The image of the United States remains overwhelmingly negative in Pakistan, and few Pakistanis express confidence in U.S. President Barack Obama to do the right thing in world affairs. America’s favorability in Pakistan is lower than in 18 of 21 countries other than the U.S. included in the 2010 Pew Global Attitudes survey and matches […]
George Mason University Professor Peter Mandaville, Dilwar Hussain of the Islamic Foundation, and Maha Azzam of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House discussed key findings of a Pew Forum study containing profiles of some of the oldest, largest and most influential Muslim groups – from the Muslim Brotherhood to mystical Sufi orders and networks of religious scholars.
Sufism represents the inward-looking, mystical dimension of Islam. Often thought erroneously to be its own sect or denomination – such as Sunni Islam – Sufism is better understood as an approach that mixes mainstream religious observances, such as prescribed daily prayers, with a range of supplementary spiritual practices, such as the ritual chanting of God’s […]
Publics worldwide continue to have more confidence in U.S. President Barack Obama’s ability to handle world affairs than in the abilities of key European leaders. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose leadership skills are well-regarded by publics throughout much of Western Europe, does not match Obama’s popularity. In contrast to Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy […]
U.S. President Barack Obama remains popular across much of the world. Majorities or pluralities in 16 of 22 countries surveyed express at least some confidence in the American president to do the right thing regarding world affairs. In five of six predominantly Muslim countries, however, more than half lack confidence in Obama; only in Indonesia […]
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 […]