U.S. have grown more polarized, as the result of a shift of opinion among Lebanese Sunni. Positive attitudes among Sunnis have grown from 62%
in 2008 to 90% in 2009. However, only 2% of Shia Muslims currently express a positive opinion of the U.S., barely an improvement from last year’s 0%.

Also of Note:

• Many Muslims are convinced that there is a struggle in their country between groups who want to modernize the nation and Islamic fundamentalists. More are convinced of the existence of such a struggle in Lebanon (55%), Turkey (54%) and the Palestinian territories (53%) than elsewhere.
• Muslim publics overwhelmingly support educating girls and boys equally. More than eight-in-ten in Lebanon (96%), Israel (93%), Indonesia (93%), Turkey (89%), Pakistan (87%) and the Palestinian territories (85%) say that it is equally important to educate girls and boys.
• In Arab nations, attitudes toward Jews remain extremely negative. More than 90% of Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese and Palestinians express unfavorable views toward Jews. Only 35% of Israeli Arabs, however, express a negative opinion.

In addition, among the largely Muslim publics surveyed, concern about Sunni-Shia tensions and the struggle between modernizers and fundamentalists is widespread. Most who see a struggle between a more modern and fundamentalist approach side with the modernizers. Also, support for equal education for boys and girls is common.

The Israeli-Palestinian divide is strong and consistent, but so too is the intra-Palestinian divide: those living in the Gaza Strip are less inclined to embrace Hamas and Hezbollah, and are more inclined to believe there is a struggle between modernizers and fundamentalists taking place in their country.

Mixed Views of Hamas

A majority in only two countries – Jordan (56%) and Egypt (52%) – holds a favorable opinion of the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government as well as by Canada, the European Union, Japan, Israel and Australia. Views of Hamas are negative or mixed elsewhere in the Muslim world.

In the Palestinian territories, opinions of Hamas are on balance negative. About half (52%) of Palestinians express a critical view of Hamas. However, those living in the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip are more likely to reject Hamas than their compatriots in the West Bank. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) Gazans hold an unfavorable view of Hamas, compared with 50% on the West Bank.

In Lebanon, more than two-thirds (68%) have a negative view, though opinions of the country’s two main Muslim communities are polarized. Although Hamas is a predominantly Sunni organization, it is embraced by an overwhelming majority (91%) of Lebanese Shia and rejected by an equally large percentage (97%) of Lebanese Sunnis. It is equally unpopular among Lebanese Christians (88% unfavorable).

Opinions of Hamas among Turks and Israelis are decidedly negative. Roughly two-thirds (69%) of Turks hold an unfavorable opinion of Hamas, while 26% do not offer an opinion and only 5% have a positive view. Israeli opinion is more unequivocal in its rejection of Hamas. Overall 94% of Israelis hold an unfavorable view including more than half (58%) of Israeli Arabs.³

Hamas is less well-known outside of the Middle East. Roughly six-in-ten in Pakistan (62%), four-in-ten in Indonesia (40%), and 28% of Nigerians do not offer an opinion about this Palestinian group. Of those who offer an opinion in Indonesia, views are evenly divided; 31% express a favorable opinion of Hamas, while 28% voice a negative view. Pakistanis who voice an opinion more often tend to express a negative (24%) than a positive (14%) view of Hamas. Nigerian views are divided along religious lines: A majority of Nigerian Muslims (58%) hold a positive opinion of Hamas, while 53% of Nigerian Christians hold an unfavorable view.

Views of Hamas have remained unchanged since 2008 in four (Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey) of the
seven countries for which there is a trend. Elsewhere, positive views of Hamas have increased. More Egyptians hold a positive view of Hamas in 2009 (52%) than the previous year (42%). Similarly, in Indonesia, 31% currently express a favorable rating of Hamas, while 23% did so the previous year.

In Lebanon, positive views have increased slightly overall; 25% of Lebanese held a favorable view of Hamas in 2008, while 30% currently do. However, the divide between Sunni and Shia has widened: Lebanese Sunnis are somewhat less likely now to hold favorable views of Hamas while Lebanese Shia are far more likely to express positive opinions than they were the previous year.

By contrast, since 2007 positive views of Hamas have decreased substantially in the Palestinian territories, particularly among those in the West Bank. Fewer Palestinians overall have a favorable view of Hamas in 2009 (44%) than did in 2007 (62%). Similarly, support for Hamas was quite pervasive in the West Bank in spring 2007 (70% favorable) but is now less common (47% favorable). Support remains still lower in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas now holds control, having declined from 45% in 2007 to 37% in 2009.

