Quotes By Tahar Ben Jelloun

I liked Sartre's views but not his writing.

There is a gulf between the Arab peoples and Arab intellectuals.

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 with the other side.

I'd thought sexuality was instinctive or natural, but it's profoundly linked to inner security and cultural context.

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.

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.

I write about wounds, the eternal treasons of life. It's not very funny, but it's sincere. My commitment is to sincerity.

There are very few great poets in the world.

We do not have many intellectuals who can speak out for us internationally. We have no writers who are recognized, respected and loved outside the Arab world.

In the '70s I was in exile; every time I went back I wondered if they'd take my passport away.

I do not use the language of my people. I can take liberties with certain themes which the Arabic language would not allow me to take.

Egypt has suffered more ordeals than the other countries to get where it is.

Real friendship, like real poetry, is extremely rare - and precious as a pearl.

Beauty is first and foremost an emotion.

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

The world does not look to us in the Arab world out of a healthy desire for knowledge.

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

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.

Religion has to stay in the heart, not in politics. It is private.

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

Poetry is not only a set of words which are chosen to relate to each other; it is something which goes much further than that to provide a glimpse of our vision of the world.

I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer.

My sensibility steers me toward writers who are out on their own.

It is impossible to disregard such an important medium as television. We should know how to use it, learn to work in it and express new values in it.

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

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 intolerable complicity.

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

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.

In the Arab world, there is no link between the cultural habits of peoples and the ways of thinking and creating of modern intellectuals. They are two separate worlds.

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