I had the urge to face my own limitation, and I needed to be bigger. I needed to be more professional and be in a more competitive environment because I wanted to grow as an artist. That's why I went to Europe.

It's interesting to be at once an insider and outsider. It's a way of learning how to find your way freely without the need of conforming or belonging.

For me, a taxi is like a public space because so many people get in that space.

The Arab world is mediatised in a way that gives too much space to these people - puritans, extremists, whatever you want to call them. There are a lot more people like me in the Middle East than you might think.

I guess the biggest thing is that I committed to a spiritual center before I do anything else. And I put some daily things in my life into practice and I maintain that, to make sure that I don't drop the ball.

Time is in God's hands.

Faithful servants never retire. You can retire from your career, but you will never retire from serving God.

It's so God-given - my talent - because it took so very little time to get it down to where I was able to perform.