Bassam Ahmed

“We're stuck. We're stuck between the East and the West. Between the past and the future. On the one hand there are the secular modernists, so proud of the regime they constructed, you cannot breathe a critical word. They've got the army and half of the state on their side. On the other hand there are the conventional traditionalist, so infatuated with the Ottoman past, you cannot breathe a critical word. They've got the general public and the remaining half of the state on their side.”
― Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul

“It's odd how faces, solid and visible as they are, evaporate, while words, made of breath, stay.”
― Elif Shafak, The Architect's Apprentice

“Well, personally, I've seen enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned that it can be murderous. What interests me is living and dying for what one loves.”
― Albert Camus, The Plague

“أغلب أحاديثنا - بعد كلمتين ليس غير - تتحول من الموضوع - أياً كان - إلى الذات ، الشكوى أو الافتخار ، ولكني أحس أنهما ينبعان من نزعة واحدة متكتمة : إستجداء تبرير الوجود”
― يحيى حقي