The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas - uncertainty, progress, change - into crimes.

Quote by Salman Rushdie

Topics: Salman Rushdie Quotes

Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess a total...

Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess a total...

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Be sure that you go to the author to get at his meaning, not to...

Be sure that you go to the author to get at his meaning, not to...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore...

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore...

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried,...

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried,...

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

Our lives teach us who we are.

Our lives teach us who we are.

I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time...

I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time...

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their...

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their...

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first their sensibility and tenderness;...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides,...

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides,...