Most Arabs reject Western values? Think again, says expert who has just surveyed eight Arab nations
A rare survey of public opinion in the Arab world has found that most Arabs dislike America but not for the reasons often cited by United States officials - a rejection of Western democracy and values.
The survey, results of which were published on Wednesday, was conducted by American pollster John Zogby, head of the Washington-based Arab American Institute.
He said he had undertaken the poll to establish a benchmark of views since little canvassing of public opinion had occurred to date in the Arab world.
His survey questions had been put to more than 3,000 people in eight countries.
Negative perception of the United States was based on American policies, not a dislike of the West, he said.
Indeed, Arabs viewed some other Western countries favourably and had on their wish-lists Western notions such as personal freedom and equal rights for women.
The study dispelled the idea of a unified Arab opinion - the 'Arab Street' concept often cited in Western descriptions of the Arabian point of view.
Rather, it showed differences marked by country, age group, gender, education and whether or not the respondents had access to the Internet.
'The Lebanese think differently than, obviously, the Saudis.
'But we never had numbers to back that up before,' said Mr Zogby while in Cairo to introduce a new book entitled What Arabs Think.
The book was born out of the survey, which was sponsored by the Lebanon-based Arab Thought Foundation.
The countries surveyed were Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Egypt. Arabs in Israel were included as an eighth group.
The questions were asked in face-to-face interviews and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 per cent was assumed.
On the issue of Arab views of other countries, only Israel, the United States and Britain received overall negative scores among 13 countries listed in the question, including Asian and Islamic nations.
Negative sentiment was highest in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates where 87 per cent said they had an unfavourable impression of America.
Negative sentiment was running at 76 per cent in Egypt and 61 per cent in Jordan.
The best scores for the Americans occurred in Kuwait, which was liberated by US troops during the Gulf War.
There, 48 per cent said they had an unfavourable impression and 41 per cent said they viewed America favourably - compared to a 12 per cent in Saudi Arabia.
Noting that the results did not represent an overall anti-Western bias, Mr Zogby said France and Canada were among countries getting the highest ratings, with France receiving no less than a 50 per cent favourable rating from all respondents.
'It is a question of policy,' said the researcher, referring to the recent US stand on Iraq and long- term bias in favour of the Israelis.
Civil and personal rights were cited by Arabs as their highest personal priorities.
Between 90 and 96 per cent rated them a first or second priority out of 10 issues that included health care, moral standards and personal economic conditions.
Respondents were also asked what values they would teach their children and how they identified themselves.
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