Imran Khan

“I did not lose this election, or had a bad result compared with what we might have got because of Islam.”

“Pakistan needs to have decentralisation and a good local government system.”

“A country that relies on aid? Death is better than that. It stops you from achieving your potential, just as colonialism did.”

“I am basically a private person.”

“When I was older, I found Iqbal's work hugely inspirational. He argued against an unquestioning acceptance of Western democracy as the self-governing model, and instead suggested that by following the rules of Islam a society would tend naturally towards social justice, tolerance, peace and equality. Iqbal's interpretation of Islam differs very widely from the narrow meaning that is sometimes given to it. For Iqbal, Islam is not just the name for certain beliefs and forms of worship. The difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is not merely a theological one - it is a difference of a fundamental attitude towards life.”

“If your house is burning, wouldn't you try and put out the fire?”

“I want to have a president in the U.S. who tries to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.”

“Good deeds must be rewarded by the system and crimes be punished - this is the essence of meritocracy.”

“Because I'm anti-war, I've been called pro-Taliban.”

“In fact the experience at Oxford has really helped me later in life.”

“Cross-cultural marriage is difficult, especially when one person has to live in another country. But I thought there was a very good chance of it working because people grow together if they have a common passion.”

“Spirituality does two things for you. One, you are forced to become more selfless, two, you trust to providence. The opposite of a spiritual man is a materialist. If I was a materialist I would be making lots of money doing endorsements, doing cricket commentary. I have no interest in that.”

“They do not understand Islam, and I think that is one area where perhaps I hope one day I will play a role in actually making people understand what we perceive Islam to be.”

“There can only be democracy when money is not allowed to be spent in Politics.”

“The war on terror is the most insane and immoral war of all time. The Americans are doing what they did in Vietnam, bombing villages. But how can a civilised nation do this? How can you can eliminate suspects, their wives, their children, their families, their neighbours? How can you justify this?”

“It's more important to try to do something for the crores of poor people of my country.”

“Terrorism is you winning hearts and minds of people.”

“Colonialism deprives you of your self-esteem and to get it back you have to fight to redress the balance.”

“When you remove the concept of reward and punishment on merit, the result is the utter destruction of social fabric.”

“I have fruit trees. Cows for fresh milk, yoghurt. My own wheat. I'm basically self-sufficient.”