During my youth, the idea of moving from Lebanon was unthinkable. Then I began to realise I might have to go, like my grandfather, uncles and others who left for America, Egypt, Australia, Cuba.
Amin MaaloufYou can't say history teaches us this or that; it gives us more questions than answers, and many answers to every question.
Amin MaaloufIn my prayers, I want to say: Lord, donโt be far from me, and also donโt come too close. Let me contemplate the stars on the texture of your cloth, but donโt unveil your face to me. Allow me to hear the rivers that you send running, but Lord! Lord! Donโt allow me hearing your voice
Amin MaaloufLife is like a fire. Flames which the passer-by forgets. Ashes which the wind scatters. A man lived.
Amin MaaloufTaking the line of least resistance, we lump the most different people together under the same heading. Taking the line of least resistance, we ascribe to them collective crimes, collective acts and opinions. "The Serbs have massacredโฆ", "The English have devastatedโฆ", "The Jews have confiscatedโฆ", "The Blacks have torched", "The Arabs refuseโฆ". We blithely express sweeping judgments on whole peoples, calling them "hardworking" and "ingenious", or "lazy", "touchy", "sly", "proud", or "obstinate". And sometimes this ends in bloodshed." โ Amin Maalouf "On Identity
Amin Maalouf