Public Opinion in the Islamic World on Terrorism,
Al Qaeda, American Policies, and Islamist Politics

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
9:00 – 10:30 am
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
Root Room, 2nd Floor

The START Center of the University of Maryland and WorldPublicOpinion.org will release the findings from extensive new public opinion research in Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia, supplemented with additional data from Turkey, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, and Azerbaijan. The research examines in detail public attitudes on such topics as:

• Views of terrorist attacks on civilians in general and Americans in particular
• Views of attacks on US troops based in Muslim countries
• Perceptions and views of the goals of al Qaeda
• Perceptions and views of US foreign policy objectives in the region US military presence in the Persian Gulf
• The participation of Islamist groups in the political process
This survey repeats some questions asked in START’s groundbreaking 2007 study and permits assessment of positive and negative trends over time in Muslim public attitudes. Insights from focus groups in several countries will complement the polling data.

A panel will discuss the implications of the findings.

Moderator: Gary LaFree, Professor, University of Maryland and Director of START
Presenter: Steven Kull, Director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes and WorldPublicOpinion.org
Discussant: Daniel Brumberg, Acting Director Muslim World Initiative, United States Institute of Peace

Coffee and continental breakfast will be available at 8:30am. Please RSVP at info@pipa.org or 202-232-7500.