Mohammad Khatami: Quotes about religion

“Offending and insulting, is different from expressing an opinion that can be analyzed, argued on, and can eventually be accepted or rejected [therefore offending others is not acceptable] … But in addition to the west, we ourselves also have problems in this regard. Instead of logical criticism or debate, we only keep saying offensive things about liberalism, democracy and modernism. I had told some of our elders before, that the religion of the today's world is 'liberalism' and we have no right to make insults about it. We should not keep using phrases such as "the corrupt culture of the west" etc. in our words. As it's also said in the Holy Koran, "Do not insult the gods of others, otherwise you are indirectly insulting your God."”

Mohammad Khatami

February 15th, 2006, during a press interview in Tehran's airport upon his return from a cultural conference in Malaysia. <br class="br"> http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-667116&Lang=P; http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/02/060215_jb_khatami_cartoon.shtml. <br class="br">Blasphemy

“Liberalism is the world's religion. We do not have the right to insult liberalism. (after Malaysia conference on Islam and West, 2006)”

Mohammad Khatami

Attributed

“Faith and Religiosity is compatible with human nature, The most Wretch man is one who has no religion.»”

Mohammad Khatami

از کتابِ « احزاب و شوراها ، نشرِ طرحِ نو ، ۱۳۸۸ ، ص ۲۰.