Quotes from Salman Rushdie, writer:

"If somebody's trying to shut you up, sing louder and, if possible, better."

"What is freedom of expression?  Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist."

"I do not envy people who think they have a complete explanation of the world, for the simple reason that they are obviously wrong."

"The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas--uncertainty, progress, change--into crimes."

"Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence."

"Free societies are societies in motion, and with motion comes tension, dissent, friction.  Free people strike sparks, and those sparks are the best evidence of freedom's existence."

"Fundamentalism isn't about religion.  It's about power."

"It is very, very easy not to be offended by a book.  You just have to shut it."

"When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the remedy."

"The only way to stop terrorism is to say 'I'm not afraid of you.'"

"Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.  Free speech is life itself."