I for one don't need a supreme "sacred" arbiter in order to be a... by Salman Rushdie

I for one don't need a supreme "sacred" arbiter in order to be a moral being.

Salman Rushdie

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What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it... by Salman Rushdie

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.

honesty expression integrity

Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives, power to retell it, to rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts.

storytelling stories thinking

The only people who see the whole picture,' he murmured, 'are the... by Salman Rushdie

The only people who see the whole picture,' he murmured, 'are the ones who step out of the frame.

whole steps people

Perhaps the story you finish is never the one you begin. by Salman Rushdie

Perhaps the story you finish is never the one you begin.

Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms. This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today. I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity. 'Respect for religion' has become a code phrase meaning 'fear of religion.' Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.

real religious art

If somebody's trying to shut you up, sing louder, and if possible... by Salman Rushdie

If somebody's trying to shut you up, sing louder, and if possible, better.

To be born again,' sang Gibreal Farishta tumbling from the heaveans, 'first you have to die. Ho ji! Ho ji! To land upon the bosomy earth, first one needs to fly Tat-taa! Takatun! How to ever smile again, if first you won't cry? How to win the darling's love mister, without a sigh?

land winning needs

Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.

novelists communication courage

For every snake, there is a ladder; for every ladder,a snake by Salman Rushdie

For every snake, there is a ladder; for every ladder,a snake

We cannot allow religious hooligans to place limiting points on t... by Salman Rushdie

We cannot allow religious hooligans to place limiting points on thought.

Where there is no belief, there is no blasphemy. by Salman Rushdie

Where there is no belief, there is no blasphemy.

blasphemy belief

Even when things are at their worst, there's a little voice in yo... by Salman Rushdie

Even when things are at their worst, there's a little voice in your head saying, 'Good story!'

voice stories littles

God, Satan, Paradise, and Hell all vanished one day in my fifteenth year, when I quite abruptly lost my faith. ... and afterwards, to prove my new-found atheism, I bought myself a rather tasteless ham sandwich, and so partook for the first time of the forbidden flesh of the swine. No thunderbolt arrived to strike me down. ... From that day to this I have thought of myself as a wholly secular person.

atheism years religion

Of course, there is nothing intrinsic linking any religion with any act of violence. The crusades don't prove that Christianity was violent. The Inquisition doesn't prove that Christianity tortures people. But that Christianity did torture people.

violence christianity people

‘Respect for religion’ has become a code phrase meaning ‘fear of religion.’ Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.

inspirational life ideas

In an ideal world, you could reunite the Pakistan-occupied part of Kashmir with the Indian-occupied part and restore the old borders. You could have both India and Pakistan agreeing to guarantee those borders, demilitarise the area, and to invest in it economically. In a sane world that would happen, but we don't live in a sane world.

india-and-pakistan kashmir borders

Memory has its own special kind. It selects, eliminates, alters, exaggerates, minimizes, glorifies, and vilifies also; but in the end it creates its own reality, its heterogeneous but usually coherent version of events; and no sane human being ever trusts someone else's version more than his own.

special memories reality

Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the stars. Keep grinning. Be bloody-minded. Argue with the world. And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things--childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves--that go on slipping , like sand, through our fingers.

stars dream writing

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.

islam labels thinking

faith without doubt is addiction by Salman Rushdie

faith without doubt is addiction

addiction doubt