Fattah Quotes & Sayings

I would never stay in office against the will of the people. My ethics and patriotism do not allow me to do so. — Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

For me, religious festivals and celebrations have become an important way to teach my children about how we can transform living with diversity from the superficial 'I eat ethnic food', to something dignified, mutually respectful and worthwhile. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Everything is relative. If you want to understand a problem you look at its cause. You don't look at its manifestation. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Now, so, if you want to blame someone for wasteful spending, the Republicans are in the majority. — Chaka Fattah

While Social Security faces some long-term challenges, the system is not in crisis. — Chaka Fattah

You? Nervous? Man, you've got more balls than any girl I've ever known!'
'You've known some weird girls, then, I say, raising an eyebrow at him. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

I wasn't rebellious. Other friends had far stricter parents and where there wasn't a relationship of respect and communication, they were usually the opposite; kids go to the other extreme. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

In the armed forces, the chances of success are quite high. That's due to the clarity of the military structure - everything is sketched out. In politics, there are many more surprises and detours, and it's a lot more unpredictable. — Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

I've been writing stories since I was a kid. I love writing stories. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

We are, at almost every point of our day, immersed in cultural diversity: faces, clothes, smells, attitudes, values, traditions, behaviours, beliefs, rituals. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Because when we think about the real facts: 44 million Americans without health insurance, millions without jobs, a 50-year high on mortgage foreclosures, an historic high the third year in a row on personal bankruptcies. — Chaka Fattah

To the Muslim woman, the hijab provides a sense of empowerment. It is a personal decision to dress modestly according to the command of a genderless Creator; to assert pride in self, and embrace one's faith openly, with independence and courageous conviction. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

African American children can't be educationally disadvantaged for 12 years and then experience a miracle cure when it comes time for admission into college. — Chaka Fattah

The Republican Party is in charge. They've been charge of the Congress and spending for 10 years. — Chaka Fattah

The Muslim Brotherhood is the parent organization of extreme ideology. They are the godfather of all terrorist organizations. They spread it all over the world. — Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi

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. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Mr. Taylor has this habit of emphasizing his point by using three adjectives or verbs in a row. 'Class, you must know,' Simon begins [imitating] in a droning voice, flinging her arms around at every syllable, 'that should you fail to understand, to comprehend, to FEEL the power of the Constitution's words you will lose, forfeit, SURRENDER your ability to master the meaning of this most important document. You must read with an open mind in order to nurture, care for, and FOSTER your citizenship. Do I make myself clear, succinct, and COMPREHENSIBLE? — Randa Abdel-Fattah

What's the good of being true to your religion on the outside, if you don't change what's on the inside,were it really counts ? — Randa Abdel-Fattah

There is no doubt that counterterrorism takes time because it is not action against a regular army. — Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi

Belief means nothing without actions — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Bush has never sent over a balanced budget. — Chaka Fattah

Religious celebrations, and the good will, high spirits and generosity that mark them, are wonderful occasions for understanding the potential of 'everyday multiculturalism', and how people from diverse faiths can connect and show they care, rather than go down parallel, sometimes hostile, roads. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Chaka Fattah already lost the seat in a Democratic primary. So, he's on his way out. And he formally resigned this week. — Christopher Michael Cillizza

I do most of my reading on the train ride to and from work. But I always have a book in my handbag so that I can read at any time, anywhere. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Your perception is riveting, Amal," he says in a bored and sarcastic tone, dropping the note down on my desk. "It's comforting to know that there are people in my class who have the maturity and intelligence to make derogatory comments about other people's external appearances."
Now what am I supposed to say to that?
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
Friggin' mind reader. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Yeah, don't you take a break?'
'I don't have time for breaks.'
'That's the whole point of a break. When you've got no time, you need a break. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Are you still doing that crap?" I ask.
"You can't even do it properly," Eileen says.
"Just a matter of practice," Simone says.
"Wow! Practicing how to poison yourself and make your breath reek like the fart of a seagull!" Eileen cries. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

If Egypt is unstable, then the entire region is unstable. — Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi

