Today's Zogby Survey: Our attitude toward Egypt

[Ian David]

http://interactive.zogby.com/pollregistration/registration/index.cfm?refsite=tell


For the following series of statements, please tell me if knowing about each makes you much more favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat less favorable, or much less favorable toward Egypt, or does it make no difference?

If you knew that Egypt is a strategic partner and is working together with the US in the war on terrorism ...?

Egypt was the birthplace of the earliest Christian church. It now has a population of 10 million Christians ...?

Egypt's President Sadat was the first Arab leader to make peace with Israel ...?

Egypt's leaders have long been a force for moderation in opposing extremism of all types in the Middle East ...?

Do you consider yourself a NASCAR fan?

[CTyankee]

1. I just took the poll!

Unfortunately, I don't know that much about Egypt. What did you think?

[Ian David]

2. I said I like that they're moderate, made peace with Israel...

I don't care about the wheat or the trade or the christian churches...

and that I hope we're not taking this survey so Bush can see if bombing Egypt will be popular.

[eleny]

3. Same here

I was suspicious and not knowing as much as I'd like about Egypt - I said I didn't know on some of the early questions.

And then they wanted to know if I had a gun. Sometimes these polls are a mixed bag of groups that hire Zogby. It can get weird. So, I'm a 59 year old bat with a gun who knows little about Egypt. Doh! :silly:

[Ian David]

7. Well, it was a survey, not a test

They want a picture of what people at this moment know and feel about Egypt. It's okay to them that you don't know everything.

Now that you've taken the survey, if you want to learn about Egypt, Wikipedia is your friend...

Egypt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt


Also:

Religious intolerance in Egypt

Overview:

About 94% of the population of Egypt are Muslim. The largest minority religious group are Coptic Christians - members of The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt. The Copts "are persecuted by radical Islamic groups, by the abusive practices of local police and security forces, and by discriminatory and restrictive Egyptian Government policies. The result is that while Coptic Christians are generally able to practice their faith, increasingly they do so in a climate of fear." 1

More:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rt_egypt.htm

[AnnInLa]

4. Zogby hires itself out to different entities

Sounds like the client here was Egypt, trying to figure out if it needs to improve its image here. Many companies hire U.S. Public Relations firms to improve their image with Americans, if needed.

I answered generally positive about Egypt....was I correct?

[Ian David]

5. I was more-or-less positive toward Egypt

Yes, it was pretty clear that someone in Egypt wants to sell tourism packages to Christians.

on edit:

Say, didn't a bunch of people stab a bunch of Christians in Egypt a few days ago?

Economic woes add to tension in Egypt
NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt's latest bloodletting between Christians and Muslims has many fearing an explosion of sectarian violence in the Arab world's most populous country, fueled by frustration with plummeting living standards.

Increasingly radicalized Muslims, facing growing unemployment, have found it easier to take out their anger on the small Christian minority than confront the government of President Hosni Mubarak, social commentators say.

"It's a war with ourselves, with fanaticism and hatred among the sons of this nation," said Mohammed El-Sayed Said, an Egyptian political analyst. "What makes things more dangerous is that it is that the poor and marginalized who have become part of these clashes, which gives it a popular depth that is hard to control."

The latest clashes erupted Friday with knife attacks at three Coptic Christian churches in the port city of Alexandria. Three days of rioting by Christians and Muslims followed. Two people - a Christian and a Muslim - died, at least 40 were wounded and more than 100 were detained.

<snip>

Yet the church is partly to blame for fueling divisions, said Coptic political commentator Gamal Asaad Abdel Malak.

"The behavior of the Church has added to the tense atmosphere. It acts as a political representative and protector of the Copts as religious adherents but not as Egyptian citizens," he said. "That's antagonizing the extremists on both sides."

More:
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/breaking_news/14386669.htm

[dufrenne]

6. LOL

as one of those 10 million (we're called Copts and descended from Ancient Egyptians, as opposed to the Arabs who came from Arabia into Egypt), I'm all for it!

[Ian David]

9. My comment in the survey was limited in length...

This is the part I wanted to add to my comment, but didn't have room for:

Look, Bush stole two elections. And those who voted for him often did so because they were scared and they were lied to. The same way Mid-East television broadcasts hate mongering and fear mongering about "The Illegal Zionist Occupiers," we have Fox News spreading fear and hate in America. Our country has been stolen and our people lied to. And right now, 68% of us are very sorry.

Also, I know this is off-topic, but theories about Aliens building the pyramids is ignorant, disrespectful and racist. The alien theory is a banner waved by people who refuse to believe that non-christian dark skinned people can accomplish such feats.

[The Stranger]

8. The Fundamentalists still think that "Pharoah" is there, and that he is

"evil."

They will probably be looking for Charlton Heston in a bathrobe when they visit the "Christian" amusement park being built in Israel.