Near East Consulting
POB 4, Ramallah, Palestine
T. +970-2-296-1436
info@neareastconsulting.com
www.neareastconsulting.com/
PRESS RELEASE

The Danish Cartoons Issue

. Although the knowledge of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad is
very widespread (99.7%), only 1% heard about them in September 2005 when
they first appeared. A mere 31% have actually seen the cartoons.

. 24% believe Denmark is a friend of the Palestinians, 42% believe Denmark
holds a neutral position, while 34% view Denmark as an enemy of the
Palestinians.

..7% believe Denmark is friendly to Islam, 34% believe it holds a neutral
position, while 59% view Denmark as an enemy to Islam.

..Only 4% believe that the Danish government has been acting appropriately
in their efforts to solve the cartoon issue.

..Although 86% believe that the reactions that have emerged against Denmark
are justifiable, equally large majorities are opposed to the attack on the
EU offices in the Gaza Strip (82%) or TIPH in Hebron (88%), while 93%
disagree that Western civilians should now become legitimate targets.

..37% believe that the most appropriate way to protest against the cartoons
is a combination of peaceful means, including boycott of products, stopping
diplomatic ties, peaceful demonstrations, refusing Danish humanitarian
assistance, and taking the issue to Danish courts. 8% believe the most
appropriate way to protest against the cartoons is by using all means,
including violence.

..While 52% believe that the issue of the Danish cartoons will calm down,
only 41% feel that the situation should calm down.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Please contact Jamil Rabah NEC, HSBC Building,
3rd floor RAMALLAH Tel: 02-2961436 Fax: 02-2963114
info@neareastconsulting.com

The results will be available in detail and with cross-tabulations by
Tuesday 14 February 2006 at 12 noon on the following site:
www.neareastconsulting.com

Methodology

During the period 9-11 February, 2006, Near East Consulting (NEC) conducted
a phone survey of over 1,300 randomly selected Palestinians in the West
Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem of which 702 were successfully
completed. The survey covered a number of issues related the Danish
cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad such as Palestinians knowledge about the
cartoons, their opinions about the violent reactions in the Muslim world as
a result of the reprinting of the cartoons, the opinions about the Danish
government's handling of the issue, and opinions on the most appropriate
manner to deal with the cartoon issue. It is worth noting that 60% of
households in the Palestinian territories have phone connectivity. Previous
surveys conducted by the researchers at NEC do not show much difference in
the attitudes between households who own phone lines and those who do not.
Finally, the margin of error is +/- 3.7% with a 95% confidence level.

Knowledge about the Danish cartoons

Knowledge about the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad is very
widespread as only 2 respondents in the sample had never heard about them.
However, very few respondents (1%) knew about the cartoons at the time they
actually appeared in September 2005. As indicated in the figure below, most
respondents found out about the cartoons recently at a time when the
cartoons were reprinted in various countries around the world.

Time of finding out about the Danish cartoons
22% One week ago
47% Two weeks ago
30% One month ago
1% By October 2005

In addition and despite the intense reactions against the publishing of
the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, the majority of 69% of the
respondents have not actually seen any of these depictions.

Have you seen any of the Danish cartoons?
31% Yes
69% No

Supporting the argument that the intense reactions against the cartoons are
mainly principle-based is the finding that a large majority of the
respondents (93%) believe that the cartoons are in no way related to the
principle of freedom of expression. A mere 7% acknowledge that the
publishing of the cartoons are part and parcel of the right of freedom of
expression.

Opinions about the publishing of the cartoons being part of freedom of
expression
Part of freedom of expression 7%
Not related to freedom of expression 93%

Opinions about Denmark

Respondents were both asked if they consider Denmark to be a friend to the
Palestinians and whether or not they believe Denmark to be friendly to
Islam. The results overviewed in the figure below indicate that a larger
portion of Palestinians consider Denmark a friend of the Palestinians (24%)
than they believe Denmark to be friendly to Islam (7%). Similarly, a larger
percentage of Palestinians believe that Denmark holds a neutral position
towards the Palestinians (42%) than it does towards Islam (34%). According
to the survey, 59% consider Denmark to be an enemy of Islam.

Is Denmark a friend to the Palestinians?
Yes 24% No 34% Neutral 42%

Is Denmark friendly to Islam?
Yes 7% No 59% Neutral 34%

In light of the cartoon issue, the majority of 85% of the respondents
evaluate the principle of freedom of expression in Denmark negatively. As
indicated below, only 15% of the respondents view the principle of freedom
of expression in Denmark positively.