Spirituality is deeply personal. Yet, society has to face the fact that certain faiths celebrate spirituality through an overt expression of inner convictions. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

There are no problems that exist in the District that have been solved elsewhere in the country. Whatever problems exist in this city exist other places. — Chaka Fattah

But if they want to really think about the fiscal future of this country, then think about how we have moved from hundreds of billions of surpluses to hundreds of billions of deficits. — Chaka Fattah

It seems Palestinians can't win. The language of peace negotiations has always been predicated on a representation that Palestinians are violent and that is why Israel behaves as it does. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Too many people look at it as though it (the hijab) has bizarre powers sewn into its microfibers. Powers that transform Muslim girls into UCOs (Unidentified Covered Objects), which turn Muslim girls from an 'us' to a 'them. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

That's when this warm feeling buzzes through you and you smile to yourself, knowing God's watching you, knowing that He knows you're trying to be strong to please Him. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

In a multicultural, diverse society there are countless ways in which people negotiate the everyday lived experience and reality of diversity. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

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. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

I don't know what this definition of affirmative action is for some. — Chaka Fattah

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. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Any person by nature has inherent capabilities. You have to trust your instincts and act with spontaneity. — Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

My family are observant Muslims, but I've come to the faith through an intellectual conviction, and that's something that they've taught me. It's never been forced upon me. They've given me a very strong identity as an Australian Muslim. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

That's why when Peter started talking to me in homeroom this morning, i soaked up his attention like a doughnut dipped in coffee. The fact that his comments have left me soggy and wilted doesn't matter. That's the price you pay when you withdraw to the safety of anonymity — Randa Abdel-Fattah

I want to be with one person in my life. I want to know that the guy I spend the rest of my life with is the first person I share something so intimate and exciting with. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

The one-eyed is always beauty in the land of the blind. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

If I like a book, I tend to read the author's entire collection. But I choose mainly through personal recommendations, general word of mouth and book reviews. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

You should take notes whenever you hear interesting or original language. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

We have major fiscal problems on our hand. — Chaka Fattah

There can be no religious discourse which is in conflict with its environment and with the world and therefore, we Muslims need to modify this religious discourse. And this has nothing to do with conviction and with religious beliefs, because those are immutable. But we need a new discourse that will be adapted to a new world and which will remove some of the misconceptions. — Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

The President's proposed privatization plan would jeopardize that security by cutting guaranteed benefits for future retirees and endangering the benefits of current retirees, people with disabilities, and children who have lost a parent. — Chaka Fattah

Most Muslim women know it is fear and curiosity that cause people to stare. They know it is ignorance and stereotypes that cause people to suppose that a piece of material covering the hair strips a woman of the ability to speak English, pursue a career, work a remote control. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

I just don't know what I'd do without a brain, Simone!" I say. "I mean, what's a person without one? — 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. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

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. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

We have to choices in this world; we either try to survive or to give up. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

But persistent name calling? that prolongs hurt. It stretches out. Each nasty word stretches the rubber band further away until finally, one day, it snaps back at you with maximum impact — Randa Abdel-Fattah

There is more to this hijab than the whole modesty thing. These girls are strangers to me but I know that we all felt an amazing connection, a sense that this cloth binds us in some kind of universal sisterhood. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

The hijab, or sikh turban, or Jewish skullcap are all explicit symbols, but they do not represent a threat or affront to others, and have no bearing on the competence, skills and intelligence of a person. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

I decided that I was ready to assume this position when I discovered that the chance to save the country was very meager. I was prepared to sacrifice myself for this country and its 90 million people. They want food, fuel and electricity and yearn for a decent life. Any president who does not pay attention to such details or is unable to provide the minimum level of stability should leave office. — Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

I couldn't stop bawling, watching the towers come down. it was a terrible thing to happen. And a terrible thing to realize that I don't sit though the nigh crying when such horrors happen all the time. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Currently, more than 4.7 million African Americans receive Social Security benefits, and nearly 8 million people with disabilities depend on Social Security for their daily sustenance. — Chaka Fattah

