US embassy cable - 05AMMAN2049

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 002049 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, PHUM, KISL, KPAL, JO 
SUBJECT: NEW STUDY GAUGES ARABS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE WEST, 
REVEALS GROWING EXTREMISM AMONG YOUTH 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U)  A new study published by Jordan University's Center 
for Strategic Studies based on polls conducted in five Arab 
countries reveals that Arabs tend to distinguish between 
policy and culture when viewing the West.  A negative view of 
U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, not American values, 
is the main reason for anti-American sentiment in the region, 
according to this study.  It also found that respondents 
tended to label groups like HAMAS and al-Qa'ida as legitimate 
resistance, not terrorist, organizations.  The majority of 
those surveyed saw a role for Islam in politics.  People aged 
16-24 exhibited the most hostility towards U.S. policies, as 
well as the most conservative religious tendencies.  End 
Summary. 
 
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NEW SURVEY MEASURES ARAB PERCEPTIONS 
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2.  (U)  The University of Jordan's Center for Strategic 
Studies (CSS) released its latest poll in February, "The Arab 
Street Revisited: Research from Within," which explores Arab 
attitudes regarding the United States, the UK, and France, as 
well as attitudes regarding the place of Islam in politics, 
the definition of terrorism, and the importance of Arab 
satellite TV in the formation of regional opinions.  CSS 
conducted the survey in mid-2004 in collaboration with 
partner institutions in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the 
Palestinian territories and Syria.  Four samples were used in 
each country: a national sample of 1200 individuals, a 
university student sample of 500, a sample of 120 business 
leaders, and a media sample of 120 respondents.  The national 
sample in each country attempted to represent all social 
strata, reaching rural and urban areas, both genders, all 
ages, and varied occupational and educational backgrounds. 
For example, the national sample for Jordan included citizens 
of Palestinian origin as well as refugees, but refugee camps 
were not included in Syrian and Lebanese samples.  The 
questionnaire itself included 150 questions dealing with 
topics that included Arab knowledge of and attitudes toward 
Western societies, the definition of terrorism, the influence 
of Arab satellite media, and political Islam.  The full 
survey can be found on CSS's web site: www.css-jordan.org. 
 
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IT'S THE POLICY, STUPID 
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3.  (U)  The study seems to bear out what emboffs hear 
frequently, but anecdotally.  That is, Arabs tend to separate 
policies from cultural values when viewing the West.  The 
study identifies negative Arab reactions to U.S. Middle East 
policy as being the single most important factor contributing 
to anti-American sentiment among Arabs.  In contrast, 
respondents in this survey tended to view positively Western 
cultural values, which they defined as liberty, hard work, 
pursuit of knowledge, and wealth creation.  They also had 
clear perceptions of their own (different) identity, which 
they said centered on cultural values of family, religion, 
and tolerance. 
 
4.  (U)  The survey revealed that Arabs did not perceive the 
"West" as a unified whole.  Respondents tended to 
differentiate significantly between western countries, 
particularly with regard to politics.  For example, those 
surveyed tended to view France much more positively than the 
U.S. and the UK, largely because they perceived more 
favorably French policies in the Middle East.   The negative 
criticism sometimes reflected events on the ground.  For 
example, some respondents used words like "racist" to 
describe French policies (the hijab issue was under debate in 
France at the time of the survey, possibly influencing 
respondents), while describing U.S. policies as "imperialist" 
and "repressive." 
 
5.  (U)  While recognizing the problem of religious extremism 
in both Arab and Western societies, Arabs do not tend to view 
the tension between the Arab world and the West in either 
religious or cultural terms, according to the survey. 
Moreover, most do not subscribe to the "clash of 
civilizations" theory or to the idea the West has launched a 
"crusade" against the Muslim world. 
 
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ROLE OF ISLAM IN POLITICS 
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6.  (U)  The study found strong support for shari'a to play a 
role in legislation.  About two-thirds of Jordanians, 
Palestinians and Egyptians believe that shari'a must be the 
only source of legislation in their respective countries, 
while the remainder in these countries believe it should be 
one of the sources.  However, the study reveals that the 
majority of respondents in all countries think that 
interpretation in religion (ijtihad) should remain open, 
suggesting that Arabs Muslims do not view Islam as a fixed 
set of ideas and beliefs, but rather see space for pluralism 
and debate. 
 
