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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.