One of our worst traits in journalism is that when we have a narrative in our minds, we often plug in anecdotes that confirm it. Thus we managed to portray President Gerald Ford, a first-rate athlete, as a klutz.
Nicholas KristofRead
The caricature of Islam as a violent and intolerant religion is horrendously incomplete. Remember that those standing up to Muslim fanatics are mostly Muslims.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that the perception of Islam as violent overlooks the fact that many Muslims oppose extremism.
Nicholas Kristof's quote challenges the stereotype that Islam is inherently a violent and intolerant religion. He highlights the critical role of moderate Muslims who actively resist the actions of fanatics, reminding us that the narrative surrounding any belief system can be oversimplified and ignores the complexities within it.
Themes
IslamViolenceIntoleranceModerationFanaticismPeace
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the complexities of religious beliefs at an interfaith dialogue.
More from Nicholas Kristof
All quotes βA basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.
Nicholas KristofRead
Worrying about bills, food, or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax.
Nicholas KristofRead
Most moms and dads, they want to be good moms and dads. But it's an incredibly hard job when you are stressed out, when you are poor, when your life is in chaos. And giving them some of the tools to be better parents, to whittle away at that parenting gap, gives those kids a much better starting point in life.
Nicholas KristofRead
Since the end of the 1970s, something has gone profoundly wrong in America. Inequality has soared. Educational progress slowed. Incarceration rates quintupled. Family breakdown accelerated. Median household income stagnated.
Nicholas KristofRead
The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing.
Nicholas KristofRead
Similar quotes
Language is the most imperfect and expensive means yet discovered for communicating thought.
William JamesRead
Finding the right form of debate regarding Israeli policies will remain a challenge in Germany. Even with every conceivable and warranted criticism, the danger always arises that it will be exploited by those who consciously or unconsciously present anti-Semitism in a new guise.
Sigmar GabrielRead
A bigot is a person who makes an idol of his commitments.
Howard ThurmanRead
Before I started writing about food, my focus was really on the human relationship to plants. Not only do plants nourish us bodily - they nourish us psychologically.
Michael PollanRead
Loss; is the returning of what never actually belonged to us in the first place.
Yasmin MogahedRead
There is no need to invent an ego that is separate from the divine if our basic human nature is trusted. If we trust ourselves, we know how to avoid interfering with nature and how to live in harmony. When we know God as an unseen, loving, and accepting power at the heart of everything, allowing us to make our own choices, then God is a trusted part of our nature.
Wayne DyerRead