A social scientist is urging the U.S. government to review its standing with the Middle East, noting the deep-seated anger and sense of betrayal Muslims feel toward U.S. foreign policy.
Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes and author of “Feeling Betrayed: The Roots of Muslim Anger at America,” says from Morocco to Indonesia, Muslims feel oppressed by America and are frustrated with the U.S. for prioritizing oil and Israel’s interests above truly supporting the wave of pro-democracy uprisings sweeping across the region.
Here are some of the highlights of Kull’s findings as reported by Huffington Post:
- Kull’s research — conducted from 2006 to 2010 before the uprisings
– reveals that a majority of Muslims are threatened by the U.S. military force and the way Washington “abuses its power.”
- A majority of Muslims believe the United States is hostile to Islam and wants to impose its own secular culture or Christian religion on Muslim countries. Many took George W. Bush’s post-9/11 vow to launch a “crusade” against terrorism literally, interpreting it in the millennial-old historic context of a religious war.
- Most Muslims resent U.S. support for Tel Aviv and believe America’s goal is to expand the geographic borders of Israel. Many see Israel as a proxy for U.S. hegemony in the region, and most don’t believe the establishment of a Palestinian state is a U.S. goal.
– A majority of Muslims are convinced the United States has undermined democratic movements in the Middle East in favor of propping up authoritarian regimes.
Kull presented his findings on Wednesday at a briefing at the Brookings Institution, which published the book that draws upon five years of polling, focus groups and visits to Muslim majority countries.
The research mirrors findings charted in a newly released Pew Research Center report. The report found that Obama’s efforts to rehabilitate America’s image among Muslims after they frayed during the Bush administration’s military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq have paid few dividends.
source : http://abna.ir
