Top 44 Deeyah Khan Quotes

There is no psychiatric pattern which can predict who becomes an extremist – but they are all frustrated with their reality.

Extremist movements are driven by their inability to tolerate the basic human fact of pluralism. They refuse to accept the natural cultural and religious diversity of our world, seeking to impose their own beliefs and behaviours as a universal pattern for humanity.

Freedom of expression is essential for feminists and dissidents in the Muslim world.

If our values are worth anything, we should stand up for them and live by them, both within Britain and across the world.

Making people fear the expression of their own power is a very effective way of disempowering them. It is not just those who feel the frustration of being silenced: it also encompasses every person who has no idea of their own power to realise their visions because they have not seen this in action in their communities.

As a girl, I abandoned a promising singing career due to violent harassment by Islamists.

We need to defend principles like democracy, freedom of speech, gender equality, and the rule of law through exemplifying these on a global scale, not through the same cynical, isolationist policies which have eroded these so-called ‘British‘ values across the rest of the world.

Political and economic insecurity inevitably translates into insecurity in people’s everyday lives, from lack of access to welfare to the increasing lack of security in the workplace.

Women’s empowerment, whether through legal, financial, or cultural routes, will tend to increase their agency and their ability to take part in activism.

Speech, not violence, is how we will bridge the divides between us.

Attacking racism and discrimination is a very important way to work against radicalisation.

I’m a woman of colour. I am the daughter of immigrants. I am a Muslim. I am a feminist. I am a lefty liberal.

Some women facing ‘honour‘ crimes require relocation far outside the reaches of their extended families and changes of identity to escape detection.

Self-expression should not be a challenge that demands extraordinary talent but should be a right accessible to all.

Living through the intersections of cultural diversity has given me an intimate understanding of the dynamics of living between the dimensions of East and West, traditional and modern, and political and spiritual.

Within a life that seems uncomfortably scripted by family and community pressures, hyper-religiosity can provide a way to break with parental expectations and flee from parental control.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State cannot tolerate diversity, which is why we must celebrate it.

Through adopting radical extremism, some young men who previously felt humiliated and emasculated by their peers can now feel powerful and intimidating – and gain status, attention from young women, and the comradeship and solidarity of other young men like themselves.

‘Honour’-based violence is a form of domestic violence. Domestic violence is a broad category.

Our media provides a continuing message that for men, heroism is defined through association with control, independence, and the ability to commit violence, from superheroes to crime dramas.

As someone who grew up between two cultures, I have been fascinated with the question of why men and women with similar backgrounds to mine were drawn towards radical messages of hate and violence.

Our freedoms are shared freedoms: they are bound up in each other. The ability to confront oppression in the guise of religion is linked to our ability to worship as we choose: both are acts of expression.

The Trump phenomenon shows us how much fear of Muslims there is out there and how easily it can be exploited.

I know some women’s rights activists have seen so much abuse that they can’t stand men, but I have a sense of empathy with the men. Without excusing the abuse they are capable of, many of them are trapped within these communities and bound by expectations they didn’t necessarily ask for.

We need a broader perspective on what counter-radicalisation means.

We ignore the similarities between the religious extremism and ethno-nationalism at our peril.

Censorship in all its forms must be challenged.

Music, performance, and a woman is very rarely accepted within Muslim communities.

Many Muslim parents are authoritarian, which leaves young men and women with limited spaces to express themselves. Self-expression and autonomy are regarded as symptoms of ‘Westernisation.’

Old, deeply engrained systems take time to change, but we can’t leave it to time.

Having more than one legal system running is not a sign of a healthy or inclusive society. It is just one less thing that people have in common.

I have watched the spread of violent extremism and jihadism across Europe and the U.K. with dismay, particularly given my history of experiencing threats, abuse, and harassment by Muslim fanatics.

We cannot leave vulnerable young men open to the exploitation of extremists, both for our own security and their own wellbeing.

Our society constantly promotes role models for masculinity, from superheroes to politicians, where the concept of being a ‘man‘ is based in their ability to be tough, dominant – and even violent when required.

If we value human rights, they should be at the core of the project against violent extremism, and women a key part of our imagined future.

Britain has been responsible for the undermining of democracy, turning a blind eye to abuses by its allies, using extraordinary rendition to get around the rule of law, passing over the denial of individual liberties to dissidents, and the evasion of the dismal situation for religious minorities.

We need more courageous individuals who will defy the structures of power, whether political, economic, or intimate, but we also need it to be safe for people to feel their power and to be able to express their ideas and imagine without fear.

For many young men, joining in a radical movement is a way of feeling powerful, which is particularly intoxicating for men who feel their masculinity has been called into question, whether through victimisation or a failure to achieve the status that they feel they are entitled to.

The proportion of women attracted to the Islamic State is likely to be less than that in other militant organisations, such as the Tamil Tigers, the PKK, and the IRA. Undoubtedly, their roles within the Islamic State are much more confined by the rigid gender divisions under their ultraconservative rulings.

The problem with Muslim women is less that we cannot speak the language, but that no one listens to us.

Ability to speak the majority language is not just important for inclusion; it is important for minorities to be able to claim their rights and entitlements.

A hedonistic lifestyle contrary to all the rules and expectations of Islam is not an unusual precursor to radicalisation: in fact, some young radicals see joining in the jihad as a way of achieving redemption for past sins.

People do the most remarkable things in the most difficult of circumstances.

Like Theresa May, I regularly find myself infuriated by the rantings of Anjem Choudary and other hate preachers.