The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon by Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on Qatar TV on September 9, 2005.

Al-Qaradhawi: Brothers, I use this opportunity to convey my condolences to those harmed by Hurricane Katrina in America, to the victims of this hurricane, to their families, and to the American people. Some people might be surprised that I send my condolences following a disaster that befell America, even though America is hostile to Islam and the Muslims, and fights them everywhere.

Brothers, I say that we are not hostile to the American people. We are not hostile towards the American people itself. The American people are mostly good. We are hostile to the policy of the American administration. We do not gloat at someone else's disaster. A Muslim should not gloat at other people's disasters, whoever they may be.