Muhammad Ali put an end to the idea that you can't be an American and a Muslim.

I think that's deeply rooted in Muslim consciousness, the idea of not submitting to anything other than God. "You can abuse me, but you're not going to win me over. But if you treat me with respect and dignity, I'm going to fall in love with you. I'm going to sing your praises all over the world because you're powerful and you treated me with human dignity."

God is with the broken-hearted. When your heart breaks, it’s a good thing – the breaking of the heart is what opens it up to the light of Allah. The dunya is designed to break your heart, to crush it.

There's a statement in the Quran: There should be "absolutely no compulsion in religion."

People of the world will reject your reminders, because it reminds them that this world is temporary.

For young people, if someone tells you: you are the future - say No! I'm the present. You have things to do right now.

My experience on this planet is that if you treat people with respect, they tend to treat you with respect.