Muslims increasingly reject Osama bin Laden and oppose suicide bombings but also regard the United States as a growing threat to their own security, according to a new international opinion poll.

The findings suggest that the Islamic world wants to turn its back on both sides in the War on Terror, and do not indicate that America is winning hearts and minds in the Middle East or beyond.

Instead, the Pew Institute’s Global Attitudes survey shows increasing Muslim hostility towards violent extremism, particularly in countries that have witnessed its bloody consequences first hand. These include Lebanon, where the proportion of those who say suicide bombing is often or sometimes justified has fallen from 74 per cent in 2002 to 34 per cent.

There have also been sharp falls in support for such terrorism in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia, all of which have suffered suicide bomb attacks in recent years.

In the past five years there has been a similar marked reduction in support for bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. In Jordan, this has shrunk from 56 per cent to 20 per cent, in Indonesia from 59 per cent to 41 per cent, in Lebanon from 20 per cent to just 1 per cent while even in Pakistan – where he is thought to be hiding – the proportion backing him has dropped from 46 per cent to 38 per cent.

The exception in this survey were the Palestinian Territories where 70 per cent of people say suicide bombing can often or usually be justified — and only 6 per cent say “never”. Although backing for bin Laden has fallen by 15 per cent, he still maintains the confidence of the majority with 57 per cent support.

The Pew Institute report suggested that globally, economic growth and stability were closely tied to a sense of personal well-being. But there was little evidence to sustain theories that the economy might have a similar beneficial effect on support for terrorism.

In Lebanon, economic confidence has plummeted following the military clash with Israel but Muslims are still less likely to support either bin Laden or Hezbollah.

Palestinian support for suicide bombing appears to be fairly uniform across all income levels.

Large majorities of Islamic people in Asia and the Middle East worry that the US could become a military threat to their countries. Such findings may lend support to the views of the British Government, among others, that President Bush’s language about the War on Terror and Islamic extremism have persuaded many Muslims that they are in the cross-hairs of the American military.

The report says that “Muslims in Bangladesh and Morocco are almost unanimous in their concern” about the military threat from the US, with more than 90 per cent in each saying they were very or somewhat worried. So are 85 per cent of Indonesians.

Turkey – a member of Nato – has 77 per cent of its population expressing similar fears, while 73 per cent are concerned in Pakistan and the Palestinian territories.

Even in Kuwait, a country liberated by the US in the first Gulf War, 63 per cent of people are worried.

The belief that the US might pose a military threat varies among people of different faiths in Lebanon and Malaysia. Nearly two-thirds of Lebanese Muslims fear that America may become a military threat to their country, compared with 41 per cent of Christians. In Malaysia, Muslims are considerably more likely than Buddhists to see the US as a potential threat.

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