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Thursday February 28, 2013

Poll Release: Arab and Muslim Attitudes toward Iran

Posted by Omar Tewfik at 4:14 pm

AAI President Jim Zogby will deliver a presentation at the Woodrow Wilson Center next Tuesday on the results of a 20-nation poll of Arab and Muslim attitudes toward Iran. The Wilson Center has organized an impressive panel of experts to comment on the findings. The poll, which will become available Tuesday at 12:30pm, was conducted by Zogby Research Services (ZRS)and shows significant shifts in attitudes across the region that have occurred in just the past six years, all of which have serious policy implications:

• The extent of Iran's fall from favor during the past decade. Once praised for its defiance of the West, it is now increasingly seen as a meddlesome provocateur.
• The role played by Iran's involvement in Iraq, Bahrain, and Syria in alienating Arab public opinion, with Syria being the "nail in the coffin" of Iran's popularity.
• The growth of a worrisome Sunni/Shia divide which threatens the unity of several Arab and Muslim countries.
• The growing opposition to Iran's nuclear program, which was once only the concern of governments.
• The improved US standing in Arab public opinion from the Obama Administration's strategy of "leading from behind."

Zogby said, “When American policy makers discuss Iran, the focus is on Israel, as if that were the only issue to consider. In reality, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not only a concern for Americans and Israelis. It is also a growing concern for people across the Arab and Muslim Worlds." The Arab American Institute also maintains an extensive and comprehensive archive of Zogby International polls on Arab, Arab American, and US opinion covering a wide range of issues.

For more details, and to RSVP for the event, click here

View sample slides from the poll presentation

Speakers:
Intro:

The Honorable Jane Harman
Director, President and CEO, Wilson Center

Keynote:

James Zogby
Managing Director of Zogby Research Services
Founder and President of the Arab American Institute
Author of Arab Voices

Panelists:

Haleh Esfandiari
Director, Middle East Program, Wilson Center

Marc Lynch
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs
Director, Institute for Middle East Studies
Director, Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Director, Middle East Studies Program

Hisham Melhem
Bureau Chief of Al Arabiya News Channel, Washington D.C.

Barbara Slavin
Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council's South Asia Center and Washington correspondent for Al-Monitor.com

Moderator:

Tom Gjelten
Correspondent, NPR

Tagged as Issues, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Syria, UAE, US-Arab Relations, Research, Opinion Polls, Posted by Omar Tewfik