I have had to pay a price for leaving Islam and for speaking out. I have to pay for round-the-clock security because of the death threats against me.

Avoiding offense means that we don't accept each other as equals.

There is one Islam, unreformed, but three sets of Muslims. Medina, Mecca, and. Dissidents, reformers, whatever you want to call them. The first group are the extremists and fundamentalists, the second the great mass of Muslims who just want to live their lives in peace, and the third are reformers.

If such a young nation as the U.S. could make it to superpower status, we could do it as well.

In a sense, my grandmother was living in the Iron Age. There was no system of writing among the nomads. Metal artifacts were rare and precious.... The first time she saw a white person my grandmother was in her thirties: she thought this person's skin had burned off.

The idea that if people are just friendly and demonstrate they want peace, that will be answered with good will - that is really naive.

My conscience is informed by reason. It's like Kant's categorical imperative: behave to others as you would wish they behaved to you.