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Editor's Note:
The Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service would like to thank the
Arab American Institute
and Dr. James J. Zogby for permission to share this essay with you. It
is an important contribution to the discussion of Saudi-U.S. relations.
The essay originally appeared in the Washington Watch on August 11,
2003.
For a discussion of this essay, and other important issues, visit the
Saudi-US Relations Information Service Forum --
Click Here.
SAUDIS REJECT BIN LADEN AND TERRORISM
By James J. Zogby
What are Saudi attitudes toward terrorism, bin Laden, and the United
States? These are questions that have plagued U.S. policymakers and the
American people for the past two years.
However, despite deep concern, to date, no comprehensive study has been
conducted into Saudi attitudes on these critical questions. There have
been some partial efforts. A Gallup poll of Saudi opinion conducted in
the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks pointed to strong
negative feelings about the U.S. and a state of denial regarding the
attacks themselves. A later Zogby International (ZI) poll conducted in
April 2002 noted that the root of Saudi, and general Arab, alienation
from the U.S. was their deep frustration with American policy toward the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In fact, as the ZI study found, when Saudis (and in separate polls,
Arabs from Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE and Kuwait) were asked their
attitudes toward various manifestations of America (e.g. "American
freedom and democracy", "American education", "American products", "the
American people" etc.) the results were largely and, in many cases,
overwhelmingly positive. Only when asked for their attitudes toward
"American policy toward Palestinians", "Iraq" and "the Arab World in
general", were the responses decidedly negative. It was, as we
concluded, anger at U.S. policy that has created the overall negative
attitudes toward America in general.
Absent any deeper examination, however, questions remained. Some
polemicists, using fragmentary anecdotes, attempted to construct a
profile of broader Saudi attitudes. Despite the absence of empirical
data, a negative portrait of Saudi attitudes emerged and, repeated often
enough, grew into accepted wisdom.
It came to be believed, for example, that Saudis overwhelmingly
supported bin Laden, were consumed with anti-American attitudes and that
the country, as a whole, was a breeding ground for anti-American terror.
Following the May 12, 2003 bombings in Riyadh, I traveled to Saudi
Arabia to meet with the U.S. Ambassador Robert Jordan, a group of
American businessman working in the country and a number of groups of
Saudi citizens. From that visit and the discussions I held with both
Americans and Saudis, I became convinced of the desirability of
attempting to conduct a more detailed study of Saudi attitudes.
In July 2003, working with our Lebanese partner Information
International, SAL, ZI began a nationwide study of Saudis from four
principal areas of the country (Riyadh, Jeddah, Damman, and Abha). In
all, a random sampling of 600 Saudis was surveyed in face-to-face
interviews. The margin of error for the study is � 4.1 %.
Summary of the Findings
While establishing that policy strains remain central to defining Saudi
attitudes toward the U.S., our findings challenged many of the unfounded
assumptions that exist regarding Saudi views.
Saudis almost unanimously reject the use of terror attacks against
innocent civilians. When asked "is the killing of innocent people ever
justified", 99% of our respondents replied "no", only one percent
indicated "yes" as their answer.
More than nine out of 10 Saudis reject bin Laden's actions which have
killed thousands of innocent civilians. In separate questions, they
state that these actions are not consistent with Islam and their own
values as Saudis.
94.5%, for example, agreed with the statement that Osama bin Laden's
actions, "that have killed thousands of innocent civilians on a number
of continents" are "not consistent with the values of Saudis." 88%
agreed that those actions "are not consistent with the values of Islam."
Only 2.5% and 1.5% respectively disagreed with each of these statements.
At the same time 99% of all Saudis agreed that the May 12, 2003
terrorist bombings that struck the expatriate compound in Riyadh "was
inconsistent with their values as Saudis and Muslims."
More than 9 out of 10 agreed that "innocent civilians in the U.S. did
not deserve to die in the attacks at the World Trade Center in New York
City." More than eight out of 10 say that "Osama bin Laden does not
speak for me and my family."
While showing strong negative views toward U.S. policy in the Middle
East, specifically toward Palestine and Iraq, and displaying an almost
10% decline in favorable attitudes toward some of the manifestations of
America (since the April 2002 poll) more than nine in 10 indicated that
"the people of Saudi Arabia have no quarrel with the American people."
When asked to rate the importance of several issues, Saudis ranked their
concerns in the following order: personal finances, employment
opportunities, Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq, political reform, terrorism.
96% said that their "personal finances" were "very important", 85% said
"employment opportunities" were "very important", while 51.5% said the
same about the Arab-Israeli conflict. 36.5% said Iraq was "very
important" and 35% and 27.5% respectively said that political reform and
"terrorism" were "very important".
Meeting with his National Security Council in the Cabinet Room the
morning after the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.,
President Bush outlines the new course of his administration.
Only six percent have a favorable attitude toward the U.S.'s Iraq policy
and only one percent have a favorable view of the U.S.'s Palestine
policy...
Finally, when asked to give their overall impression about U.S. policy
toward Palestinians and Iraq our respondents displayed largely negative
views. Only six percent have a favorable attitude toward the U.S.'s Iraq
policy and only one percent have a favorable view of the U.S.'s
Palestine policy, with negative attitudes toward those policies being
81.5% and 93.5% respectively.
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