I grew up in a family in which there was very little religion. My father wasn't religious at all. But he was really interested in the subject of, you know, the birth and growth of Islam. And he basically transmitted that interest to me.

If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.

No, I don't think it's fair to label Islam 'violent.' But I will say that to my knowledge, no writer has ever gone into hiding for criticizing the Amish.

Sometimes great, banned works defy the censor's description and impose themselves on the world - 'Ulysses,' 'Lolita,' the 'Arabian Nights.'

I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.

Captain Ahab drowned, he reminded himself; it was the trimmer, Ishmael, who survived.

If the culture shifts, if people think differently about women, the art will shift, too. You can't ask art to make social change. It's not what it's for.