“I'm concerned that Islam has not just been politicised but that it's b...” — Leila Aboulela Quote

“I'm concerned that Islam has not just been politicised but that it's becoming an identity. This is like turning religion into a football match; it's a distraction from the real thing.”

“Many Arabic/Islamic words have now entered the English dictionary, such as haj, hijab, Eid, etc., and I no longer need to put them in italics or explain them.”

“When you write about a Muslim woman, like I did with my previous novels - 'Minaret', for example, which is about a woman who starts to wear the hijab - it sets all the alarm bells ringing.”

“My family will never be a distraction, that's for sure.”

“Like most writers, I find the Web is a wonderful distraction. Who doesn't need that last minute research before writing?”

“I think there's always a call for people who are bucking the norm. But I don't expect it to happen now because I think that more than ever the entertainment industry is trying to serve as a distraction, to keep people from thinking too hard.”