Mona Eltahawy Quotes

I do not believe that the totality of the Islamic world recognizes the Taliban interpretation of the faith as being representative of its own view. There is no unanimity in Islam with regard to this interpretation. Generally you will see as much diversity in the Islam as you do in the Christian world today. But the West does not really understand the pluralism of the Islamic world.

Every sect is a moral check on its neighbor. Competition is as wholesome in religion as in commerce.

There are Muslims of all kinds. The idea of closing them into a single identity is wrong.

The Ottoman authorities saw their ability to absorb people of all faiths as a sign of power, not weakness, and observed the Protestant-Catholic conflicts of the time with detached bemusement.

India's Muslims know that India is the only country in the world where Islam's all 72 sects are found. No other nation, not even Muslim countries, have all the 72 sects of Islam.

Of publishing a book on religion, my dear sir, I never had an idea. I should as soon think of writing for the reformation of Bedlam, as of the world of religious sects. Of these there must be, at least, ten thousand, every individual of every one of which believes all wrong but his own.

… tolerance is essential to protect one's own religion and one's own deeply held religious beliefs from external manipulation or efforts to overcome them, perhaps from other religions that are pushing in the opposite direction. That is the basic reason for religious tolerance.

Urban growth, ethnic and religious diversity. and the spread of large corporations destroyed the reality of Protestant, middle-class power in the region and the ability of their ideology and the pioneer symbol to remain uncontested. The region's leadership class came to include Catholics as well as Protestants, corporate leaders, professionals, and small producers.

The students, faculty and administration are reminded of the pluralism of religious beliefs. Specifically, that which is important and meaningful to some, may be offensive and repugnant to others. Each person is reminded to be conscious of and respect the sensitivities of others.

When national leaders address the people of Fiji in specifically Christian terms, whatever the occasion, nearly half of our people are excluded. When prayer in mixed company is uttered in terms of a purely Christian God, we unintentionally omit and diminish others present of different faiths.

As there are a very great variety of religious sects in the world, it is particularly recommended, as a means of uniting the inhabitants of the village into one family, that while each faithfully adheres to the principles which he most approves, at the same time all shall think charitably of their neighbors respecting their religious opinions, and not presumptuously suppose that theirs alone are right.

I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration but we accept all religions as true.

I like the pluralism of modernity; it doesn't threaten me or my faith. And if one's faith is dependent on being reinforced in every aspect of other people's lives, then it is a rather insecure faith, don't you think?

What does religious freedom look like? As America gets more religiously diverse, the concept is getting harder to define …. You can get 10 different groups in the room and they will disagree about what religious liberty is.

No vibrant democracy in history has had our level of religious pluralism or piety. We are on our own to figure out how to protect it. And the only thing people in the booming field of religious-liberty law seem to agree on is that America can expect is more fighting.

We affirm that a right for one is a right for another and a responsibility for all. A right for a Protestant is a right for an Eastern Orthodox is a right for a Catholic is a right for a Jew is a right for a Humanist is a right for a Mormon is a right for a Muslim is a right for a Buddhist—and for the followers of any other faith within the wide bounds of the republic. That rights are universal and responsibilities mutual is both the premise and the promise of democratic pluralism. The 1st Amendment in this sense, is the epitome of public justice and serves as the golden rule for civic life. Rights are best guarded and responsibilities best exercised when each person and group guards for all others those rights they wish guarded for themselves.

In England there are 60 different religions and only 1 sauce.

Islamic Exceptionalism, however is neither good nor bad. It just is, and we need to understand it and respect it, even If it runs counter to our own hopes and preferences.

There's no religious test in our country, and there shouldn't be. We're an open, competitive society.

I don't have a problem with other people having different faith; my problem is if we confuse respecting that with surrendering our own faith.

Religion is a very delicate subject in Lebanon. You have to know how to say things in a very delicate way in order to be accepted.

I respect every religion.

India was secular even when Muslims hadn't come here and Christians hadn't set foot on this soil. It is not as if India became secular after they came. They came with their own modes of worship, and they, too, were given a place of honor and respect. They had the freedom to worship God as per their wish and inclination.

I was raised in Hawaii in what I call a 'faith-inclusive' family. I never felt I had to choose loyalty to the New Testament over the Bhagavad Gita. It really wasn't until my late teens that I became aware of the ugly concept of sectarianism.

We believe in equal respect for all faiths.