Evaluation of the principle of freedom of expression in Denmark
Positive 15% Negative 85%

The majority of 62% of the respondents do not believe that the publishing of
the Danish cartoons were merely a private initiative by a Danish newspaper,
but are convinced that the cartoons also represent the general position of
Denmark.

Were the cartoons carried out on a private level or is it a general Danish
position?
38% They were carried out on a private level
62% They represent a general position by Denmark

In addition, a nearly absolute majority of 96% of the respondents are of the
opinion that the Danish government was unable to solve the cartoon issue
appropriately.

Do you believe that the Danish government has been acting appropriately in
their efforts to solve the issue?
Appropriately 4% Inappropriately 96%

Opinions about the reactions to the Danish cartoons

In general, 86% of Palestinians believe that the reactions that have emerged
in the past few weeks against Denmark as a result of the cartoon issue are
justified.

Opinion about the reaction against Denmark
Justifiable 86% Not justifiable 14%

An equal percentage of respondents (86%) believe that taking the cartoon
issue to the courts in Denmark is insufficient as a potential course of
action with the aim to settle the controversy.

Sufficiency of taking the cartoon issue to the courts in Denmark
Sufficient 14% Insufficient 86%

Respondents were also queried about their opinions about the attacks last
week on the EU offices in the Gaza Strip and the TIPH in Hebron. As
illustrated in the figure below, a large percentage of Palestinians are
against the attacks against those offices. In general, 82% are against the
attacks on the EU offices, while 88% disagree with the attacks on the TIPH
in Hebron. In addition, when asked about whether or not, given the current
situation, Western civilians should now also become targets, 92% of the
respondents stated that they are against such actions.

Do you agree with the attack on the EU offices in the Gaza Strip?
Yes 18% No 82%

Do you agree with the attack on TIPH in Hebron?
Yes 12% No 88%

Do you agree or disagree that Western civilians should now become targets?
Agree 7% Disagree 93%

Still, when asked about whether or not respondents believe the reactions
to date against the cartoons were against Palestinian national interest,
a small majority of 52% believe that it is in Palestinian national
interest.

Were the reactions up to date against the Danish cartoons in the
Palestinian national interest?
Yes 52% No 48%

As for the attacks on the Danish diplomatic missions in Syria and Lebanon,
29% of the respondents agree with those attacks, which indicates that
support for violent attacks outside the Palestinian territories is wider
than support for violent attacks within the Palestinian territories.

Do you agree with the attacks on the Danish diplomatic missions in Syria
and Lebanon?
Agree 29% Disagree 71%

Besides the opinions about the recent attacks on several international
offices, interviewees were queried about what in their opinion is the most
appropriate way to protest against the cartoons depicting the Prophet
Muhammad. As overviewed in the figure below, 37% find it the most
appropriate way to protest the cartoons by using a combination of peaceful
means, 18% believe it to be most appropriate to demonstrate peacefully,
while 16% find it most appropriate to concentrate their protest on solely
boycotting Danish products. In addition, 9% want to protest the cartoons
through boycotting all Western products, another 9% want to stop diplomatic
ties with Denmark, while a mere 2% believe that taking the cartoon issue to
Danish courts is the most appropriate way to protest. Lastly, only 1% of the
respondents said that the most appropriate way to protest against the
cartoons is to refuse Danish humanitarian assistance, while the remaining
8% of the respondents believe that all means should be used to protest the
cartoons, including violence.

The most appropriate way to protest against the cartoons
16% Boycott only Danish products
09% Boycott all Western products
09% Stop diplomatic ties with Denmark
18% Demonstrate peacefully
02% Take the issue to Danish courts
01% Refuse Danish humanitarian assistance
37% Use all of the above peaceful means
08% Use all means, including violence

Opinions about future developments as a result of the Danish cartoon issue
In an attempt to capture in which way the current tension could evolve in
the future, interviewees were asked two specific questions: (1) Will the
issue of the Danish cartoons calm down or cause a further rift between the
Muslim world and the West?, and (2) Should the current situation be calmed
down or should it be intensified?. The results overviewed in the figure
below, indicate that although a slight majority of the respondents (52%)
believe that the issue of the Danish cartoons will calm down, only a
minority of 41% feel that the situation should be calmed down.

Intensifying the situation does not necessarily imply the use of violent
means as 53% of those who believe the most appropriate way to protest
against the cartoons by peaceful means have also stated that the situation
should be intensified.

Will the issue of the Danish cartoons calm down or will it cause a rift
between the Muslim world and the West?
53% It will calm down soon
47% It will cause a further rift

Should the situation be calmed down or should it be intensified?
41% The situation should be calmed down
59% The situation should be intensified