Exploring the impact of Muslim attitudes toward the US

Steven Kull, the director of the University of Maryland's Program on International Public Opinion recently testified to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight and asks what I would consider to be a pretty good question: Do the negative perceptions much of the Muslim world hold toward the US matter?

According to Kull, "[P]erhaps the most significant finding of our study is that across the four countries, 8 in 10 believe that the US seeks to “weaken and divide the Islamic world.”

He also relates another key insight from his research in public opinion:

Though al Qaeda and America are both seen as largely illegitimate, America is seen as the greater threat. It is as if Muslims are living in a neighborhood where there are two warlords operating. They do not like either one, but one is much more powerful. As long as the weaker one is standing up to the stronger one, it makes sense that they are inclined to play down their dislike for the weaker one.

It's worth checking out the entire testimony here.