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.

Cultures are never merely intellectual constructs. They take form through the collective intelligence and memory, through a commonly held psychology and emotions, through spiritual and artistic communion.

We have to be the media when media is silent

There is a Sufi trend, a madhabi Sufi trend, and I don't have any problem with this. What is not acceptable is that, first, some scholars are trying to show to the audience that they are open to other trends. However, when it comes to the retreat or the panels, they don't want to be with some of us because they are scared of being exposed.

No one can deny that some Islamist groups have credential and popularity. But that does not mean they are a majority. If we are serious about democracy we cannot blame the people for choosing what they want. We must promote the kinds of procedures and processes that are helping the people move ahead.

Compelling a woman to wear a headscarf is against Islam, and compelling her to remove it is against human rights.

The 21st century - and the atheists - needs the presence of religion, just as religion must deal with the real challenges and the thinkers of the day in order to sharpen the conscience and the intelligence of those who study the timeless sacred texts in a spirit of responding to the questions of their time.