Colin Powell hopes that the aid the United States is giving to countries hit by the tsunami will turn the tide of anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world: "If people will look at our actions and look at the subsequent results of those actions, and we see a democracy in Afghanistan and hopefully one in Iraq as well, people will judge us by what we end up accomplishing, and the antiAmerican feeling that we have seen in various parts of the world over the past year and a half will start to dissipate."

Unfortunately, the South African Mufti Ebrahim Desai has made a statement that, had Powell known of it, might have diminished his confidence in the effect of the aid. The questioner asked: "The West is often criticized by Muslims for many reasons.... But shouldn't the West also receive praise because. . . they're usually the first to send aid when there's a flood. . . so should we appreciate their efforts or not?"

Desai's answer was brief: "In simple, the Kuffaar [unbelievers] can never be trusted for any possible good they do. They have their own interest at heart."