I know that this will come as a shock to Crikey’s more PC
readers, but most Muslims do not believe that Arabs committed the 9/11 attack on
the USA.

The independent Pew Global
Attitudes Project (co-chaired by former US Secretary of State Madeleine
K Albright) recently conducted a survey of Muslim and non-Muslim
opinions. The 22 June 2006 report,
entitled “The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other”, is
available on the project’s website and can be downloaded. The report is too detailed for me to analyse here, but I
commend it to everyone.

One question (Q38) was:
“Do you believe that groups of Arabs carried out the attacks against the
United States (the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon) on September 11 (2001) or don’t you believe this?” The question was asked of Muslims only. The response:

Did Arabs Carry Out the 9/11 Attacks?
Muslims said:

 Yes

 No
Great Britain

 17%

 56%
France

 48

 46
Germany

 35

 44
Spain

 33

 35
Egypt

 32

 59
Turkey

 16

 59
Indonesia

 16

 65
Pakistan

 15

 41
Jordan

 39

 53
Nigeria

 42

 47

The balance were either Don’t Know or Refused. Let me make three comments.

One, I find this very depressing. I think it shows the extraordinary power of both the radical Muslim media and the
preaching of Islamic radicals. It is
incomprehensible that only 17% of British Muslims accept that Arabs carried out
the 9/11 attacks. Like Australia, Britain is a free society with an
independent media. How could it be that
56% of British Muslims believe that Mohamed Atta and his friends did not carry
out the atrocities?

Two, if not Arabs, then whom? No doubt all the conspiracy theories come
into play here, ranging from “it did not happen” to it was committed by “the
CIA and the Jews”. Considering that 9/11
was the reason for the US
invasion of Afghanistan
(and, indirectly, Iraq),
it is not surprising that Muslims everywhere oppose the War against
Terror. If the terror did not happen in
the first place, how can there be a war against Islam?

Three, I fear that the British figures may have relevance
for Australia. If they are applicable here, then 168,000 of Australia’s
300,000
Muslims do not believe that Arab Muslims carried out 9/11. Half that
figure would be frightening. Again, I recommend the report to all.