82 Quotes by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Sometimes it’s easy to lose faith in people. And sometimes one act of kindness is all it takes to give you hope again.

I wear my politics like hand-me down clothes: some bits feel like they don’t fit me properly, but I expect I’ll grow into them, trusting that because they’re from my parents they’ve come from a good source.

A reminder that for some people in this world, freedom and ordinary aren’t basic rights. They’re luxuries you should never take for granted.

You never feel good when you lie. It doesn’t matter how much you want something, if you lie to somebody you love, and they actually, sincerely believe you, you feel like a cockroach that needs some serious Raid action.

When it comes to the hijab – why to wear it, whether to wear it, how to wear it – there is theology and then there is practice, and there is huge diversity in both.

Maybe you only get one chance at meeting somebody who really gets inside you, wakes corners of your mind and heart that you didn’t know were asleep.

I’ve always loved writing, and the impulse for me is storytelling. I don’t sit down and think: ‘What political message can I sell?’ I love the creativity of it.

It is time Australian Muslims stop being treated as negotiable citizens in their own country. It is time people stop ‘tolerating’ us, presuming some right to decide if we have a place in our own home.

I’m starting to realize that being born into this social world is a little like being born into clean air. You take it in as soon as you breathe, and pretty soon you don’t even realize that while you can walk around with clear lungs, other people are wearing oxygen masks just to survive.