Tahar Ben Jelloun

“We must have our say, not through violence, aggression or fear. We must speak out calmly and forcefully. We shall only be able to enter the new world era if we agree to engage in dialogue wi...”

“I came to poetry through the urgent need to denounce injustice, exploitation, humiliation. I know that's not enough to change the world. But to remain silent would have been a kind of intole...”

“To lead a country, you must periodically hold a national consultation in which people representing different programmes can make a bid for power.”

“I have written about the dispossessed, immigrants, the condition of women who do not enjoy the same legal rights as men, the Palestinians who are deprived of their land and condemned to exil...”

“Emigration is no longer a solution; it's a defeat. People are risking death, drowning every day, but they're knocking on doors that are not open.”

“An individual voice can be heard in a choir that otherwise sings in unison. This is something that is not excused.”

“I am a guest of the French language. My poems in French are born of my interaction with the French language, which is not the same as that of a French poet.”

“We have no Arab intellectuals of international stature because we live in a state of generalized mediocrity. We are suspended in the pit without touching the bottom.”

“Intellectuals try to keep going. But their situation is very difficult. Those who have had the courage to voice their opposition have often paid a very high price.”

“My characters are driven by a passionate desire for justice. They are rebellious and incorruptible.”

“A modern civilization is only possible when it is accepted that singular beings exist and express themselves freely.”

“In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time.”

“The power of the word in Morocco belonged to men and to the authorities. No one asked the point of view of poor people or women.”

“My hope is that countries like Morocco will have investment to create work, so people don't have to leave.”

“This universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables which are not those of one's mother tongue.”

“New ideas should confront old ideas. We must refer to the example of Europe. People have fought to make Europe what it is today. Freedom is not something that is served up on a plate.”

“I liked Sartre's views but not his writing.”