Between March 19 and April 10, 2012 Pew Research Center conducted a nationwide survey that finds Egyptians remain upbeat about the course of the nation and prospects for progress (52% optimistic) and satisfied with the way things are going in the country (53% satisfied). Most Egyptians continue to support democracy as the best form of government (67%) yet most also want Islam to play a major role in society (66% significantly up from 47% in 2010). To make things worse, when asked which country is the better model for the role of religion in government, Turkey or Saudi Arabia, 61% chose the Saudi model. Despite all the noise, 70% of Egyptians express a favorable view of the Muslim Brotherhood, 60% say the People’s Assembly is having a positive influence on the country, 75% believe the military is having a good influence on the country, 63% hold a positive opinion of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and Chairman Mohamed Tantawi's favorability down to the still quite high 63%. Now let me drop a number of additional bombshells on you: (a) 40% believe that under the Muslim Brotherhood women will have more rights than they had in the past while 30% think women will have about the same rights as in the past, (b) 83% say religious leaders have a very or somewhat good influence on the country, and (c) current presidential candidate Amr Moussa is very popular with the Egyptian public: 81% give him favorable ratings.
Are we still living in the Facebook and Cairo bubble? The numbers above make me think life stood still and the past 12 months did not happen with Moussa still the frontrunner, the Army viewed as "protector of the revolution" and the Muslim Brotherhood the most trusted name in show business! Is this the referendum on the constitution all over again?
