Originality is dangerous. It challenges, questions, overturns assumptions, unsettles moral codes. Salman Rushdie More Quotes by Salman Rushdie More Quotes From Salman Rushdie Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall. Salman Rushdie conflictdesirefall I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time I stressed the absence, the hole. Now I find it is the shape which has become more important. Salman Rushdie stressedgodlong Freedom to reject is the only freedom. Salman Rushdie rejectsfreedom If the creative artist worries if he will still be free tomorrow, then he will not be free today. Salman Rushdie creativeartistworry The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and morality are not givens but imperfect human constructs, is the point from which fiction begins. Salman Rushdie acceptanceairreality A novel, I think, is partly about the contemporary and partly about the eternal, and it's the balance of that that's difficult to achieve. Salman Rushdie achievebalancethinking In this world without quiet corners, there can be no easy escapes from history, from hullabaloo, from terrible, unquiet fuss. Salman Rushdie quiethistoryworld Fundamentalism isn't about religion, it's about power. Salman Rushdie fundamentalismatheistreligion Having been borne across the world, we are translated men. It is normally supposed that something always gets lost in translation; I cling, obstinately, to the notion that something can also be gained. Salman Rushdie lostmenworld When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy. Salman Rushdie painactionthinking You can't judge an internal injury by the size of the hole. Salman Rushdie injurysizejudging Not all possibilities are open to us. The world is finite; our hopes spill over its rim. Salman Rushdie finitepossibilityworld If you're offended, it's your problem. Salman Rushdie offendedproblemifs You can't have modern states based on ideas which have been out of date for a thousand years. Salman Rushdie modernyearsideas So India’s problem turns out to be the world’s problem. What happened in India has happened in God’s name. The problem’s name is God. Salman Rushdie indianamesworld Bread and books: food for the body and food for the soul - what could be more worthy of our respect, and even love? Salman Rushdie bodysoulbook What is needed is a move beyond tradition, nothing less than a reform movement to bring the core concepts of Islam into the modern age, a Muslim Reformation to combat not only the jihadist ideologues but also the dusty, stifling seminaries of the traditionalists, throwing open the windows to let in much-needed fresh air.... It is high time, for starters, that Muslims were able to study the revelation of their religion as an event inside history, not supernaturally above it.... Broad-mindedness is related to tolerance; open-mindedness is the sibling of peace. Salman Rushdie siblingairmoving In the real world, immeasurable hurt is caused by terrorists based in Pakistan who attack countries like India. Salman Rushdie realhurtcountry A mature society understands that at the heart of democracy is argument. Salman Rushdie argumentdemocracyheart At the height of the British Empire very few English novels were written that dealt with British power. It's extraordinary that at the moment in which England was the global superpower the subject of British power appeared not to interest most writers. Salman Rushdie empiresheightengland