Basically, fundamentalism is a modern phenomenon. In the same way that Hitler evoked a mythological religion of German purity and the glory of the past, the Islamists use religion to evoke emotions and passions in people who have been oppressed for a long time in order to reach their purpose. – Azar Nafisi
You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesnt exist. – Azar Nafisi
Religion was used as an ideology, as a system of control. When they forced the veil upon women, they were using it as an instrument of control in the same way that in Maos China people were wearing Mao jackets and women were not supposed to wear any makeup. – Azar Nafisi
When I first left Iran at the age of 13, Iran had become such a shining star – it was the point to which all my desires and dreams returned. – Azar Nafisi
My sense of religion is Einsteins sense of relativity. I dont believe in God. I believe that energy never dies. So the possibility exists that you might be breathing in some other form of Moses or Buddha or Muhammad or Bobby Kennedy or Roosevelt or Martin Luther King or Jesus. – Mandy Patinkin