The 2016 Arab Youth Survey is telling the world again what people in our region already know and have been telling the world – that employment problems and weak economies are a bigger pull factor for Islamic State than extreme religious views. The survey also says unequivocally that Arab youth are increasingly rejecting the IS. The findings are important considering the scope and extent of the survey. It was carried out by the international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland for Asda’a Burson-Marsteller and respondents were drawn from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen.
Among the several significant findings of the survey, the most important is the growing concern among Arabs about a chronic lack of jobs and opportunities which is seen as the principal factor feeding terrorist recruitment. The message this sends is that any fight against terrorism should involve not only military action and educational campaigns, but also serious efforts at the economic improvement of people who are forced into terrorism in the absence of other options in life. But even amidst this pervasive gloom, Arab youth are distancing themselves from the IS. Only 13 percent said they could imagine themselves supporting the terrorist outfit, even if it did not use much violence, down from 19 percent last year. And 50 percent of the people surveyed are seeing IS as the biggest problem facing the Middle East, up from 37 percent last year.
There is a huge disappointment about the failure of Arab Spring and growing pessimism about future. This year, only 36 percent of young people said they felt the Arab world was in a better shape following the revolutions, down from 72 percent in 2012. The instability, chaos, civil wars and rampant corruption in several Arab countries have made the youth prefer stability to democracy. This is because democracy can take root and prosper only in a state of peace and stability. The majority (53 percent) agreed that maintaining stability was more important than promoting democracy (28 percent). In 2011, 92 percent of Arab youth had said that “living in a democracy” was their most cherished wish.
The eighth annual Arab Youth Survey provides a window into the aspirations of 200 million people and was based on 3,500 interviews across a range of issues with respondents aged 18 to 24. Arab rulers and governments need to take its findings seriously and take corrective measures to rescue Arab region from more turmoil. The West, which has been blaming Muslim terrorism on the Islamic faith and radicalization of youth, must understand that terrorism is least prevalent in prosperous Arab countries. Millions of youth are staring at a bleak future and have lost faith in their leadership.
The 2016 Arab Youth Survey is telling the world again what people in our region already know and have been telling the world – that employment problems and weak economies are a bigger pull factor for Islamic State than extreme religious views. The survey also says unequivocally that Arab youth are increasingly rejecting the IS. The findings are important considering the scope and extent of the survey. It was carried out by the international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland for Asda’a Burson-Marsteller and respondents were drawn from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen.
Among the several significant findings of the survey, the most important is the growing concern among Arabs about a chronic lack of jobs and opportunities which is seen as the principal factor feeding terrorist recruitment. The message this sends is that any fight against terrorism should involve not only military action and educational campaigns, but also serious efforts at the economic improvement of people who are forced into terrorism in the absence of other options in life. But even amidst this pervasive gloom, Arab youth are distancing themselves from the IS. Only 13 percent said they could imagine themselves supporting the terrorist outfit, even if it did not use much violence, down from 19 percent last year. And 50 percent of the people surveyed are seeing IS as the biggest problem facing the Middle East, up from 37 percent last year.
There is a huge disappointment about the failure of Arab Spring and growing pessimism about future. This year, only 36 percent of young people said they felt the Arab world was in a better shape following the revolutions, down from 72 percent in 2012. The instability, chaos, civil wars and rampant corruption in several Arab countries have made the youth prefer stability to democracy. This is because democracy can take root and prosper only in a state of peace and stability. The majority (53 percent) agreed that maintaining stability was more important than promoting democracy (28 percent). In 2011, 92 percent of Arab youth had said that “living in a democracy” was their most cherished wish.
The eighth annual Arab Youth Survey provides a window into the aspirations of 200 million people and was based on 3,500 interviews across a range of issues with respondents aged 18 to 24. Arab rulers and governments need to take its findings seriously and take corrective measures to rescue Arab region from more turmoil. The West, which has been blaming Muslim terrorism on the Islamic faith and radicalization of youth, must understand that terrorism is least prevalent in prosperous Arab countries. Millions of youth are staring at a bleak future and have lost faith in their leadership.