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TERRORISM OR LEGITIMATE RESISTANCE? 
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7.  (U)  The study concludes that Arabs tend to view 
terrorism through the lens of their frustrations with 
Israeli, American, and Western policies.  For example, the 
majority of respondents perceived Palestinian groups such as 
HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and al-Aqsa Martyrs 
Brigades as legitimate resistance organizations.  The 
majority of Jordanians and Egyptians also view al-Qa'ida as a 
legitimate resistance organization.  Only 8 percent of 
Syrians believed the same, but 49 percent chose not to answer 
the question.  Unsurprisingly, Arabs also disagreed 
fundamentally with the U.S. positions on the Arab-Israeli 
conflict and the Iraq war.  They expressed little confidence 
in U.S.-led efforts to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict and 
they largely see the war in Iraq as unjustified.  Despite 
these disagreements, many Arabs desire stronger relations 
between their countries and the West, particularly in culture 
and economics, which are viewed as less problematic than 
political relations. 
 
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WHO INFLUENCES U.S. POLICY? 
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8.  (U)  The respondents put the "Zionist lobby" above even 
President Bush in terms of perceived influence over U.S. 
foreign policy.  Fewer than one-third of respondents in all 
national samples considered Bush as the most important 
foreign policy-maker.  Thirty-nine percent of Jordanians, 43 
percent of Palestinians, 44 percent of Lebanese and 61 
percent of Syrians named the "Zionist lobby" as the single 
most important foreign policy actor in the U.S. 
Interestingly, business and media leaders tended to be the 
most likely of any group to identify the "Zionist lobby" as 
the most important actor (although the media respondents also 
considered the "American Christian Right" as an equally 
important player). 
 
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THE AL-JAZEERA FACTOR 
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9.  (U)  In contrast, the study concluded that satellite 
television coverage is not a leading factor fueling 
anti-American sentiment.  It did not identify a strong 
correlation between satellite viewership and attitudes across 
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.  The 
Lebanese have some of the highest rates of satellite 
ownership, with 85 percent of Lebanese and 84 percent of 
Palestinians having satellites in their homes.  This compares 
to 25 percent of Egyptians and 58 percent of Jordanians. 
Yet, the study found that the attitudes of Egyptians and 
Jordanians toward the West are often more critical than those 
of the Lebanese. 
 
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GROWING HOSTILITY AMONG YOUTH 
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10.  (U)  Among the more disturbing findings, the study 
showed that young people tend to be more hostile to the West 
and more conservative when compared to the older generation. 
For example, 15-20 percent of youth aged 16-24 years old 
claimed to have favorable attitudes toward the U.S., compared 
with 35-40 percent of adults over 45 years old.  Young people 
also are more likely to view organizations like al-Qa'ida as 
legitimate resistance organizations than their elders.  Dr. 
Fares Breizat, director of CSS polling, highlighted this 
hostility among youth as the most worrisome trend revealed by 
the study, when one considers that 50 percent of the 
population in the region is under 25 years old. 
 
11.  (U)  During a lecture to the World Affairs Council in 
Amman on March 1, Breizat noted that respondents in this age 
bracket supported polygamy more strongly than any other age 
group, and were more likely than any other group to base 
their life decisions and actions on religious beliefs.  The 
comments sparked lively debate during the question and answer 
period, with some in the audience faulting government and 
Arab societies for marginalizing youth at the expense of 
elders in Arab culture.  For example, some participants 
voiced support for the Jordanian government's prohibition on 
student politics as necessary for their own "protection," 
while others, including Breizat, countered that democracy and 
human development will never emerge if young people are not 
able to organize and think freely.  "We must not 
underestimate the Jordanian citizen's intelligence" and it is 
crucial that government's move away from the role of 
"sheltering" youth; rather they should be considered as 
active, intelligent individuals, according to Breizat. 
 
12.  (U)  Breizat doubted that cultural and social exchanges 
alone will alleviate tensions.  According to Breizat, Arabs 
must perceive real changes in U.S. foreign policies, such as 
a U.S. withdrawal from a stable Iraq and a just solution to 
the Palestinian issue, before he expected perceptions to 
change significantly. 
 
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COMMENT 
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13.  (SBU)  The results of this study reinforce what we hear 
frequently from Jordanians: "we admire America and its 
values, it is your policy that we have issues with." 
However, some contacts suggest this distinction may be 
blurring; the Iraq and Palestinian situations in particular 
have convinced many that Americans advocate freedom and 
protect human rights only when it is convenient.  Dr. Breizat 
noted that the study suggests that many Arabs have the 
perception that the majority of Americans do not support 
their government's Middle East policies, which may have been 
a reason it bore out the clear divide between policy and 
culture.  However, he acknowledged that the results, 
conducted in mid-2004, may have been different if the study 
was conducted after the November, 2004 U.S. election.  He 
hopes to be able to gauge the change, if any, as CSS plans to 
repeat the study in the future. 
 
14.  (U)  Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE