Can You Guess Where In The Middle East Al Qaeda Is Most Popular?

There is a debate as to how much of a threat Al Qaeda remains 1 year after the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

One thing that does not seem to be in question is that, as the LA Times reports Muslims in Middle East, Asia think poorly of Al Qaeda, poll finds:

A new poll covering thousands of Muslims in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey and Lebanon found that most thought poorly of Al Qaeda nearly a year after Osama bin Laden's death.

The results came just after U.S. intelligence officials announced that the terrorist group has been greatly diminished since the death of Bin Laden, suggesting that Al Qaeda has been losing Muslim hearts and minds along with organizational muscle.

The Pew Research Center poll, carried out nearly one year after Bin Laden was killed by American forces on May 2, showed that in the countries surveyed, Al Qaeda was most popular in Egypt, where more than 1 out of 5 Muslims said they had a favorable opinion.

So Al Qaeda remains popular with 20% of Egyptians--but that only takes into account the Pew poll from this year.

There is another segment of the Muslim population that can beat that, based on a poll from last year. That would be the same Muslims who mourned the death of tyrant Saddam Hussein.

So its not surprising how highly Palestinian Arabs think of Osama bin Laden:

His support level also fell markedly in Indonesia, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories from 2003 to 2011. But even with his popularity dropping, his backing remained significant in some areas: More than a third of Muslims polled in the Palestinian territories in 2011 said they had confidence in Bin Laden.[emphasis added]

These would be the same Arab peace partners who supposedly favor a two state solution with Israel.

Technorati Tag: Osama bin Laden and Palestinians and Al Qaeda.