Poll: Iran’s Favorable Ratings among Arabs, Muslims Plummet

Arab American Institute (AAI) President and Managing Director of Zogby Research Services (ZRS), James Zogby will release the results of a new ZRS 20-nation survey of Arab and Muslim attitudes toward Iran today at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Today’s poll, Looking at Iran: the Rise and Fall of Iran in Public Opinion, compares recent survey findings with data from the region Zogby International and the Arab American Institute have compiled over the past decade.
The briefing takes place at 12:30pm

Key finding:
When polled in 2006, Iran’s favorable ratings in Arab and Muslim countries were at their highest point. Back then, in most countries, Iran’s favorable ratings were in the 75% range (with Saudis giving Iran an 85% rating). Today, the tables have turned. Iran’s favorable ratings in these same countries have fallen to less than 25% (Saudi ratings have plummeted to 15%).
View a summary of the poll
AAI President Jim Zogby said, “The lesson here is clear. When Iran was seen in the Arab and Muslim Worlds through the prism of U.S. and Israeli policies, it won. But when Iran is judged by its regional behavior and its domestic repression, it loses support in Arab and Muslim public opinion.”
AAI maintains an extensive and comprehensive archive of Zogby International polls on Arab, Arab American, and U.S. opinion covering a wide range of issues.
ZRS surveyed 20,051 citizens in 20 countries: 17 Arab countries (Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia) and three non-Arab Muslim countries (Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan