Barack Obama Quotes

Religiosity is suffocating in Pakistan. It invariably stokes the fire in driving society to religious extremism.

That religious earnestness forever tends toward fright and hence towards brittleness and inquisition is clear enough in mythology and history.

I was involved in an extreme or radical religious path from 1984-1989. I carried knives in the name of religious conflict. In point of fact, I felt something missing with the function of religion. I came to question whether Islam had truly commanded me to be exclusive and to isolate myself from other communities. There was a battle inside me…. I left that extremist group since it was impossible for me to survive in an exclusive community. Because Islam supports civilization, it should work for the betterment of human life. On the contrary, religious extremism and intolerance will destroy human civilization.

Religious extremism. We hear about it all the time. We see it all the time. Heck, most of us are just sick of talking about it all the time.

There is no doubt that religious fanatics have done more to prejudice the cause they affect to advocate than have its opponents.

The spirit of religious totalitarianism is abroad in the world; it is in the very air we breathe today in this land. Everywhere are those who claim to have a corner on righteousness, on direct access to God ... The bigots of the world are having a heyday.

The Muslim world is threatened by religious fanaticism. The Western world is threatened by secular fanaticism.

Jewish extremism and Islamic fanaticism fed each other.

With the fundamentalist Islamic fanatics of today, there is no dialogue possible either, because for them all others are “infidel dogs”. As soon as the Other becomes a wrongdoer or an infidel, dialogue becomes impossible.

Islam is not the enemy, religious extremism is.

Extremism is no more the monopoly of Islam than it is the monopoly of other religions, including Christianity.

In every religion, you find the same extremists.

Although the far territory of the extreme can exert an intoxicating pull on susceptible individuals of all bents, extremism seems to be especially prevalent among those inclined by temperament or upbringing toward religious pursuits. Faith is the very antithesis of reason, injudiciousness a crucial component of spiritual devotion. And when religious fanaticism supplants ratiocination, all bets are suddenly off.

there is no fanatic like a religious fanatic.

I don't believe in Jesus or God. But I do believe that fundamentalists in religion or anything else are bad, and that they have more hate than love.

Fundamentalists of all faiths are the fundamental evil of our time.

Organized, yeah. And those who are so sure that their God is the right God that they believe it's ok to kill another person who doesn't believe in their God.

The man who says to me, "Believe as I do, or God will damn you," will presently say, "Believe as I do, or I shall assassinate you."

In religious and in secular affairs, the more fervent beliefs attract followers. If you are a moderate in any respect - if you're a moderate on abortion, if you're a moderate on gun control, or if you're a moderate in your religious faith - it doesn't evolve into a crusade where you're either right or wrong, good or bad, with us or against us.

I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder.

I am thankful that all the people in the world who absolutely, positively, know what God wants, usually kill mostly each other.

Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion too.

The most rabidly religious people are the most rabidly evil.

That's because international Islamic religious fanatics have the same goal as the Axis fascists - the destruction of our way of life.

I regard Christian and Jewish fundamentalism, and all other forms of fundamentalism, as the enemies of God - and I hope you'll quote me on that.