“THEY hate us,” blared the headline in USA Today in late January 2002. The story underneath reported an opinion poll among Arabs and Muslims abroad that found significantly negative feelings towards the US. The headline reflected a common perception among Americans at the time, one that has been voiced regularly since the attacks on the World Trade Center a year and a half ago. But the real picture is far more complicated.
Over the past year I have conducted two extensive opinion polls of my own throughout the Middle East about people’s attitudes to the US in particular. The first,…
