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What the Muslim world thinks of Al Qaeda TODAY

Last updated on: May 2, 2012 10:45 IST
Children are seen through the window of a house under construction as they play cricket on the demolished site of a compound of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad

A year after Osama bin Laden was killed by United States Special Forces in Pakistan, his terrorist outfit Al Qaeda has little support in the Muslim world, a poll has said.

Majority of people in Muslim nations like Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and Lebanon expressed negative views about this terrorist network, according to a poll conducted in these countries between March 19 and April 13 by Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project.

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What the Muslim world thinks of Al Qaeda TODAY

Last updated on: May 2, 2012 10:45 IST
A bouquet of red roses shows pictures of George W Bush with Osama bin Laden in Amman

In Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals, 13 per cent of Muslims hold a favorable view of Al Qaeda, 55 per cent an unfavourable view, and roughly 31 per cent offer no opinion.

Support for the organisation is in the single digits among Turkish and Lebanese Muslims.

In Jordan, just 15 per cent express a positive opinion, essentially unchanged from last year, but down significantly from 34 per cent in 2010.

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What the Muslim world thinks of Al Qaeda TODAY

Last updated on: May 2, 2012 10:45 IST
A man kisses a picture of Osama bin Laden during a protest in Cairo

Al Qaeda receives its highest ratings in Egypt, where 21 per cent hold a favourable and 71 per cent an unfavourable opinion, the poll said on Monday.

Pew said that before his death, support for bin Laden had waned considerably among Muslims around the world.

Perhaps the most striking decline occurred in Jordan, where in 2005 61 per cent had expressed confidence in bin Laden to do the right thing in world affairs.

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What the Muslim world thinks of Al Qaeda TODAY

Last updated on: May 2, 2012 10:45 IST
Palestinians hold pictures of Osama bin Laden during a protest against his killing

The next year, this number plummeted to 24 per cent following Al Qaeda's suicide attacks in the nation's capital Amman. 

By 2011, only 13 per cent expressed confidence in him.

Support for bin Laden also declined steeply over time among Muslims in Indonesia and Pakistan, as well as the Palestinian territories. 

Palestinians, however, remained more supportive than other public -- in 2011, 34 per cent still expressed confidence in the Al Qaeda leader, the poll said.

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