“Obamania” Has Not Reached the Muslim World

In a radio speech yesterday, the president of the United States sent his best wishes to the Muslim world at the start of the month of fasting for Ramadan. However, his efforts to improve his image in the Muslim world still are not paying off.

One of the most reputable public opinion researchers in the United States, the Pew Research Center, has spent years trying to measure the international perception of the American super power and its leaders. The latest edition of its Global Attitudes Project confirms that the Barack Obama phenomena has significantly improved the image of the United States around the world. However, there are some striking exceptions.

The study, based on 27,000 surveys carried out in 24 countries and the Palestinian territories, confirms an overwhelming infection of “Obamania” in western Europe, with positive repercussions in Latin America, Africa and the majority of Asia as well. However, the good feeling seems to come to an abrupt stop in countries with large numbers of Muslims. There, doubts about the international policy and power of the U.S. persist. Although Obama is perceived in a better light than his predecessor, his popularity isn’t translating into a better image for America overall.

Of all the samples studied, less than 30 percent of the population has a positive view of the U.S. in five of the most Muslim countries; Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey and the Palestinian Territories. The study seems to confirm that anti-Americanism has deep roots in the Middle East and has extended to other countries like Turkey and Indonesia. Negative perceptions would have been inspired by the response of the Bush administration to September 11 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In spite of the change of occupancy in the White House, Muslim distrust of the U.S. is clear. Surveys taken in 2009 show that few people back the anti-terrorist efforts of Washington and large percentages openly consider the U.S. an enemy, including large numbers in Pakistan (64 percent) and the Palestinian Territories (77 percent). There is also a high percentage that consider the U.S. a possible risk to national security.

Public Opinion is Changing in Israel

In non-Muslim countries, the Obama administration is perceived as a follower of multilateral diplomatic responses and objective to the Palestine-Israel conflict. However, this positive view is not shared in countries where there are a lot of Muslims. In the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, more than 60 percent of those questioned believe that President Obama will continue tipping the balance in favor of Israel.

Shockingly, the most recent global study from Pew Research Center shows that, in Israel, support for the U.S. has shrunk by 7 percent over the last 2 years and the majority of Israelis were more comfortable with the international policy of President Bush than that of the new White House occupant. The famous speech that the U.S. President gave in Egypt in June had an especially negative impact on Israel’s public opinion, with levels of confidence in Obama’s international policy decreasing by 11 percent.

Still, there are some encouraging signs. For example, the popularity of the U.S. has increased in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world and where President Obama spent part of his childhood. There are also significant improvements in some African countries. All in all, however, the American image continues to be damaged because it is perceived that the so-called war on terror that began after September 11th is directed, in essence, at the Muslim world.