Quotes from Munira Mirza

Government policies to improve engagement with Muslims make things worse.

The emergence of a strong Muslim identity in Britain is, in part, a result of multicultural policies implemented since the 1980s, which have emphasized difference at the expense of shared national identity.

I think that there is a tendency to underestimate the public.

Why is London particularly attractive for artists? It's partly this incredible concentration of organizations that have a long history but also the spontaneous and informal culture and the opportunities in London.

Some Muslim lobby groups have argued that Christian groups already have public funding for their schools and services so they should too. In response, there are now Hindu and Sikh organisations demanding their own concessions lest they feel left out. The demand to wear the headscarf one day spurs the demand to wear the crucifix the next.

Barriers today are largely class-based - income, networks, education. And those affect many white people as well.

There is clearly a conflict within British Islam between a moderate majority that accepts the norms of Western democracy and a growing minority that does not.

There is a large number of people who see immigration has been very positive and engaging with the world and cooperating is the future. It is the E.U. which stops us doing that sensibly and intelligently.

But I do love working for Boris because he never stops. He's always fizzing with good ideas, and when you are looking after culture, that is important. He's quite ambitious for London.

There are people working in arts organizations who feel that in recent years there has been a sacrifice of quality and excellence in favor of ticking the right boxes and using the right buzz words because that's what their masters tell them.

Differences in racial outcomes are not the same thing as institutional racism any more than the fact that far more men than women are locked up is evidence of institutional sexism.

Brewer Street Car Park as the host venue is a brilliant development for London Fashion Week. With its position in Soho, it is at the heart of an area that has long been associated with fashion and creativity in general.

Studying art history is actually one of the few ways of getting a good job in the arts sector. It's hard to be a museum curator without it, work in any senior position in an auction house or gallery, or become a serious art critic.

We should get rid of 'tick box' measures that do nothing to address underlying inequality in areas like employment. And we should interrogate the claims of victimization made by some organizations to get their slice of pie.

The political elite prefers to see criminals as victims in need of therapy and TLC.

We want artists to stay in London. It's very important culturally and economically, but there are lots of challenges in terms of finding space.

We want young people to get every opportunity to experience culture, to understand it and to think it is for them.

If white people are constantly told how culturally different their Asian neighbors are, and if Asians are told to be vigilant against white racism, both groups might conclude that they have little in common and much to fear from their neighbours.

A hero usually rises above the ordinary because he or she exemplifies some virtue that everyone can recognize.