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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

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" People must insist on the right to say no, to be alone, to stand out from the herd. Creative artists can say all this in their own way and in their own field, by hard, rigorous work. "

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" For me, poetry is a situation - a state of being, a way of facing life and facing history. "

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" Poetry is a form of mathematics, a highly rigorous relationship with words. "

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" 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. "

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" At 21, I discovered repression and injustice. The army would shoot students with real bullets. "

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" I am a Moroccan writer of French expression. "

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

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

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" 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. "

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

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" 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. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" 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. "

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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" The intellectual, the man of thought, doubt and analysis, should give the best of himself. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" Beauty is first and foremost an emotion. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" It is through accepting other people in our own countries that we shall come to respect our neighbours and be respected in our turn. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" We must stop posing as victims of the West and behaving negatively towards the West. We must participate with the West on an equal footing in the reconstruction of the world. "

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

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

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" I don't feel guilty about expressing myself in French; nor do I feel that I am continuing the work of the colonizers. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" 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. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" 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. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

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

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" Be vigilant, for nothing one achieves lasts forever. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" There are very few great poets in the world. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun

" 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. "

Tahar Ben Jelloun