WASHINGTON Confidence in President Barack Obama among the worlds Muslims is slipping, according to a new poll that reflects disapproval of his handling of the situations in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The survey, by the Pew Research Centres Global Attitudes Project, also found widespread concern in the Muslim countries that the United States remained a go-it-alone nation even under the new administration. But the poll said Obamas support had remained strong in most other nations even while his approval rating at home had slipped. PAKISTAN Among Muslim publics - except in Indonesia where Obama lived for several years as a child - the modest levels of confidence and approval observed in 2009 have slipped markedly, according to the poll. In Egypt the percentage of Muslims expressing confidence in Obama fell from 41% to 31% and in Turkey from 33% to 23%. Last year only 13% of Pakistani Muslims expressed confidence in Obama, but this year even fewer (8%) hold this view. And while views of Obama are still more positive than were attitudes toward President Bush among most Muslim publics, significant percentages continue to worry that the US could become a military threat to their country. You get a sense of Muslim disappointment with Barack Obama, said Andy Kohut, the Pew president, who attributed it to discontent with US policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to expectations raised by Obamas Cairo speech. The surveys were taken before Israels deadly May 31 clash with a flotilla of boats trying to break the blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, which sparked widespread condemnation of Israel. In the rest of the world, the US and Obama generally fare better. The 6 in 10 in Germany and Spain who view the US favourably has doubled from the lows reached under Bush. The US image is also significantly better than it was under Bush in Russia, China, France, Argentina, South Korea and Japan. Obama is broadly supported, but the percentages expressing confidence in him have ebbed in 14 countries polled. In only five countries, majorities think the US considers other nations when setting its foreign policy. Support for US anti-terrorism efforts and Obamas handling of economic problems is generally strong, but there is significant opposition to American involvement in Afghanistan and little faith that a stable government will emerge in Iraq. The poll also found that: * In the seven Muslim nations polled, the portion of Muslims saying suicide attacks are sometimes justified ranged from 39 percent in Lebanon to 5 percent in Turkey. Nowhere did Muslims give majority support to Osama bin Laden or his al-Qaida terrorist group. * In every nation but Poland, China and Brazil, most are unhappy with how things are going in their country, though dissatisfaction has grown in only three countries in the past year. Attitudes about each countrys economic situation are similarly negative, though a bit brighter than a year ago. * Nine in 10 Chinese are happy with their countrys economy, by far the highest mark of any nation polled. China is seen more positively than negatively in 15 countries, and in eight countries China is viewed as the worlds leading economic power - up from two who said so last year. * Only in Pakistan, a majority favour Iran having nuclear weapons. In most countries, economic sanctions against Irans nuclear programme get higher support than military action. But significant numbers are prepared for a showdown. In 16 countries, more people who oppose Irans nuclear programme consider stopping Tehran from getting such weapons more important than avoiding a military conflict. * More people in every country except Egypt and Jordan said the environment should be a priority, even at the cost of economic growth and jobs. But only in nine countries are half or more willing to pay higher prices to address global warming. * Three-fourths of Brazilians say their team will win this years World Cup soccer tournament, easily the most confident showing of the countries polled. Just 13 percent of Americans picked the US. The Pew Global Attitudes Project was conducted by the Pew Research Centre in 22 countries from April 7 through May 8, though the exact dates varied by country. Interviews were mostly conducted face-to-face, though telephone interviews were used in the US, Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Japan. Sample sizes ranged from 700 people in Japan to 3,262 in China. National samples were used in all countries except China, India and Pakistan, where those interviewed were disproportionately urban. The margin of sampling error ranged from plus or minus 2.5 percentage points in China to 5 points in Germany.