Cultures are never merely intellectual constructs. They take form through the collective intelligence and memory, through a commonly held psychology and emotions, through spiritual and artistic communion.
Behind every great man is not a woman, she is beside him, she is with him, not behind him.
I have learned that one should say “Peace!” to those who shout their hatred for one’s being and presence or at one’s passage.
I am too old to think that numbers are creating change.
We need more citizens that are committed and courageous.
The challenge for Muslims in America is to respect the fears of ordinary people while resisting the exploitation of those fears by political parties, lobbies and sectors of the media. To meet this challenge, Muslims must reassess their own involvement, behavior and contributions in American society.
Islam came to teach us that there is no faith without intelligence and here we are: destroying our intelligence in the name of faith.
Islam has no problem with women, but Muslims do clearly appear to have serious problems with them.
One does not always know how to express the sorrow of the soul. One does not always know how to silence the joy of the heart.
Teach the heart not to give way to proud emotions and arrogant thinking; bring the mind to heart-soothing solutions that make it possible to control oneself gently and wisely.
Serve humanity, regardless of religion. Show solidarity for those suffering and oppressed.
We want to tell people how great Islam is yet we are not great Muslims.
The strength of democratic societies relies on their capacity to know how to stand firm against extremism while respecting justice in the means used to fight terrorism.
The suicide bomber who blows up Israeli children cannot transform himself into a martyr. The Palestinian problem is not an Islamic problem.
The dogmatic and, therefore, invulnerable core in Islam is understandably simple: acknowledgement of faith, prayer, charity and fasting. Almost everything else is open to interpretation and modification in space and time.
Emancipation can only come from within; it cannot be dictated by someone else. A law banning the wearing of headscarves changes nothing, except perhaps external appearance. Naturally, Islamic feminism must also include the right to education, to work and the freedom to select one’s own husband.
Even the concept of the infidel is misleading, because the infidel is normally someone with a different faith, someone who refuses to recognize the truth of the words of the Koran, as revealed by God. He has every right to do so, as long as he does not question my right to believe in my truth.
The logic of freedom of religion implies freedom to be an atheist, even though, from a historical perspective, this has not been accepted in the Muslim world.
Feeling sympathy and searching for explanations isn’t the same as believing that the violence is justified.
Islam, as a religion, has been established in France for a long time, and the religious question has been resolved in this country. Islam does not threaten France’s future in any way.
The Islamic world is obsessed with the notion of strong leaders. This is a mistake. We don’t need powerful leaders, but rather unconventional, progressive thinkers with the courage to open our minds.