--- title: "5 Freedom of thought Quotes By Salman Rushdie" description: "5 Freedom of thought quotes by Salman Rushdie. Plus more from Salman Rushdie and more Freedom of thought sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/salman-rushdie-153_contempt_the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to_1512633.jpg" --- > [The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to-be-immune-from-criticism/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/salman-rushdie-153_contempt_the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to_1512633.jpg) > [“The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system-is-sacred-whether-it-s-a/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/salman-rushdie-153_criticism_the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system_1760385.jpg) > [We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge fashion, literature, generosity, water, a more equitable distribution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/we-must-agree-on-what-matters-kissing-in-public-places-bacon/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/salman-rushdie-153_agree_we-must-agree-on-what-matters-kissing-in_2075183.jpg) > [“The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief list,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-fundamentalist-seeks-to-bring-down-a-great-deal-more-than/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/047/salman-rushdie-153_civil-society_the-fundamentalist-seeks-to-bring-down-a_2075686.jpg) > [“The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system-is-sacred-whether-it-s-a-2/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/salman-rushdie-153_censorship_the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system_2672750.jpg) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-thought/salman-rushdie/#itemlist", "name": "5 Freedom of thought Quotes By Salman Rushdie", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salman Rushdie" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to-be-immune-from-criticism/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/salman-rushdie-153_contempt_the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to_1512633.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/salman-rushdie-153_contempt_the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to_1512633.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/salman-rushdie-153_contempt_the-moment-you-declare-a-set-of-ideas-to_1512633.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of…” — Salman Rushdie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salman Rushdie" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system-is-sacred-whether-it-s-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/salman-rushdie-153_criticism_the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system_1760385.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/salman-rushdie-153_criticism_the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system_1760385.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/salman-rushdie-153_criticism_the-moment-you-say-that-any-idea-system_1760385.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular…” — Salman Rushdie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge fashion, literature, generosity, water, a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, movies, music, freedom of thought, beauty, love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salman Rushdie" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/we-must-agree-on-what-matters-kissing-in-public-places-bacon/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/salman-rushdie-153_agree_we-must-agree-on-what-matters-kissing-in_2075183.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/salman-rushdie-153_agree_we-must-agree-on-what-matters-kissing-in_2075183.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e92/salman-rushdie-153_agree_we-must-agree-on-what-matters-kissing-in_2075183.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge…” — Salman Rushdie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief list, freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, universal adult suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, women's rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing, beardlessness, evolution theory, sex. There are tyrants, not Muslims. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that we should now define ourselves not only by what we are for but by what we are against. I would reverse that proposition, because in the present instance what we are against is a no brainer. Suicidist assassins ram wide-bodied aircraft into the World Trade Center and Pentagon and kill thousands of people: um, I'm against that. But what are we for? What will we risk our lives to defend? Can we unanimously concur that all the items in the preceding list -- yes, even the short skirts and the dancing -- are worth dying for? The fundamentalist believes that we believe in nothing. 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