--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be a crime for me to say that…" description: "\"It would be a crime for me to say that Islam is a backward desert superstition that has no place in modern, enlightened Europe and it would be a crime ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/ian-o-doherty-39140_assertion_it-would-be-a-crime-for-me-to-say-that-i_2517034.jpg" --- # It would be a crime for me to say that Islam is a backward… ![“It would be a crime for me to say that Islam is a backward desert superstition that has no place in modern, enlightened Europe and it would be a crime to point out that Jewish settlers in Israel who believe they have a God given right to take the land are, frankly, mad. All the above assertions…” quote by Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/ian-o-doherty-39140_assertion_it-would-be-a-crime-for-me-to-say-that-i_2517034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/ian-o-doherty-39140_assertion_it-would-be-a-crime-for-me-to-say-that-i_2517034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/ian-o-doherty-39140_assertion_it-would-be-a-crime-for-me-to-say-that-i_2517034.jpg) > “It would be a crime for me to say that Islam is a backward desert superstition that has no place in modern, enlightened Europe and it would be a crime to point out that Jewish settlers in Israel who believe they have a God given right to take the land are, frankly, mad. All the above assertions will, no doubt, offend someone or other.” [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns against labeling entire religions or peoples with extreme negative stereotypes, highlighting the offensiveness of such blanket judgments. **In simple terms:** Avoid sweeping, hateful generalizations about groups. Key Takeaway Think before you speak; respect diversity. Themes tolerance religion politics speech ethics Mood critical provocative Type opinion controversial When to use this quote - political commentary - media analysis - public discourse Key Concepts stereotyping bias free speech Questions to Reflect On - How can we critique policies without vilifying entire groups? - What responsibilities do writers have when discussing sensitive topics? A Different Perspective Such statements can inflame tensions and may be seen as hateful speech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [God given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-given/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Settlers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settlers/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) ## Related quotes > [I want the children of Israel to believe that there can be a better tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-gantz/i-want-the-children-of-israel-to-believe-that-there-can-be-a-better/) [Benny Gantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-gantz/) > [In the Christian world, as you remember, Christianity is in the 21st century, Islam is in the 15th century. I don't mean to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/in-the-christian-world-as-you-remember-christianity-is-in-the-21st/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) > [The main bone of contention is whether Islamic injunctions are legal or moral categories. When Muslims say Islam commands daily prayers or bans alcohol,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-akyol/the-main-bone-of-contention-is-whether-islamic-injunctions-are-legal/) [Mustafa Akyol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-akyol/) > [“I couldn’t understand what the Taliban were trying to do. “They are abusing our religion,” I said in interviews. “How will you accept Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-couldn-t-understand-what-the-taliban-were-trying-to-do-they-are/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [Those who say Islam is a warlike religion must ask if Christianity has been as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/those-who-say-islam-is-a-warlike-religion-must-ask-if-christianity/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I’m thinking about the discrepancies between what people say is Islam and what Islam actually is!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelina-zahra-janmohamed/i-m-thinking-about-the-discrepancies-between-what-people-say-is-islam/) [Shelina Zahra Janmohamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelina-zahra-janmohamed/) > [We've got to reach out to Muslim countries.We've got to have them be part of our coalition. If they hear people running for president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-ve-got-to-reach-out-to-muslim-countries-we-ve-got-to-have-them-be/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The settler and pioneer have at bottom had justice on their side; this great continent could not have been kept as nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-settler-and-pioneer-have-at-bottom-had-justice-on-their-side-this/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There is, of course, a legitimate argument for some limitation upon immigration. We no longer need settlers for virgin lands, and our economy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-is-of-course-a-legitimate-argument-for-some-limitation-upon/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [On the Native American front, we have turned a new page in the 400-year history of the interface between the American settlers of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-salazar/on-the-native-american-front-we-have-turned-a-new-page-in-the-400/) [Ken Salazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-salazar/) > [It did not come naturally; in fact, it would be difficult to conceive of any more dogmatic and less tolerant people than the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harris/it-did-not-come-naturally-in-fact-it-would-be-difficult-to-conceive/) [Paul Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harris/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I am against the fact that a settler minority should impose an entire system of values on an indigenous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/i-am-against-the-fact-that-a-settler-minority-should-impose-an-entire/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [The history of the United States is a history of settler colonialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/the-history-of-the-united-states-is-a-history-of-settler-colonialism/) [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/) > [It's interesting to think about the history of Israel in relation to the history of the U.S.. There were Native Americans living here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/it-s-interesting-to-think-about-the-history-of-israel-in-relation-to/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) ## More by Ian O'Doherty > [Polls are now even more meaningless than ever... there was the case of Ronnie O'Brien, the young footballer who incredibly found himself at Juventus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/polls-are-now-even-more-meaningless-than-ever-there-was-the-case-of/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [Where would we be without science? Sure, those boffins may have come up with occasionally handy items such as life-saving medicine, air travel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/where-would-we-be-without-science-sure-those-boffins-may-have-come-up/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [It is fashionable to scoff at Americans, but they routinely produce most of the important and ground-breaking entertainment in the world. 'Popular culture' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/it-is-fashionable-to-scoff-at-americans-but-they-routinely-produce/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [It turns out that conservationism can be fun, with the news that the Norwegian red king crab - which weighs in at an impressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/it-turns-out-that-conservationism-can-be-fun-with-the-news-that-the/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [What does Christmas mean if we can't encourage small children to sit on a stranger's lap?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/what-does-christmas-mean-if-we-can-t-encourage-small-children-to-sit/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [Are we expected to live in a world where we can no longer send death threats to colleagues via email? Where we can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/are-we-expected-to-live-in-a-world-where-we-can-no-longer-send-death/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [According to the nanny who sold her story, Victoria used to scream at her husband: I gave up my music for you. So, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/according-to-the-nanny-who-sold-her-story-victoria-used-to-scream-at/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [If defamation of religion was illegal it would be a crime for me to say that the notion of transubstantiation is so ridiculous that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/if-defamation-of-religion-was-illegal-it-would-be-a-crime-for-me-to/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [There are two types of people in this world - those who would appear on reality television and the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/there-are-two-types-of-people-in-this-world-those-who-would-appear-on/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) > [It seems you haven't really become a success until you have as many people as possible condemning you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-o-doherty/it-seems-you-haven-t-really-become-a-success-until-you-have-as-many/) [Ian O'Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) [Explore all 11 Ian O'Doherty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-o-doherty/) ## More Assertion quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/) [Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/) > [But innovation is more than a new method. It is a new view of the universe, as one of risk rather than of chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/but-innovation-is-more-than-a-new-method-it-is-a-new-view-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-equation-maybe-if-i-knew-i-d-be/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [There needs to be a public dawning - and it is beginning to dawn on some members of the public - that how science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-d-holt-jr/there-needs-to-be-a-public-dawning-and-it-is-beginning-to-dawn-on/) [Rush D. Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/) > [So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilization as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/so-long-as-muslims-continue-looking-towards-western-civilization-as/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) Browse all 279 Assertion quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would be a crime for me to say that Islam is a backward desert superstition that has no place in modern, enlightened Europe and it would be a crime to point out that Jewish settlers in Israel who believe they have a God given right to take the land are, frankly, mad. 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