Religious ideas and practices take root not because they are promoted by forceful theologians, nor because they can be shown to have a sound historical or rational basis, but because they are found in practice to give the faithful a sense of sacred transcendence.

Ironically, the first thing that appealed to me about Islam was its pluralism. The fact that the Koran praises all the great prophets of the past.

I used to hate religion, I loathed it in my angry days.

If it is not tempered by compassion, and empathy, reason can lead men and women into a moral void.

There is nothing in Islam that is more violent than Christianity.

All religions are designed to teach us how to live, joyfully, serenely, and kindly, in the midst of suffering.

I had tried, as I thought as a nun, to open myself to God and God seemed totally uninterested in me. The heavens remained closed and opaque. I now realize, of course, that I had a very, very inadequate idea of God. I was expecting clouds to part, a little sort of whisper in my ear, and of course, that's not what God is. God is not another being; we are talking about something much more profound.