Abu'l Walid Muhammad Ibn Rushd Al-Qurtubi Quotes

If you look into the traditional arguments – Hadith -- about this problem, you will find them contradictory ….. There are many verses of The Koran, which by their universal nature teach that all the things are predestined and that man is compelled to do his acts; then there are verses which say that man is free in his acts and not compelled in performing them.

Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.

Extremists often derive their inspiration from literal interpretations of texts that should rightly be read not as Associated Press reports from the ancient world, but as theological and literary enterprises requiring independent intellectual assessment.

If they want to know the judgment about the existence of a Jewish state in the middle of the Muslim world, they have to refer to the Holy Koran and to the traditions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, being the only source of enlightenment and the only source of truth within the hands of humanity today.

To read the Koran rationally is to accept that the Koran is open [to interpretation] and has many meanings. The tradition regards the Koran as one-dimensional and fixed. This approach is not rationalist. To be a rationalist is to accept that each era, with its [particular] methods and discoveries, presents its own reading of the Koran, and this is the way it will be until the end of days. To be a rationalist is to acknowledge that the orthodox approach is fundamentally wrong since it does not accept the multiplicity of readings

The world is emblematic. Parts of speech are metaphors, because the whole of nature is a metaphor of the human mind.

Everything in life is a metaphor.

Two fundamental literary qualities: supernaturalism and irony.

Being a literature major, you know, I'm very familiar with the ways symbolism is used in our sort of mythic tales of society, so anyone who is consciously trying to pull that off I think is really interesting and clearly very smart.

The thing about metaphors is that, if you give them away, you give away the mystery.

My joke is that my father was a minister and my mother was an English teacher, so I'm trained to see the world in terms of symbols, which is hard when you just want to make toast.

Life is like an analogy.

Islamic terrorist organizations use sections of the Koran to recruit and brainwash idealistic young Moslems to engage in violent, murderous attacks on non-Moslems. The important question facing Moslem leaders … is, how do they teach and explain these passages from the Koran to their Moslem congregations and Moslem school students? Is it made absolutely clear that even though those passages are in the Koran, which is their Holy Book, they only applied in the 7th century not the 21st century? It is vitally important that moderate Moslem leaders … do not let Islamic extremists use these passages to recruit vulnerable, Moslem young people into any Islamic terrorist organization.

Part of the Koran is a license for oppression.

Saudi clerics are relying on their own male-oriented interpretation of what a woman should wear. These fatwas are certainly not accepted by all Muslims. I wonder why the more pressing issues of poverty and illiteracy of Muslim women are not given the same amount of coverage as the veil.

Defending freedom of expression against fundamentalist threats is a cause. It is a matter of principle, whether it involves Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses', a film about veils and the oppression of women or some clumsy drawings in a Danish newspaper

The problem is the blasphemy law of Islam which condemns to death anyone who criticizes the Koran. This makes it difficult for Moslems who want to reform Moslem society… You do not feel it in the United States, but we do in Europe. There are people who have to live continuously under the protection of guards because they will not submit to Islamic terrorism.

Throughout its history Islam has been marked by two trends: an intellectual trend that speculated on the philosophical foundations of the world and humanity, and another trend that turned political challenge violent by resort to force.

Our fight with Soviet Communism may turn out just to have been a small diversion from the 1500 year struggle that Islamic Fundamentalism has had with the West.

No Muslim should intrude into the faith of other Muslims, and no person should oppose the beliefs of his friends…. God says, "O believers! you are accountable for none but yourselves; he that goes astray cannot harm you if you are on the right path…”

Rationalism came to Islam pretty early and was rejected pretty early, and it was under the influence of Greek philosophy that it came

The laws of Sharia are entirely man-made, written by Muslim scholars according to their various schools, based on their best understanding of how the Qur'an should be translated into codes of law.

Muslims tend to quote the Koran selectively to support their own ethical views.

Oh true believers! Fight against the infidels who are near, and be hard on them. Allah has reserved for you in your afterlife a happiness which eye has never seen, ear has never heard, heart has never felt. Make yourselves worthy then of such blessings.

You are unjustified if you use the Koran to justify murder.