Mockery of religion is one of the most essential things... one of the beginnings of human emancipation is the ability to laugh at authority.

Pakistan has to export a lot of uneducated people, many of whom have become infected with the most barbaric reactionary ideas.

The whole reason for the success of Dr. King's civil-rights movement was that it was not a movement for itself. The civil-rights movement understood very clearly, and stated very beautifully, that it was a question of humanism, not a sectarian movement at all.

The secular argument, or the liberal argument, is to as much as possible remove taboos so things do not become unmentionable; to let some air into the discussion.

There can be no progress without head-on confrontation.

History is a tragegy, not a morality tale.

There is no such thing as closure, and it wouldn't be worth having if it were available, because all it would mean is that something that was quite an important part of you had gone numb.