Salafi is a very broad concept in Islam. What we have now is, like, for example, the Nour Party in Egypt or the Salafi in Tunisia are people who, in fact, we call very often Wahhabi, following the Saudi school of thought and law. And they are literalists in the way where it's black and white, there's a very narrow interpretation of the scriptural sources. For decades, we knew that they were there, but they were not involved in politics. What is completely new for all of us over the last years is that they are now within the political arena and playing the democratic game.

The best measure of a successful life is the way we turn away, we renounce, and even by the way we depart it.

Muslims must decide, lest they end up divided by the very religion that calls upon them to unite.

There is One God. We have an epistemic center. There is meaning.

What is irreversible in the Arab world is this intellectual revolution, the awakening that we can get rid of dictators. That is here, and the people have this sentiment and this political power. They feel that they can do it, and it's still there. At the same time, we don't know what is going to happen. So to be very quick by saying, "Oh, revolutions and Arab Spring," and - you know, what I'm advocating is to take a cautious optimism as the starting point of our analysis and to look at what is happening.

Lack of consistency is a weakness shared by all nations.

When you're overwhelmed by your emotion, you listen less and you judge more. This is also the reality of the dogmatic mind.