In the five years
since the 9/11 attacks, Americans have been told that terrorists and
their sympathizers in the Arab and Muslim world are enemies of freedom
whose intense hatred of America must be answered with force.
My extensive polling shows something
quite different: The vast majority of the Muslim world was fond of us
prior to the war in Iraq. But since then, goodwill has eroded
precipitously. Through its policy decisions, the American government is
turning off people who should be on our side.
Within a few months of the tragedy of
Sept. 11, 2001, my firm undertook a poll of 5,345 Muslims in five Arab
countries (Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) and three
non-Arab countries (Pakistan, Iran and Indonesia).
The results, for the most part, were
heartening: 81% held a favorable view of American science and
technology; 64% had a favorable impression of American movies and
television, and 68% had a favorable view of American-made products.
Adults under 30 years of age - a huge
element of each country's total population - were particularly favorable
toward the United States, an encouraging sign.
By May 2004, American prestige had
plummeted. In a poll conducted in six Arab nations, 61% said they held a
favorable view of American technology, and 44% said they had a favorable
view of American television and movies - 20-point drops in both
categories from the earlier poll. Just 10% of those surveyed said that,
overall, they had a favorable opinion of the U.S. Further, 80% said
their sentiment was driven by U.S. policy, not by its culture, and 68%
said their opinion of the U.S. was less favorable than it was five years
earlier.
Our polling in the region in late 2005
produced similar results.
What had changed minds? Three words: war
in Iraq. Very few Muslims bought the U.S. need to go to war and most
believed the war would lead to less, not more, democracy in Iraq and the
region.
I had the privilege of serving on the
congressionally-created Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy with
several distinguished colleagues in 2003. The commission did an
admirable job - but our mandate did not include any discussion of U.S.
policy in the region. And that is an unfortunate blind spot - because it
is America's policy that remains the core problem.
To repair the damage, the U.S. should
reengage as honest mediators between Israel and the Palestinians - long
the most important issue in the Arab world until the Iraq war, and one
in which Arabs look to the U.S. for leadership. Here at home, a
constituency must be built among Muslims around the world by increasing
the numbers of student and worker visas. My polling shows that, by an
almost 2-to-1 margin, there are substantially better feelings toward the
U.S. and American characteristics among those who have been here, have a
relative here or would like to know more about us.
And most of all, America must look
honestly, not defensively, at its policies throughout the region.
The U.S. has lost a lot of ground in the
past five years - and it will be a long, hard road back. But it is a
journey worth taking to ensure better standing in the Muslim world and,
ultimately, a safer world.
Zogby, a Lebanese-American, is
president and CEO of Zogby International, a New York-based public
opinion research firm that polls worldwide.
