Bin Laden's porn stash might hurt him more in the Middle East than terrorism did

In four of the seven countries, more Muslims favored segregation of men and women than favored U.S.-led anti-terror efforts. In five of the seven countries, more Muslims favored stoning of adulterers than favored the U.S. anti-terror fight. In three countries, more Muslims favored sexual segregation than said violent targeting of civilians was never justified. In four countries, more Muslims endorsed stoning of adulterers than said civilians should never be targeted. (Pew has released data from the survey in three reports. I’ll post a table with the key numbers later today.)

The Pew survey also asked respondents whether they had confidence in Bin Laden “to do the right thing regarding world affairs.” In five countries—Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan—the subsample of Muslims who said they had “some” or “a lot of” confidence in Bin Laden was big enough to analyze. Among these sympathizers, stoning of adulterers was more popular in all five countries than was opposition to the deliberate targeting of civilians. And in four of the five countries, support for sexual segregation similarly outpolled opposition to violence against civilians.

This is why the leaks about Bin Laden’s “porn stash” are more than a joke. His sympathizers and potential followers are, by several measures, more categorically averse to pornography, adultery, and the mixing of men and women than they are to suicide bombing of civilian targets. If you want to sour these people on Bin Laden and his movement, calling him a terrorist won’t cut it. You’re better off portraying him as a hypocritical porn hound who lived in a million-dollar mansion, touched himself up for videos, and hid behind women when martyrdom called.