Survey: More Tunisians Express Support for Hizbullah than Lebanese
Forty percent of Lebanese hold a favorable opinion of Hizbullah, which receives its highest overall ratings in Tunisia from among six Muslim-majority countries, according to a poll published in the U.S.
But in Lebanon views about Hizbullah are sharply divided along sectarian lines: 94% of Shiites, 33% of Christians, and 5% of Sunnis give the group favorable marks, according to the survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in recent months.
Although nearly half of Tunisians (46 percent) express a positive opinion on Hizbullah, the party’s image has been declining in Jordan and Egypt in recent years, it said.
The study said that more than a year after the Arab Spring, solid majorities in Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan believe democracy is the best form of government, as do a plurality of Pakistanis.
Some 67 percent of Egyptians and 63 percent of Tunisians say "democracy is preferable," according to the survey.
In the rest of the region, 84 percent of Lebanese and 71 percent of Turks say they prefer democracy but Jordanians and Pakistanis are less enthusiastic, at 61 and 42 percent respectively.
Aside from Lebanon, which boasts a large Christian minority, a majority of poll participants across the surveyed Muslim nations feel Islam does and should play a central role in government. Points of view differ across the countries regarding the degree to which Islam should affect policy.
In Pakistan, 82 percent of participants feel "laws should strictly follow the teachings of the Koran." In the rest of the Muslim world, only 72 percent of Jordanians, 60 percent of Egyptians, 23 percent of Tunisians and 17 percent of Turks and Lebanese agreed.
A majority of poll participants believe women should have the same rights as men. Lebanese led the pack with 93 percent believing in gender equality. Only 74 percent of Tunisians and 58 percent of Egyptians support equal rights for women. Some 67 percent of Tunisian women say that equal gender rights are very important, whereas only 50 percent of men agree.
The polls were conducted in March and April, with a sample of 1,000 participants per country and a margin of error ranging from more or less than 3.9 to 5.2 points across the different countries.
11 July 2012, 10:06
34
Who gives a rat arse what others think about this group who is slowly but surely loosing relevance in Lebanese society.
11 July 2012, 10:39
36
That's great news. we'll get started on the immigration applications. we should have around 1.5 million idiots and an asshole. and for a limited time offer only, we'll throw in a claoun for your entertainment purposes :)
11 July 2012, 13:09
21
no no. i just want them to be more comfortable you know. between people who love them ;)
11 July 2012, 10:49
04
It is the first line of the article! "Forty percent of Lebanese hold a favorable opinion of Hizbullah..."
12 July 2012, 13:52
11
not edited ... u just do not know the Forty = 40 ... or u r practicing what your masters know best .. .selective memory and comments.
11 July 2012, 11:20
24
and so when you read an article in another foreign newspaper saying that hizballah is considered a terrorist organization, it has to be zionist propaganda. only when it is positive towards you or your stands is it actual freedom of speech and opinion? what a typical fpm mentality
11 July 2012, 11:47
26
You kind of just proved my point. if it doesnt agree with you, its wrong. if it does then its pure genius.
11 July 2012, 12:22
15
Be real. we're not talking about what countries officially consider because you know thats not really worth anything. I mean the lebanese government considers syria an ally and a brother. how can you make a mockery of the term allies more than that.
the point here im trying to make is that you are very good at questioning every word you read hear and blatantly denying it without proof or anything, ONLY when it goes against aoun and his masters.
but when there is something like this, you jump on the wagon without even checking a single fact, and of course accuse M14 of being traitors or lackies in passing (purely from your own bias and no proof, i might add)
11 July 2012, 12:55
03
lol now THAT's irrelevant :p
i never said any of those things. actually, those are all things you said in earlier posts in the last few months i have been checking this "forum". all i was trying to say in this reply to FT is (lets put it bluntly, w ma tez3al FT): meenak enta ta t2oul enno half of the lebanese "listen to what their foreign masters tell them to think"
11 July 2012, 13:03
03
And iran and syria (other side of the coin) will use their military to crush and literally massacre their own people without a second thought if those people chose to have freedom.
11 July 2012, 13:51
03
did you forget what happened to the iranians who dared to protest the election result in 2009-2010?
syria on the other hand is at war, yes; but not the way you put it. when you try to crush peaceful demonstrators by shooting at them, i think they have the right to fight back.
it has changed, and extremist groups have entered the fight, but its only because of how the syrian government handled things.
imagine wonderland, this very nice place where dreams come true. and bashar el assad saw the uprising and said fine, we will put in some REAL reforms. and he did. Do you really think islamist groups would have had an excuse to come out and rage war? if they did, and bashar el assad crushed them while implementing real changes and reforms to his dictatorship, you wouldnt have heard a peep out of anyone. it would have been totally justified.
and come on, to deny that iran and syria are dictatorships where freedoms dont exist is really, REALLY biased and plain irrational
11 July 2012, 13:55
02
and just to clear up, i am not pro usa. i acknowledge all the crimes and massacres they have committed and i know how they influence public opinions all over the world using their media.
still doesnt make the others right. "if you're not with us, you're against us" is too extreme and i believe in the right to agree with both sides on specific issues
11 July 2012, 17:15
02
millions protested and a small group got violent. hardly surprising and definitely not a reason to start an offensive against your own country's population.
now this argument can get a bit chicken and egg-ish but i'm going to put it straight. there are 2 sides of the story and i don't believe that one (the regime's side). as lebanese we have experience with assad's tolerance for anyone who opposes him (both father and son)
besides, he's not a dictator for nothing :p
11 July 2012, 12:08
25
Who cares what the Tunisians think of Hezb Iran ,if they like Hezb Iran let them take the Hezb to there country,what matters is what we think of Hezb Iran which is nothing.FT I would rather listen to feltman than someone Iranian wank..
