As a Muslim-American, I watched with great interest Thursday morning as President Obama spoke to the world about the state of the Middle East. With that region engulfed in so much turmoil, this provides America a crucial opportunity to take a stand. I was looking for a glimpse into how the president proposed to address what some have called “the Muslim problem,” in which some people living in the Middle East still harbor unfavorable attitudes towards America. When a portion of such people then hold extremist groups in higher esteem, that becomes a recipe for disaster.
A new Pew survey of Middle East nations found that U.S. favorability and confidence in President Obama has either declined or not changed significantly since 2009.
Even the recent uprising of pro-democracy movements has not led to an improvement in America’s image among the people in the region. To the contrary, the survey found that America’s image remained negative. This decline is because the U.S. has a reputation of supporting the leaders of these countries, as opposed to the people of these countries. And many of these leaders have proven to be corrupt and unjust.
Tags: Harris Zafar, middle east, President Obama
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