“Religion, as it is understood in the West, does not lead toward progre...” — Alija Izetbegovic Quote

“Religion, as it is understood in the West, does not lead toward progress, and science does not lead toward humanism.”

“Our goal: the Islamization of Muslims. Our methods: to believe and to struggle.”

“It is difficult to help a man without hurting his pride. Everyone wants to be a giver and not a receiver.”

“A starry sky is equally interesting to a scientist, a mystic, an ethics scholar, and a poet. Looking at the stars, each experiences something different, and each sees his own picture.”

“I would sacrifice peace in order to win sovereignty for Bosnia, but for that peace in Bosnia, I would not sacrifice sovereignty.”

“Advantages of freedom do not have to be proved by something outside freedom itself. It is its own underwriter.”

“But why? Who would do such a thing?” Jennifer puzzled, astonished.”

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.”

“In a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion.”

“Christianity is entitled to the tribute of respect. I do not of course mean that all individuals, nominally Christian, deserve trust, confidence, or even respect, for the contrary is too often the case. Too often, men hold religion as they do property - in their wives' names.”

“There are random moments - tossing a salad, coming up the driveway to the house, ironing the seams flat on a quilt square, standing at the kitchen window and looking out at the delphiniums, hearing a burst of laughter from one of my children's rooms - when I feel a wavelike rush of joy. This is my true religion: arbitrary moments of of nearly painful happiness for a life I feel privileged to lead.”