Once we know of atrocities we cannot remain silent, and knowledge inevitably leads to an urge to protect the innocent. – 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
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
I see people who talk about America, and then undermine it by not paying attention to its soul, to its poetry. I see polarization, reductionism and superficiality. – Azar Nafisi