Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Many Muslims in Pakistan say there is a struggle between groups that want to modernize their country and Islamic fundamentalists, and most of those who see a struggle say they identify with the modernizers. Still, Pakistani Muslims welcome the influence of Islam in their country’s politics, and solid majorities say they would favor making gender […]
Pakistanis see India as a greater threat to their country than the Taliban or al Qaeda. Fully 53% of respondents consider India “the greatest” threat to Pakistan. Yet, despite the high levels of threat perception, Pakistanis support better relations with their neighbor. More than seven-in-ten (72%) consider it important that their country’s relations with India […]
The Taliban and al Qaeda remain generally unpopular in Pakistan, and Pakistanis continue to overwhelmingly reject the suicide terrorism associated with both groups. Many Pakistanis say the Taliban poses a serious threat to their country and about half of those surveyed are worried that extremists could take control of Pakistan. However, concerns about an extremist […]
The Pew Forum’s religious knowledge survey included 32 questions about various aspects of religion: the Bible, Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism, world religions, religion in public life, and atheism and agnosticism. The average respondent answered 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions correctly. Just 2% of those surveyed answered 29 or more questions correctly (including just eight […]
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s popularity has dropped further over the last year. The once-popular Zardari is now viewed unfavorably by a large majority of Pakistanis. In contrast, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif remains widely popular, as do Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Most […]
Summary of Findings No one story dominated the public’s news interest last week, as several story lines – including the debate over a mosque near Ground Zero in New York and the recall of hundreds of millions of eggs – vied for Americans’ attention. About two-in-ten (19%) say they followed the debate over plans for […]
The Muslim Brotherhood and Jama’at-i Islami are separate movements that tend to draw the bulk of their members from different ethnic groups (Arabs and South Asians, respectively). Nevertheless, both groups are rooted in a political ideology, frequently described as “Islamist,” that calls for the establishment of a distinctly Islamic system of government. The Muslim Brotherhood is […]