Muslim Support For Bin Laden Drops

Poll: Mixed Feelings On Terror Attacks In Some Muslim Countries

(AP) 
The reasons for Islamic extremism varied from one majority-Muslim country to the next. Poverty and lack of jobs were mentioned most often in some countries, while U.S. policies and influence were mentioned in others. Lack of education, immorality and lawlessness were also mentioned.

"The concern about the causes of extremism are varied," said Wendy Sherman, who was counselor for the State Department in the Clinton administration. "When the U.S. government looks at our counterterrorism efforts, we clearly have to use a variety of approaches."

The Pew survey found some conflicting feelings about Islam in majority-Muslim countries.

In all of those countries except Jordan, people were more likely to say Islam is playing a greater role in their countries that it did a few years ago. The increasing role of Islam was overwhelmingly seen as a positive development in all those countries except Turkey. Respondents said growing immorality, government corruption and concerns about Western influence were among their reasons for turning to Islam.

A majority of people in Morocco and Pakistan say Islamic extremism greatly threatens their country, and almost half in Indonesia and Turkey said it poses a great threat. Few people in Lebanon and Jordan felt that way.

Muslims in Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan and Morocco say they think of themselves first as Muslims, then as citizens of their country. Muslims in Lebanon and Indonesia were divided on how they think of themselves first.

"Many people in Muslim countries view themselves as a Muslim first and they want to see Islam playing a greater role in their countries," Sherman said, "but they do not want Islamic extremism to take over."

Sherman said for many Muslims, "strong views of wanting Islam in their life are consistent, in their view, with democratic values."

The polls were taken in various countries from late April to the end of May with samples of about 1,000 in most countries and slightly fewer than 1,000 in the European countries. The margin of sampling error ranged from 2 percentage points to 4 percentage points, depending on the sample size.