It's no surprise that the Bush administration's bullying swagger and blithe ignorance have caused much of the Muslim world to hold the U.S. in rock-bottom regard.

To be slapped with a shoe is a dirty insult in the Muslim world.

Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses.

The Muslim world is threatened by religious fanaticism. The Western world is threatened by secular fanaticism.

In 2004, I wrote 'What We've Lost,' a book about the Bush administration. It sold only reasonably well, in part, I think, because the book was a horrific downer, an unrelenting account of the administration's actions, bungles, deceptions, half-truths, untruths, and downright corruptions.

Without doubt, Malaysia is the great economic star of the Muslim world.