(CNN)
-- Almost half of all Saudis said in a poll conducted
last year that they have a favorable view of Osama bin
Laden's sermons and rhetoric, but fewer than 5 percent
thought it was a good idea for bin Laden to rule the Arabian
Peninsula.
The poll involved interviews with more
than 15,000 Saudis and was overseen by Nawaf Obaid, a
Saudi national security consultant.
It was conducted between August and November
2003, after simultaneous suicide attacks in May 2003 when
36 people were killed in Riyadh.
Obaid said he only recently decided to
reveal the poll results because he felt the public needed
to know about them.
"I was surprised [at the results],
especially after the bombings," Obaid told CNN. The
question put to Saudi citizens was "What is your
opinion of Osama bin Laden's sermons and rhetoric?"
"They like what he said about what's
going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or about America and
the Zionist conspiracy. But what he does, that's where
you see the huge drop," said Obaid, referring to
the bombings that had already begun taking place inside
Saudi Arabia at the time the poll was conducted.
He also said he would like to update the
poll numbers in the wake of the recent series of terrorist
attacks that have taken place in Saudi Arabia.
Forty-one
percent said they favored strong and close relations with
America, while only 39 percent said they had a favorable
opinion of the Saudi armed forces, both results that Obaid
also termed "surprising."
"They don't trust their army,"
said Obaid, who noted that the security forces fared far
better.
He noted that less than a third of Saudis
polled had a positive opinion of militant clerics, although
government-appointed religious figures did better.
The poll showed strong support for political
reforms and allowing women to play a greater role in society.
Almost two-thirds said they favored allowing women to
drive, something they are currently banned from doing.
While support for political reforms, particularly
elections, was high, few Saudis viewed liberal reformers
with much favor.
Obaid said he shared the poll results
-- some of which were published today in The Washington
Post -- with members of the Interior and Foreign ministries,
as well as the royal court.
Some were "a bit wary" about
the questions, Obaid said, particularly the ones relating
to bin Laden, but he received support from the government
when he conducted the poll.
The margin of error was plus or minus
three percentage points.
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