Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue

est Dialogue Index
Figure 3.1
Indonesia
Iran
S. Arabia
Russia
Malaysia
Belgium
Ne<strong>the</strong>rl<strong>and</strong>
Sweden
Spain
Danemark
Italy
Turkey
Canada
Egypt
Israel
USA
Palestine
have held less negative opinions of <strong>the</strong> invasion of Iraq than
have residents of o<strong>the</strong>r Muslim majority countries 1 ,for
example.
At <strong>the</strong> same time, Iran’s relatively favourable trade relationship
with some European nations may make Iranians less prone
to regarding <strong>the</strong> United States as a proxy for <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>. The
majority of Iranians also believe that tension between <strong>the</strong>
<strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Muslim world is due to political, not underlying
cultural or religious factors. This may make <strong>the</strong>m less
pessimistic than one might expect about Muslim-<strong>West</strong>
relations as a whole.
Do you think <strong>the</strong> interaction between
<strong>the</strong> Muslim <strong>and</strong> <strong>West</strong>ern World is
getting better or worse?
Better Worse
0% 50% 100%
The Reality-Perception Gap
Among both Muslim majority <strong>and</strong> non-Muslim majority
nations, <strong>the</strong> proportion who say <strong>the</strong>y think <strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r side”
is committed to better relations rarely rises above a minority.
However, majorities of residents in nations around <strong>the</strong>
world say that better interaction between <strong>the</strong> Muslim <strong>and</strong>
<strong>West</strong>ern worlds is important to <strong>the</strong>m.
Three-in-four US residents say <strong>the</strong> Muslim world is not
committed to improving relations with <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>; an identical
percentage of Palestinians attribute <strong>the</strong> same apathy to
<strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>. At least half of respondents in Italy (58%),
Denmark (52%), <strong>and</strong> Spain (50%) agree that <strong>the</strong> Muslim
world is not committed to improving relations. Israelis
represent a notable exception; almost two-thirds (64%)
believe <strong>the</strong> Muslim world is committed to improving relations.
Among <strong>the</strong> majority-Muslim nations surveyed, we see roughly
<strong>the</strong> same pattern; majorities in every Middle Eastern country
studied believe <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> is not committed to better relations
with <strong>the</strong> Muslim World, while respondents in majority-Muslim
Asian countries are about evenly split.
Despite low levels of confidence in <strong>the</strong> commitment of those
on <strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r side”, majorities in most nations surveyed in
both <strong>the</strong> Muslim <strong>and</strong> <strong>West</strong>ern worlds say that <strong>the</strong> quality of
interactions between <strong>the</strong> two is important to <strong>the</strong>m. In some
<strong>West</strong>ern countries, including Denmark, <strong>the</strong> United States,
Belgium, Italy, Israel, Canada <strong>and</strong> Spain, <strong>the</strong> percentage
who say <strong>the</strong> issue is important to <strong>the</strong>m is even higher than
<strong>the</strong> percentage who give <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>ern world credit for
commitment to improved relations. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, some
respondents believe <strong>the</strong>ir personal level of concern is higher
than that of <strong>the</strong>ir own leadership, not to mention <strong>the</strong>
leadership of <strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r side”.
In <strong>the</strong> Middle East, Iranians are most likely to say <strong>the</strong>
interaction between <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Muslim world is
important, at 70%, followed by Turks at 64%. US-imposed
1 According to a 2005 Gallup World Poll, 57% of Iranians say <strong>the</strong> invasion of Iraq did more harm than good, compared to more than 90% of Egyptians for example.
<strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>: <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on <strong>the</strong> State of Dialogue The Gallup Muslim-<strong>West</strong> Dialogue Index
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