September 11

There is no consensus of who was behind the 9 / 11
September 10, 2008


WPO_911_Sep08_img.jpgA WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 17 countries found that majorities in only nine of them believe that al Qaeda was behind the attacks of 9 / 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.


In no country did most agree on another possible perpetrator, but in many countries significant minority cited the U.S. government itself and in a few countries, Israel. These responses were given spontaneously and obvious question that did not provide answers options.

On average, 46 percent said that al Qaeda was behind the attacks while 15 percent say the U.S. government, seven percent Israel, and seven percent some other perpetrator. One out of four said they did not know.

"Given the extraordinary impact of the attacks of 9 / 11 have had on world affairs, it is remarkable that seven years later there was no international consensus about who was behind them," comments Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org.

Even in European countries, majorities said that al Qaeda was behind the 9 / 11 is not very large. Fifty-seven percent of British, 56 percent of Italians, 63 percent French and 64 percent of Germans gave the example of al Qaeda. However, the important part of the British (26%), French (23%) and Italy (21%) said they did not know who was behind the 9 / 11 is amazing., 23 percent of Germans had cited the U.S. government, as did percent Italy 15.

Publics in the Middle East were especially likely to name the perpetrators more than al Qaeda. Egypt, 43 percent said that Israel was behind the attacks, as did 31 percent in Jordan and 19 percent in the Palestinian territories. The U.S. government was named by 36 percent of Turks and 27 percent of Palestinians. The number who said al Qaeda was behind the attacks range from 11 percent in Jordan and 42 percent in the Palestinian territories.

WPO_911_Sep08_graph.jpgThe only countries with overwhelming majorities citing al Qaeda were African countries, Kenya (77%) and Nigeria (71%). In Nigeria, a large number of Muslims (64%) also said that al Qaeda was behind the attacks (compared to 79% of Nigerian Christians).

choice of 16,063 participants conducted between July 15 and August 31, 2008 by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative research project involving research centers around the world and managed by the Program for International Policy Attitudes (drums) at the University of Maryland. Margins of error range from + / -3 to 4 percent.

The interview was conducted in 17 countries, including most of the nation's largest - China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Russia - as well as Egypt, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, the states of Palestine, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Ukraine. States and represent 38% of world population.

Participants were asked who you thought was behind the attacks of 9 / 11? "Their answers were categorized into four response groups:" Al Qaeda, "the U.S. government," Israel, "or". Another "Any answers that approximated al Qaeda, such as" Bin Laden "or" strict Muslim, "were categorized along with those who say al Qaeda. Those who simply characterized the perpetrators as "Arabs", "Saudis," or "Egyptians" (3% on average) were included in "other races."

Participants in Asia had a mixed response. Clear majorities of Taiwan (53%) and South Korea (51%) name al Qaeda, but 17 percent of South Korea said a large number of U.S. government in both countries said they do not know (Taiwan 34%, South Korea 22 %).

Majorities of Chinese (56%) and Indonesians (57%) said they did not know, and giving a few key reasons the U.S. government (Indonesia 14%, China 9%).

Large numbers of Russians to open (57%) and quantity of Ukrainians (42%) say al Qaeda was behind the attacks. But a few important recognition by the U.S. government (15% in all cases) and large numbers do not provide an answer (Ukrainians 39%, Russians 19%).

Out of all the countries polled, Mexico had the second-largest number citing the U.S. government as the perpetrators of 9 / 11 (30%, after Turkey at 36%). Only 33 percent named al Qaeda.

Although people with more education generally have more exposure to information, those with more education were less likely to praise the only 9 / 11 and al Qaeda. Steven Kull comments, "It does appear that these beliefs can only be attributed to lack of exposure to information."

A stronger correlate of beliefs about 9 / 11 were the participants' attitudes about the United States. Those with a positive view of U.S. influence in the world were more likely to cite al Qaeda (on average 59%) than those with negative attitude (40%). Those who have a positive view of America were also less likely to blame the U.S. government (7%) than those with negative attitude (22%).