11 July 2012, 13:05
05
umm you must have me confused with rudes.
i am actually arguing with FT and mowaten. although i agree it would be a nice show if we were all one person, i dont really like to be thought of the same person as FT (nothing personal FT, i dont know you but i know your political opinion)
11 July 2012, 15:12
04
hahaha, you're right. It would be nice to have half of our IP address shown.
11 July 2012, 17:00
31
You know it benzona.....schitzo and mentally warped to say the least. Any normal person would have been long gone after getting bashed time after time but then again......he is NOT normal. Pathetic he is!
11 July 2012, 18:17
11
It's nothing about scoring points MotorMouth aka BSThrower. It's about being realistic and not delusional like yourself. To you maybe it's point scoring (not expecting more from a child minded individual) but for me and as I can see, majority, it's about saving our country from regressed people like HA. One thing you still did not answer: with all the bashing you (and few aliases) are getting DAILY....wouldn't you think to take your sorry 'rear' elsewhere? Then again.....loners will be loners.
11 July 2012, 21:00
11
Factual points....you? LMAO! As always your same lame rebuttal "pothead". Jut be happy you have the screen to hide behind you little weasel!
11 July 2012, 13:03
11
These country's that think they are fighting for democracy dont even believe in it.equal rights for women is number 1
11 July 2012, 13:10
21
This dictatorship of a newspaper "nahar"deletes the peoples remarks relating to opposition belief's . What a Joke ,lebanese democracy from a source that is supposed to deliver any ones opinion.heheheh haroum anjad
11 July 2012, 13:10
21
This dictatorship of a newspaper "nahar"deletes the peoples remarks relating to opposition belief's . What a Joke ,lebanese democracy from a source that is supposed to deliver any ones opinion.heheheh haroum anjad
11 July 2012, 13:26
01
hizballah is supported by 85 pct+ of lebanese against israel, but supported by only 40 pct- domestically,majority of them are shiites afraid of losing their status without the power of hizb.... and 33 pct of christians just to offset sunnis..that's why 7th of may was a trap hizballah fells in and he will never repeat.
11 July 2012, 13:36
02
Never trust such polls as they are often missleading and there questions arent direct. The questions are designed in a way to create a certain result despite what people answer.
11 July 2012, 13:52
01
True. Slowly but surely HezboTehran is going down, loosing popularity from core supporters who today want to live, work and move in the right direction :)
11 July 2012, 15:13
25
Well, Tunisia and Egypt are the one looking for the Sharia to rule their life. They want to be whipped and stoned, so be it.
11 July 2012, 16:40
03
Naharnet, thank your for this article. It is good to get real news and scientific statistics about what is happening around us rather than hearsay and stupid empty tasari7.
The title of this article should however read "lebanese are the biggest beleivers in democracy and women rights in the arab world."
We are battered enough by bad news, it is good to have a positive statistic once in a while.
11 July 2012, 16:43
13
The Tunisians havent tried to be murdered by the filthy Persian wannabe militia. Once this happens the figures will change
11 July 2012, 16:52
03
agree. there is indeed a lot of negative propaganda against HA. Actually most news outlets in Lebanon are in fact antihezbollah propaganda outlets blowing out of proportion every single action of HA.
This being said, HA represents only one sect. And their equation people-army- resistance where one part of this equation is 100% chiite is not fair. It is not Feltman's fault why tunisians like HA more than lebanese. It is because tunisians can afford to not care about fairness in lebanon. Lebanese cant. And Hezbollah's weapons are unfair
11 July 2012, 16:56
12
There you go BSTHrower and of course alias mOwaten (not to be mistaken with the original mUwaten).....you have a home in Tunisia where you can flock like sheep under the love of HA worshipers. Your surely not welcome or wanted on Lebanese soil......
11 July 2012, 17:26
01
Good sampling of Hezbollah supporters in the picture above. Lots of smiling faces.
Wait until the STL shows proof of Hezbolah's murderous ways, and the favorable opinion of them will continue to fall.
40% suppport in Lebanon..... doesn't bode well for the next election.
11 July 2012, 17:51
01
Constipated looking "gals" holding up a picture of the cause of their constipation.
12 July 2012, 01:24
01
I don't believe it's 94% Shiites that support Hassouni. It's just my opinion, that's all.
12 July 2012, 07:52
01
They should have asked the Tunisians if they would still favor HZ if it was within their country with 40,000 rockets? if they answer yes, than its great, lets send HZ there
