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We are the storytelling animal.

Salman Rushdie

Something was badly amiss with the spiritual life of the planet, Too many demons inside people claiming to believe in God.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Bad Believe Demon God Life People Spiritual
We were language’s magpies by nature, stealing whatever sounded bright and shiny.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Bright Language Shine Sound Steal Theft
To understand just one life you have to swallow the world do you wonder, then, that I was a heavy child?
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Children heavy Life Understand World
Even when things are at their worst, there’s a little voice in your head saying, ‘Good story!’
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Goodness Head Story Voice Worst
Too many people spouting too many words, and in the end those words will turn to bullets and stones.
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End People Weapon Word
Literature is the one place in any society where, within the secrecy of our own heads, we can hear voices talking about everything in every possible way.
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Head Literature Place Possible Secret Society Talk Voice Way
But there’s one thing we must all be clear about: terrorism is not the pursuit of legitimate goals by some sort of illegitimate means. Whatever the murderers may be trying to achieve, creating a better world certainly isn’t one of their goals. Instead they are out to murder innocent people.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Achievement Creation Goal Innocence Legal Murder People Pursuit Terrorism
I think if we wish to live in any kind of a moral universe, we must hold the perpetrators of violence responsible for the violence they perpetrate. It’s very simple. The criminal is responsible for the crime.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Crime Kind Moral Responsible Simplicity Thinking Universe Violence
If you actually want to change your world, there is a better way of doing it than blowing yourself up.
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Better Change Way World Yourself
I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire.
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Art Defense Myself Poem Stand Support
Religion is responsible for a lot of the problems in the history of the world and it’s not something that I practice or recommend, but to each his own.
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History Kind Man Problem Religion Responsible
I didn’t become a writer to write about me.
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Myself Writing
No, I don’t think it’s fair to label Islam ‘violent.’ But I will say that to my knowledge, no writer has ever gone into hiding for criticizing the Amish.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Criticism Hide Knowledge Thinking Violence Writing
A poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.
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Fake Mistake Name Poet Sleep Stop Work World
He knew what he knew: that the real world was full of magic, so magical worlds could easily be real.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Himself Magic Reality World
We have come to think of taking offence as a fundamental right. We value very little more highly than our rage, which gives us, in our opinion, the moral high ground. From there we can shoot down at our enemies and inflict heavy fatalities.
SALMAN RUSHDIE

Enemy Fundamental heavy Offense Opinion Ourselves Thinking

We are the storytelling animal.

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We are the storytelling animal.

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