Data Resources

Although the focus here is on the people and culture of the Middle Eastern publics, given that an overwhelming majority of these publics are Muslims, for scholars interested in comparative study of Muslim majority countries, we have produced a dataset on values and beliefs in Islamic countries and the United States. The data set from the U.S. is added for those interested in understanding the convergence and divergence of values between the American public and people from Muslim majority countries.

This project focuses on the values and sociopolitical and cultural attitudes of young Egyptians and Saudis. The survey instrument includes constructs in four general areas of values: (1) the sources of epistemic authorities that the youths rely in forming opinion about various social and cultural issues and deciding their career; (2) the extent to which the youth are aware of developmental ideas; (3) the youths’ orientations toward such issues as relationship between religion and politics, form of government, Western culture, and social status of women; and (4) the youths’ religiosity and attitudes toward religion.