Far From Being The Father Of Jihad,

Compassion Is A Practically Acquired Knowledge, Like Dancing. You Must Do It And Practice Diligently Day By Day.

I Never Intended To Be A Historian Of Religion. My Aim Was To Become A Professor Of English Literature In A University, But I Had A Series Of Absolute Career Disasters And Found Myself Making Television Programs About The Nature Of Religion And About Christian History And Started To Discover About Other Religious Traditions, And That Was An Absolute Eye-opener For Me.

Religious Ideas And Practices Take Root Not Because They Are Promoted By Forceful Theologians, Nor Because They Can Be Shown To Have A Sound Historical Or Rational Basis, But Because They Are Found In Practice To Give The Faithful A Sense Of Sacred Transcendence.

I Was A Lousy Nun. I Couldn't Do It. I Couldn't Find God. It Wasn't Suitable For Me. It Is Suitable For Very Few People.

Ever Since The Crusades, When Christians From Western Europe Were Fighting Holy Wars Against Muslims In The Near East, Western People Have Often Perceived Islam As A Violent And Intolerant Faith - Even Though When This Prejudice Took Root Islam Had A Better Record Of Tolerance Than Christianity.