Views of the Islamic extremist groups Hamas and Hezbollah are, with few exceptions, largely negative. In fact, a majority in only one country – Jordan – holds a favorable opinion of both the militant Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas and Shia Islamic group Hezbollah based in Lebanon. Certainly, many Palestinians and Egyptians also embrace Hamas and […]
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.
The Government Restrictions Index is based on 20 questions used by the Pew Forum to assess whether governments – including at the local or provincial level – restrict religious practices or beliefs. The questions are intended to gauge the extent to which governments try to control religious groups or individuals, prohibit conversions from one faith […]
Opinions among members of the Council on Foreign Relations about which U.S. allies and partners will be more important in the future – and those that will be less important – have changed dramatically since the last America’s Place in the World survey in 2005. Fully 58% now say that China will be a more […]
Recent events such as the Fort Hood shootings and the arrest of five Muslim American students in Pakistan have raised questions about the threat of homegrown terrorism in the United States. However, the Pew Research Center’s comprehensive portrait of the Muslim American population suggests it is less likely to be a fertile breeding ground for […]
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.
Restrictions on religion can result not only from the actions of governments but also from acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations or social groups. The Pew Forum’s Social Hostilities Index is a measure of concrete, hostile actions that effectively hinder the religious activities of the targeted individuals or groups. An absence of […]
Opinion of the U.N. has grown more positive since 2007 in many countries, and nowhere have favorable ratings improved as much as in the U.S.
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion.