In Jordan, women (40%), those with at least some post-secondary education (45%) and those who are financially better off (43%) are more likely to hold unfavorable views of Hamas than men (32%), those with
a high-school education or less (34%) and the poor (27%).⁴

Mixed Views of Hezbollah

Just as with views of Hamas, Muslim-majority publics hold views of Hezbollah that are, on balance, more negative or mixed than positive.

Overall, most Lebanese take a dim view of Hezbollah, the Islamic Shia political and military organization based in Lebanon that is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. A solid majority (64%) of Lebanese say they have an unfavorable view of this organization. As in the past, Lebanese opinions are deeply divided along religious lines. Almost unanimously (97%), the country’s Shia community holds a favorable view of Hezbollah. By contrast, just as many among Lebanon’s Sunni community hold the opposite opinion (98%
unfavorable). Similarly, Lebanese Christians largely hold negative views of Hezbollah (80% unfavorable).

In Nigeria, views of Hezbollah are equally as divided along religious lines. Overall, Nigerians are split among holding positive views (35%), negative views (36%) and no opinion (29%) about Hezbollah. However, Nigerian Muslims and Christians hold opposing views. A majority (59%) of Nigerian Muslims hold favorable views of Hezbollah. By contrast, half of Nigerian Christians express negative views of this Islamic organization. Many among both groups do not offer an opinion (Muslims 20%, Christians 38%).

Israeli and Turkish public opinion is unified in its dislike of Hezbollah. Overall, more than nine-in-ten (92%) in Israel have an unfavorable view of the organization, including half of Israeli Arabs. Similarly, nearly three-quarters (73%) of Turks hold a negative view of Hezbollah.

In three of the Muslim-majority publics surveyed, positive views of Hezbollah are more common. Just over six-in-ten (61%) in the Palestinian territories embrace Hezbollah; as in the case of Hamas, far more in the West Bank (69%) than in the Gaza Strip (44%) hold such views. Consistent with past findings, a slim majority (51%) of Jordanians express a positive opinion of Hezbollah. More than four-in-ten (43%) in Egypt also offer a favorable view, although 57% express an unfavorable view.

Indonesians are equally likely to embrace (27% favorable) as reject (30% unfavorable) Hezbollah, though, as in the other predominantly Muslim countries surveyed in Asia and Africa, a substantial percentage (43%) of Indonesians do not offer an opinion. In Pakistan, six-in-ten (60%) say they do not know when asked about their opinion of Hezbollah.

Views of Hezbollah largely remained steady between 2008 and 2009. In four of the seven countries for which there are trend data from 2008, views of Hezbollah have remained unchanged, including in Lebanon. Elsewhere, change in views has been slight or moderate. In Egypt and Pakistan, favorability ratings have deteriorated somewhat. A majority (54%) of Egyptians embraced Hezbollah in 2008; 43% do so in spring 2009. In Pakistan, 24% held a positive view of this Lebanon-based Islamic group in 2008, while 17% do so in the 2009 survey.

The reverse is the case in Nigeria: Nigerians are slightly more positive overall toward Hezbollah in 2009 (35% vs. 29% in 2008). Views of Nigerian Christians remained steady, while Nigerian Muslims are now slightly more positive; half (50%) of Nigerian Muslims held a positive view of Hezbollah in 2008, whereas 59% currently do.

Since 2007, Palestinians have become less willing to support Hezbollah. Fewer Palestinians overall hold positive views of Hezbollah in 2009 (61%) than did in spring of 2007 (76%). However, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have become far less enamored of Hezbollah than have their compatriots in the West Bank. Fully 78% of those in the West Bank and 71% in Gaza favored Hezbollah in 2007, whereas 69% of those in the West Bank and 44% in the Gaza Strip do so now.

Sunni-Shia Tensions

Most Muslims surveyed believe the sectarian tensions that have plagued Iraq in recent years are not limited to that country. Among Muslims in seven of the nine countries where the question was asked, the balance of opinion is that tensions between Sunni and Shia are a growing problem in the Muslim world more generally.

In Lebanon, a country which itself has experienced ongoing sectarian tensions, this opinion is almost universally shared by Muslims: 99% of Sunni Muslims and 91% of Shia say the divide between their communities is a more general problem. Most Palestinian Muslims agree; 73% view the Sunni-Shia sectarian divide as one that reaches beyond Iraq, although, slightly more Gazans (81%) hold this view than Palestinians in the West Bank (70%). Similarly, roughly seven-in-ten (69%) Pakistani Muslims view the Sunni-Shia conflict as extending outside of Iraq.

