Poll: significant public support for Brotherhood and Hamas in Gulf states

An opinion poll, conducted by a leading regional company specialising in commercial surveys found that 31 percent of Saudis, 34 percent of Kuwaitis and 29 percent of Emiratis support the Muslim Brotherhood. 

The poll, commissioned by the Washington Institute, was based on interviews conducted with a representative sample of each country’s demographics.

The poll did not include the high number of foreign workers in each of the Gulf States, reported Arabi21.

David Pollock, a fellow at the Washington Institute said that the results showed higher support for the organisation than expected considering that the governments of both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have labelled the Brotherhood a "terrorist organisation" and have waged fierce campaigns against it. 

Abdel Khalik Abduallah, political activist and international relations professor at the United Arab Emirates University said, “The fact that 29% of Emiratis support the Muslim Brotherhood despite the fierce media and government campaign that has been conducted against them, is a notable outcome that deserves consideration.”

The report which signals continued public support for the Muslim Brotherhood helps explain the concern felt by several Gulf governments which have in turn given considerable financial support to the military-backed government of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

Sisi has cracked down on the Brotherhood, detaining thousands of its members, since the military take-over in July 2013. 

The poll also revealed that even larger percentages of the three Gulf States' citizens showed support for the Palestinian movement Hamas.

Fifty-two percent of Saudis, 53 percent of Kuwaitis and 44 percent of Emiratis said that they back Hamas, according to the poll.

A large percentage of those interviewed said however that after the recent Gaza war, they are not supportive of Hamas’s policies or war tactics in trying to defeat Israel. 

On the other hand, Hamas's popularity remained higher than that of rival Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, the poll reflected that support for the Islamic State is near negligible in all three countries.

While only 5 percent of Saudis support IS, an even smaller percentage of Kuwaitis and Emiratis uphold the views of the organisation which has declared an Islamic caliphate after seizing swathes of Iraq and Syria. 

The poll also indicated that Iran, the Syrian government of president Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah were rated very poorly.