Basma Abdel Aziz > Quotes

“Soon the situation unraveled, and different groups who had taken part in the First Storm accused one another of betrayal. They were so entrenched in their own conflicts that they forgot about the ruler, who started to rally his inner circle and regained influence on the ground. While the people were distracted with their squabbles, the old guard regrouped and began to rebuild. Not long after this, the Gate appeared.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“كانت الخطيئة المشتركة بين الجميع هي خطيئة المعرفة المحرمة التي عُقِد العزم على إخفائها عن عامة الناس علمية كانت أو دينية”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, ذاكرة القهر: دراسة حول منظومة التعذيب

“Politics had eaten away at people’s heads until they in turn had begun to devour one another.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“Yehya would never admit that he was just a single, powerless man in a society where rules and restrictions were stronger than everything else, stronger than the ruler himself, stronger than the Booth and even the Gate.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“The High Sheikh invoked a few passages from the Greater Book, explaining that if a believer were to be struck by a bullet (despite his prayers and supplication), his faith would guide him to the understanding that it was God himself who'd struck him down. A wounded believer should not despair or oppose God's will. Nor should he question the unquestionable - such an act could lead him down a perilous path toward doubt. Instead, the believer must accept the will of God. He must acknowledge how lucky he was to be struck by a bullet, and exalted to a place in heaven ordinarily reserved only for the most dutiful.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“She raised her voice, reminding him that he was a doctor, that his first priority was to help the sick, and he shot back that helping the sick was subject to the law, too; it wasn't just every man for himself.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“Like many others, she'd received a threat from the Riffraff - though she wasn't sure she understood it completely - accusing her of helping to maintain the status quo, and even profiting from it.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“The Gate had come into power many years earlier, in the wake of a popular uprising known as the First Storm.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“The queue was like a magnet. It drew people toward it, then held them captive as individuals and in their little groups, and it stripped them of everything, even the sense that their previous lives had been stolen from them.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“In addition to anxiety and irritability, other symptoms include an irrational belief that he can alter reality; a clear tendency to act in a socially unacceptable and unhealthy manner; and a sharp, unfriendly manner when interacting with others.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“If a doctor or nurse had been with him when he'd been injured, she would have made the others carry him more carefully. Doing so would have taken just enough time for them to arrive at the emergency room an hour or so after Tarek's shift had ended, and the name of another doctor would have been at the end of this file....”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“The Riffraff defended themselves fiercely, arguing that months had passed without the slightest change. People should unite and forget the Gate, they said but they couldn't offer any convincing alternatives, so everyone in the queue - those behind the barriers and the rest - refused to give up hope.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“Politics had eaten away at people's heads until they in turn had begun to devour one another.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“The first boycott was against a candy factory that owned a well-known chain of stores in several districts. The Committee had discovered that this factory was producing candy made of sugar swirls, in which - in a certain light - one could make out the word "God." The Committee released a statement calling upon people to boycott the factory, since allowing the name of God to be eaten and digested was the ultimate denigration of religion's place in society and thus warranted a country-wide campaign.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“From the Fatwa and Rationalizatons Committee, on the Fifth Day of this Venerable Month:

In light of its meeting today, the Committee hereby announces this fatwa to the entire nation, to ward off civil strife and its evils, and preserve the country's integrity. To keep those of faith from succumbing to sin in the eyes of God Almighty, all believers must verify any news before giving it credence, and all those who make claims must substantiate their assertions with proof, lest they spread false allegations and therefore corruption. Believers shall not boycott their brothers, nor cause them to suffer financial or emotional distress, and shall not call upon others to take such actions, as this is one of the gravest sins, unless done in support of religion. A believer who is weak of faith, and does not join his brothers, is guilty of a sin, which shall be weighed on Judgment Day. This sin can be absolved by fasting, or by making seven consecutive phone calls, each one not separated by more than a month. Our Book pronounces this truth upon you. May God lead you to the path of righteousness, and may His peace, blessings, and mercy be upon you.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“Yehya would never admit that he was just a single, powerless man in a society where rules and restrictions were stronger than everything else, stronger than the ruler himself, stronger”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“No section of society was missing, even the poorest of the poor were there, not separated from the rich by any means. Everyone was on equal ground. But they all had the same look about them, the same lethargy. Now they were even all starting to think the same way.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“So I shut up and hold out a one-pound note, but he throws it on the ground, snatches back both pieces of bread, and shouts at me, 'We don't have any bread! And don't come back!”
― Basma Abdel Aziz

“Despite how often the Gate released these promising updates, it still had never reopened, and nothing ever really changed. All it provided was hope for people to cling to and a reason to stay in the queue.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue

“The remedy to poverty was to bow down and pray and to stop her grousing and complaining.”
― Basma Abdel Aziz, The Queue