The most positive Muslim nations were those in sub-Saharan Africa, especially Sierra Leone, where US and British aid have done much to improve opinion after years of conflict.

A factor overlaying each side’s view of the other has been media coverage. Mogahed said media-content analysis showed majority of the US TV news coverage was “sharply negative” of Islam, whereas when Christianity was discussed on Muslim TV stations, the coverage was flat — neither good nor bad.

Findings of a Gallup survey of more than 50,000 people in 35 Muslim countries over 6 years

• Muslims around the world admire much of what the West holds dear, including freedom of speech, democracy, technological progress. Britain and US held up as best representatives of this

• Americans, on the other hand, have a low opinion of Muslims, with only 34 per cent saying they had no prejudice towards Muslims and 19 per cent saying they had a “great deal” of prejudice

• The Muslim perception of different nations falls along policy, not cultural or religious lines. So, US’s “aggressive” invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, backed by Britain, contributes much to the perception of the two in the Muslim mind. The West is viewed most favourably in Sub-Saharan Africa, where its aid has changed lives

• Muslims feel the qualities the West espouses, such as democracy, are only given lip service when it comes to the Muslim world. Most Egyptians, Jordanians and Iranians believe the US won’t allow them to decide own future

... contd.