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.

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

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.

Our steps invent the path as we proceed; behind us they leave no trace, only the void. So we shall always look ahead and trust our feet. They will take us as far as our minds will go... -- Tahar ben Jelloun

I liked Sartre's views but not his writing.

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.

I belong to a specific category of writers, those who speak and write in a language different from that of their parents.