As Mohamed Morsi makes his first visit to the United States and the United Nations as Egypt’s president, few in his country have much praise for Barack Obama’s handling of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Just 11% of Egyptians say Obama has been fair in his dealings with the Israelis and the Palestinians, according to a Pew Global Attitudes Project survey this spring. The percentages saying this in other predominantly Muslim nations are similar – 9% in Turkey, 11% in Jordan and 18% in Lebanon, for example.
As Obama came into office in 2009, 24% in Egypt said they thought he would be fair in his dealings with the Israelis and the Palestinians, 13 points more than the number that now says he has.
Still, the declines between 2009 and 2012 in Egypt and other predominantly Muslim nations are not as large as in several of the European nations in both surveys. Those nations had been much more upbeat in 2009. For example, 79 % in Great Britain said Obama would be fair to both sides. Now, 47% say he has done that, a drop of 32 points. Read More