When Bill Clinton was in town, he sent over a balanced budget. — Chaka Fattah

Democracy derailed is democracy denied. — Chaka Fattah

Parents. Honestly. Sometimes they really do think the world revolves around them. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

But the point you need to know is that no president at war cut taxes $1.5 trillion, like Bush did. — Chaka Fattah

The Americans are optimistic by their nature. And they are hopeful. — Chaka Fattah

Now we are raising the debt limit 3 times, up to $8 trillion, so that our children and our grandchildren will have to pay for the cost of our expenditures. — Chaka Fattah

This program that the Republican majority has taken us toward as a country is leading us to fiscal bankruptcy. — Chaka Fattah

We need to see a Palestinian state. — Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi

We need to have Bill Cosby month in Philadelphia. — Chaka Fattah

The threat of terrorism is not stronger than the will of the American people. — Chaka Fattah

The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

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. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

True friends are those who love you not in spite of your faults and imperfections, but because of them. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

When Allah (swt) decrees that a door in your life is to be opened, no matter how hard you try to close it, no matter how far you run away from it, it will remain open until you walk through. When Allah (swt) decrees that a door is to be closed, no matter how many times you knock on that door, try to break it down, or cry on your knees in front of it, begging it to open again, it will never be opened. Grieve in front of that closed door if you must. Stand there for a time and look at it. Hold your hands over your heart and press down to calm it's quickened pained rhythm. Then know- know beyond the shadow of a doubt, know in your heart of hearts- that when you trust Allah and move forward, he will open a more beautiful door for you. You will walk through it and perhaps you will even praise him for having closed the past door you loved so much. He is Al-Fattah, the Opener. May the doors He opens for us always lead us back to him. — Asmaa Hussein

It's like one of those scenes from a feel-good Hollywood movie. Where everybody is happy and nobody's hair fizzes in the wind. Where it doesn't rain, your shoes stay comfortable all day, and everybody's jokes are funny. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to preserve the Social Security promise that provides secure retirement benefits for all, especially those who are most at risk such as widows, orphans, and people with disabilities when the need arises. — Chaka Fattah

When you exist in the centre of a debate, as a topic, a hypothesis - otherised and stigmatised - you become the prop in a proposition. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

There's not an appropriations bill in the last 10 years that the-that Democrats passed in the Congress. We haven't spent any money of your taxes in the last decade. — Chaka Fattah

One of the first serious attempts I made to write a novel was when I was in Grade 6 and I had read 'Matilda.' I wrote my own version and my teacher had it bound and permitted me to read it to the class - cementing my love of reading, writing and Roald Dahl! — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Without Social Security, poverty rates for African American seniors would more than double. — Chaka Fattah

And it's when I'm standing there this morning, in my PJs and a hijab, next to my mum and my dad, kneeling before God, that I feel a strange sense of calm. I feel like nothing can hurt me, and nothing else matters. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

A woman's body is her body and what she wears or does not wear is her choice. Get over it and move on. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

With my human rights advocacy, that's always been through my writing. I've always tried to write articles and contribute to journals and a lot of online journals - about human rights, especially Palestinian human rights. I find the time to do things to do things I'm passionate about, because I find enjoyment in them. I just have to juggle. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Life isn't like the movies. People don't change overnight. people don't go from arrogant and self-righteous to ashamed and remorseful. They don't suddenly give in when they've spent years taking out. No doesn't magically become a Yes. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

Yes, Simone, he is mentally unstable for being attracted to you. call the men in white suits. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

When I see that people want to listen to me and when I feel that they are supporting the goals that I am committed to, then I am very pleased. — Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

Once upon a time, a fisherman went out to sea. He caught many fish and threw them all into a large bucket on his boat. The fish were not yet dead, so the man decided to ease their suffering by killing them swiftly. While he worked, the cold air made his eyes water. One of the wounded fish saw this and said to the other: "What a kind heart this fisherman has- see how he cries for us." The other fish replied: "Ignore his tears and watch what he is doing with his hands. — Randa Abdel-Fattah

The education cuts in the President's budget are both irresponsible and morally unjustifiable. — Chaka Fattah