Majorities of Muslims in Egypt (59%), Jordan (55%) and Turkey (52%) also see this as a problem that reaches beyond Iraq. Fewer hold this view in Indonesia (25%). Israeli Muslims are divided; roughly equal proportions say the Sunni-Shia divide is limited to Iraq (38%) and that it is a more general problem (42%).

In several countries over the last few years, the view that this sectarian conflict is a more general problem in the Muslim world has widened. In 2009, more Muslims in Nigeria (54%) and Turkey (52%) say it is a broader problem than said so in 2008 (Nigeria 38%, Turkey 44%). More Palestinians in the West Bank (70%) and Gaza (81%) also feel the Sunni-Shia divide is a more general problem than did so in 2007 (West Bank 54%, Gaza Strip 66%).

A Struggle Between Modernizers and Fundamentalists

Many Muslims see a struggle in their country between groups that want to modernize the nation and Islamic fundamentalists. In three of the eight countries where this question was asked, more than half say such a struggle is taking place. Overwhelmingly, Muslims who see a struggle tend to side with the modernizers.

The belief that a struggle exists between modernizers and fundamentalists is most widespread in Lebanon. A solid majority (55%) of Lebanese Muslims see a struggle in their country. This view is much more common among Lebanese Sunnis (67%) than Shia (42%). But among both Sunnis and Shia, those who see such a struggle lopsidedly side with modernizers.

The belief that a struggle is occurring is equally widespread in Turkey, where tensions between elements of the country’s secular establishment and the ruling moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) continue. Just over half (54%) believe a clash between moderates and fundamentalists is taking place in Turkey. Most Turks who believe a struggle exists identify with modernizers.

Overall, a slim majority (53%) of Palestinians also feel a struggle exists between those who seek to modernize and a more fundamentalist element. However, more Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled, Gaza Strip (67%) hold this view than do those in the West Bank (47%).

Four-in-ten Pakistani Muslims see a struggle taking place in their country though an equal number do not offer an opinion (38%). Indonesians are divided; four-in-ten (41%) feel a struggle exists while just as many disagree (40%). Similarly, in Nigeria, roughly four-in-ten (37%) say a conflict exists while about half (51%) reject that idea.

Few in Egypt (22%) or Jordan (14%) see a struggle between a more modern and fundamentalist approach. In five of the seven countries for which there is a trend, Muslims are significantly less likely in the 2009 survey to say that a conflict between modernizers and fundamentalists exists than were a year earlier. In spring 2008, just under seven-in-ten Muslims in Turkey (68%) said that there is a struggle between those who want to modernize the nation and Islamic fundamentalists; just over half (54%) took that view in 2009. In 2008 in Egypt, one-third held the opinion that a struggle between modernizers and fundamentalists existed in their country; a year later only 22% now express that view. Smaller but still significant decreases in the percentages saying a struggle exists also occurred in Jordan, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Widespread Support for Educating Boys and Girls

Egalitarian views about education are common in the predominantly Muslim countries surveyed. More than eight-in-ten in Lebanon (96%), Indonesia (93%), the Palestinian territories (85%), Turkey (89%) and Pakistan (87%) say that it is equally important to educate girls as it is to educate boys.

Overall opinion in Nigeria is roughly as egalitarian; (78%) agree that it is just as important to educate girls as it is to educate boys. Still, nearly one-in-five Nigerians (19%) consider educating boys more important. Also, more Nigerian Christians (87%) advocate equal education of the genders than do Nigerian Muslims (68%). In fact, roughly three-in-ten Muslims in Nigeria (29%) consider it more important to educate boys than girls.

About seven-in-ten Egyptians (71%) see education as equally important for boys and girls. While 16% of Egyptians consider it more important to educate boys than girls, a comparable percentage (12%) thinks educating girls is more important.

Likewise, a solid majority in Jordan (65%) say that education is equally important for boys and girls. Still, small minorities of Jordanians favor educating one gender over the other; 19% deem education more important for boys while 15% say educating girls is more important. Israeli opinion is overwhelmingly egalitarian; 93% believe it is as important to educate girls as to educate boys.

Egalitarian views are somewhat more widespread than in 2007 in Pakistan (+13 percentage points), the Palestinian territories (+11 points), and Israel (+9 points). Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are now much more likely to favor equal education for girls and boys than just two years ago (+28 points). Views about education among Palestinians in the West Bank have remained relatively steady; 86% currently believe that it is equally important to educate boys as girls where 82% held this view in 2007.

In Jordan, the opinion that it is more important for boys to be educated is considerably more common among men. Roughly one-quarter of Jordanian men (24%) share that view, compared with 15% of women. In the other countries surveyed in the Muslim world and Israel, gender does not appear to play a role in views of the importance of educating girls and boys.