A poll of readers of the Arab newspaper Okaz in Riyadh, Beirut, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Sanaa, Aden, Gaza and Bonn, revealed that they consider Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be ?the worst personality of 2001.? Also making the list, at number five, just ahead of Saddam Hussein, was Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, with 0.5 percent of the votes. The second worst person of 2001, according to Okaz readers, is US President George W. Bush, who came in ahead of arch-terrorist Osama Bin Laden and Taliban warlord Mullah Muhammad Omar.
According to the newspaper, readers chose Ariel Sharon, who garnered an impressive 56 percent of the Okaz readership, as the worst personality of the year due to ?his ?crooked political ideology and bad political behavior.? With 29 percent of the votes, George Bush was judged to have a ?lack of understanding of international politics and his unlimited support for Israel,? according to Okaz readers. In contrast, Bin Laden, with 11 percent of the vote, was selected only because he caused unnecessary conflict between Arabs, Moslems and the rest of the world.
While Sharon was voted the worst person, the ongoing war between the PLO and Israel as only voted as the third worst event of the past year. As might be expected, the September 11 terrorist attacks in America earned first place, with 38 percent of the vote, but the American retaliation against Afghanistan was a close second with 33 percent. The Israeli-PLO warfare received only 27 percent of the vote.
According to the newspaper, readers chose Ariel Sharon, who garnered an impressive 56 percent of the Okaz readership, as the worst personality of the year due to ?his ?crooked political ideology and bad political behavior.? With 29 percent of the votes, George Bush was judged to have a ?lack of understanding of international politics and his unlimited support for Israel,? according to Okaz readers. In contrast, Bin Laden, with 11 percent of the vote, was selected only because he caused unnecessary conflict between Arabs, Moslems and the rest of the world.
While Sharon was voted the worst person, the ongoing war between the PLO and Israel as only voted as the third worst event of the past year. As might be expected, the September 11 terrorist attacks in America earned first place, with 38 percent of the vote, but the American retaliation against Afghanistan was a close second with 33 percent. The Israeli-PLO warfare received only 27 percent of the vote.