By Paul Tate
AMMAN — Support in Jordan for the Al Qaeda network has dropped sharply over the past four years in line with an increasing rejection of extremism across the Muslim world, a global poll revealed on Tuesday.
The decreasing support for Islamic extremism was also reflected in a drop in Osama Ben Laden’s approval ratings, with just 20 per cent of Jordanians expressing a lot or some confidence in the Al Qaeda leader, down from 56 per cent four years ago.
“Among the most striking trends in predominantly Muslim nations is the continuing decline in the number saying that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians are justifiable in the defence of Islam,” said the survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre.
Support for suicide bombings had declined by half or more in Lebanon, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia, revealed the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey, based on polling data from 47 countries.
Ibrahim Saif, head of the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), said the poll’s findings reflect a growing repugnance among Jordanians and the wider Muslim world towards the daily slaughter of civilians by suicide bombers in Iraq and elsewhere.
“The unfolding events and mass killings by people allegedly linked to Al Qaeda are forcing people to sit back and take stock. They are realising that these actions are not in line with Islam or any human morals,” he said.
Public opinion in Jordan towards Al Qaeda shifted dramatically following the November 2005 suicide attacks against three of the capital’s hotels. The bombings, claimed by the group’s Iraq wing, killed 90 people and injured hundreds more.
A study published by CSS a month after the attacks revealed that only 20 per cent of Jordanians continued to regard Al Qaeda as a legitimate resistance group, down from 67 per cent in 2004.
Saif said the group’s image had also been dented by its inability since September 11, 2001 to launch attacks against high-profile targets.
He also said a campaign by influential clerics in the Arab world to discredit extremist ideology was making inroads. “More voices are now opposing this interpretation of Islam through the media and they are gaining more followers.”
However, the global survey revealed that in the Palestinian territories suicide bombings continue to enjoy wide popular support, with 70 per cent of the people believing such tactics against civilians can be often or sometimes justified.
The poll also revealed that the majority of people in Muslim countries continue to regard the United States as the biggest threat.
