Terror Trends Bulletin

By Christopher W. Holton

A new, scientific poll conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center indicates substantial support for the Islamic State (often incorrectly referred to as ISIS or ISIL) across the Islamic world.

Now Pew touts the poll by pointing out that the overwhelming majority of Muslims profess a negative view of the Islamic State, but what is more ominous are the raw numbers of Muslims who have a positive view of the Islamic State or claim to not know what their opinion of the Islamic State is…

For instance, just about one in ten Muslims in Turkey, Nigeria, Malaysia, Senegal and Pakistan have a “favorable” view of the Islamic State. Substantial numbers claim not to know what their opinion of the Islamic State is. One in five Turks, Nigerians and Indonesians “don’t know.” One in four Malaysians and Senegalese “don’t know.” And a whopping 6 in 10 of Pakistanis claim to not know what their opinion of the Islamic State is. Less than 1 in 3 Pakistanis have an unfavorable view of the Islamic State.

Conspicuously absent from the polling are Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two nations whose populations have provided Jihadist groups with substantial financial support and who have seen numerous members of their young, military age male populations join Jihadist movements.

What this translates to in raw numbers amounts to millions of Muslims around the world with a favorable view of the Islamic State.