Survey: Most Muslims reject Taliban, Al Qaeda

WASHINGTON (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - At least six-in-ten Muslims in Pakistan are concerned about the spread of religious extremism in their country and 65 per cent reject the Taliban, says a survey released on Tuesday.The Washington-based Pew Research Centre interviewed adult Muslims in 11 Muslim majority countries to determine their views on extremism.The data shows that more than two years after the death of Osama bin Laden, concern about religious extremism remains widespread among Muslims from South Asia to the Middle East to sub-Saharan Africa.The survey finds a median of 67pc very or at least somewhat concerned about religious extremism. Muslim worries about extremism have increased in the past year in Pakistan, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey and Indonesia.Extremist groups, including Al Qaeda, garner little popular support. Even before his death in 2011, confidence in Bin Laden had plummeted among many Muslims. Today, Al Qaeda is widely reviled; with a median of 57pc across the 11 Muslims publics surveyed saying they have an unfavourable opinion of the terrorist organisation.The Taliban are viewed negatively by a median of 51pc of Muslims in the countries polled.Nigerian Muslims overwhelmingly oppose Boko Haram, the extremist movement at the centre of a violent uprising in the northern part of the country.In many of the countries surveyed, clear majorities of Muslims oppose violence in the name of Islam.About three-quarters or more in Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Tunisia say suicide bombings or other acts of violence that target civilians are never justified.And although substantial percentages in some countries think suicide bombing is often or sometimes justified, including a 62pc majority of Palestinian Muslims, overall support for violence in the name of Islam has declined among Muslim publics during the past decade.In Pakistan, Muslim worries about extremism have continuously increased in the past few years, with 67pc now regarding it as a major concern while 18pc say it is not a major concern. Others do not have a strong opinion on this issue.Similarly, 65pc Pakistanis see the Taliban as a major threat to their country, 12pc support the militant group while 23pc say they don’t know enough to comment.Views on Al Qaeda are also generally unfavourable. About 46pc of the Pakistanis surveyed view the group unfavourably, 41pc say they do not know enough about it to have an opinion. Only 13pc view Al Qaeda favourably.Concern about extremism also has increased in Pakistan where two-thirds of people now say they fear the threat of Islamic extremism, compared with 58pc in 2012. The dislike for suicide bombing is stronger in Pakistan than in some other Muslim countries. As many as 89pc Pakistanis say that suicide bombing and other acts of violence that target civilians can never be justified in the name of Islam.Overall, support for suicide bombing and related forms of violence has declined in the last decade across the Muslim publics surveyed. Since 2002, the percentage of Muslims who say suicide bombing is at least sometimes justified has dropped 30 points in Pakistan./129