Poll: 46 percent view Muslim world poorly

WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- More Americans say they have an unfavorable view of the Muslim world than did so in 2002, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll indicates.

Seven years ago, shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 41 percent of respondents surveyed said they held an unfavorable view of the Muslim world compared with 46 percent who said so in the new poll, released as U.S. President Barack Obama sets out on a trip to the Middle East, the U.S. broadcaster said.

Just one in five respondents had a favorable view of Muslim countries while 30 percent said they had a neutral opinion, the CNN poll indicated.

A vast majority of respondents also believe Muslim countries have a poor opinion of the United States, with nearly 80 percent of those questioned stating such sentiments. CNN said six out of 10 poll respondents said they thought that the Muslim world considers itself at war with the United States.

The poll was conducted between May 14-17 among 1,010 adult U.S. residents questioned by telephone, pollsters said. The survey's sampling error was 3 percentage points.