My experience of living with people of diverse religions and cultures taught me that one will never be at peace with the other if one is at war with oneself.

South Africa is labouring to find its revolutionary path; the colours of the Rainbow Nation have difficulty blending together; the wealthy elites (white, black or Indian) profit from de facto segregation.

I want to be an activist professor.

For me, equal citizenship for Muslims, Christians, Jews, Atheists and Agnostics is an indisputable principle. Whoever you are, you should get the same rights with no discussion and no compromise.

Destroying the nation state are mainly three things: the global economy, global communication technology and global culture. And this is where we are lost in the process. What could be something that can provide us a transversal political sense of belonging? At the end of the day, without an alternative we end up with populism in the name of very narrow identities.

There is dignity in your being even if there's indignity in what you're doing.

What I'm advocating is an intellectual revolution - it's a different mindset concerning the ethical benchmarks by which we live.