Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
On Monday, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill intended to prevent the use of foreign law in state courts. The bill contains language from model legislation designed to limit the use of sharia, or Islamic law. A new interactive map details similar bills introduced or enacted in 32 states between 2010 and 2012.
Remarkably large majorities believe Pakistan is on the wrong path and that its economy is in poor shape. Worries about crime and terrorism are almost universal, and concerns about political corruption, the situation in Kashmir, environmental challenges and poor education are also widespread. President Asif Ali Zardari and the national government receive extremely negative ratings. […]
Surveys consistently show that movies – and more broadly, American popular culture – are a strong suit of U.S. soft power. And, while studio executives spend considerably more time thinking about box office returns than public diplomacy, Tinseltown is actually pretty effective at nudging America’s international image in a positive direction.
The national mood in Egypt has turned significantly more negative over the past year. Dissatisfaction with the country’s direction is up, and optimism about the future is down. A plurality still believes the country is better off than when Hosni Mubarak was in power, but three-in-ten say things are worse. About three-in-four say the economy […]
Across the U.S., religious courts operate on a routine, everyday basis. How do some of the country’s major Christian traditions and other religions – including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism – decide internal matters and apply their religious laws?
Muslims number 1.6 billion, representing 23% of all people worldwide. There are two major branches of Islam – Sunni and Shia. The overwhelming majority (87-90%) of Muslims are Sunnis; about 10-13% are Shia Muslims.8 Muslims are concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, where six-in-ten (62%) of all Muslims reside. Many Muslims also live in the Middle […]
There was broad disapproval of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in predominantly Muslim countries surveyed last spring, with only four-in-ten giving him positive marks.