Sadiq Kahn Quotes

We have been sold a Muslim boogeyman. We are buying into it, and we are terrified, and that terror is causing people to lash out at comedians like myself or women wearing hijabs, or anyone who seems to defend equality for Muslims worldwide.

Today, fear of bloodshed is forcing us into recognizing new taboos: those of Muslims.

It's not hard to look at our own world and draw parallels between 9/11, for example, and how Muslims are viewed or treated by North American culture since then. Just to see the way fear can breed hatred and intolerance for people who aren't the same as us - and that's certainly part of what's at the heart of 'Descender.'

My tenure at 'The Daily Show' started during the decade after September 11, and fear of Muslims was at an all-time high. Politicians and the media seemed to dial the fright, mistrust, and animosity up to a fever pitch to gain votes and ratings.

Islam is not a race, yet Islamophobia partakes of racist characteristics.

I have never been on the receiving end of a hate crime, or even a disparaging remark to my face.

Islamophobia is a complex phenomenon.

Since 9/11, every time there is an incident overseas attributed to Muslims or Arabs, we go on orange alert ourselves …. There are individuals here who are off the wall, who think that every woman who wears a hijab or every man named Muhammad is out to blow things up.

Islamaphobia is the only form of racism which is socially acceptable.

The Muslim community here does feel under siege.

Muslims are backward and evil and if it is racist to say so... then racist I must be.

Don't let the zealots make Muslim a terrifying word.

There are four Muslim families in San Angelo...and that's four too many …. There is 1.6 billion...Muslims in the world, and they claim that only 10 percent of the Muslims is radical Islamists. That means there is 160 million Muslim terrorists in the world.

I am one of the first political leaders officially declaring that anti-Semitism is a crime. I expect an official declaration that Islamophobia is a crime against humanity as well.

What would people say if I had only asked to ban Muslim clothing? They would burn me as a Muslim hater.

When there's no push back against Islamophobic rhetoric, people see that as tacit endorsement of anti-Islamic rhetoric.

Anti-Semitism has not disappeared, and European Jews have too often come under attack.

Since I was first elected to Parliament in 2010, I have witnessed appalling attacks on Jewish people, including my fellow MPs.

There is serious Islamophobia in the world.

Hate crimes are different from other crimes. They strike at the heart of one's identity - they strike at our sense of self, our sense of belonging. The end result is loss - loss of trust, loss of dignity, and in the worst case, loss of life.

As a child growing up in San Francisco in the 1950s, I sometimes met insults when I ventured outside of Chinatown or my neighborhood. I have even been spat on and threatened with a knife. I could have let my anger fester until it became hate. However, I realized they were isolated incidents, and I simply got on with my life.

I am disgusted by the anti-Semitism of many Italians, of many Europeans.

One hate crime is committed approximately every hour of every day in this country.

Teaching prejudice to a child is itself a form of bullying. You've got to be taught to hate.

Language that is designed to dehumanize has consequences.