Pakistan’s former ambassador to Britain is now promoting tolerance between Islam and the Western world — while at the same time promoting his critical view of U.S. policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. He took a group of U.S. students on a tour of the cafes, homes, universities, mosques and madrasahs of India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria and Turkey and published a chronicle of their travels in “Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization.”

Q. What did you hope to achieve with that trip last year?

A. I hoped to allow Americans to hear Muslim voices and to extract policy recommendations for Congress and the Bush administration.

Q. How is this new Congress doing?

A. The members of Congress have no solutions because they’re not thinking of the right problems.

Q. How do you mean?

A. I haven’t heard anything that impresses me on Iraq, for example. The “surge” is not a long-term answer. The question is: How are you going to deal with the chaos and anarchy that’s developing? Iraq is hurtling toward disaster like a train — and right behind it is Afghanistan.

Q. Why is the United States doing so badly in the region?

A. In Afghanistan there is a saying, “I took revenge after 100 years, and I took it too soon.” Americans have no idea of a tribal society. President Bush is playing baseball and thinks he can win if he just keeps playing. Meanwhile the Chinese and Russians are playing a long-term game of chess.

Q. What’s the answer?

A. If I had to sum up what I learned on my trip, it would be this: Be true to your own ideals. For America, that means staying focused on the practice of democracy and the promotion of education and justice in foreign policy. For Muslim leaders, that means stressing knowledge, balance, compassion and justice in their societies.