Majorities of Egyptian Muslims believe that democracy is preferable to any other kind of government, and by wide margins, Muslims in Egypt say that Islam plays a positive role in their country’s politics.
Extremist groups Hamas and Hezbollah continue to receive mixed ratings from Muslim publics. However, opinions of al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, are consistently negative; only in Nigeria do Muslims offer views that are, on balance, positive toward al Qaeda and bin Laden.
More than seven-in-ten Indians have confidence in Barack Obama and about two-thirds express a favorable opinion of the U.S. Indians are also upbeat about their country’s economic situation and its role in world affairs. Still, most say India faces major challenges, including crime and corruption. And there are widespread concerns about Pakistan and extremist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Across predominantly Muslim nations, there is little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, although there are pockets of support for both groups, especially in the Middle East.
Americans and Western Europeans agree on the extremist threat from Afghanistan and Pakistan, but divisions remain over the Afghan war
Recent events have raised questions about the threat of homegrown terrorism in the U.S., but survey results show that Muslim Americans overwhelmingly reject extremism.
Many fewer among Muslim publics express confidence in bin Laden or support violence against civilians in defense of Islam
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