Tahar Ben Jelloun quotes

Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan-French poet, novelist, and essayist whose work explores themes of identity, migration, and cultural exchange. His writings draw on both his North African heritage and French literary traditions. He has received numerous international awards and is considered one of the most influential Francophone authors of his generation. Here are 48 of his quotes:

The mistake we make is to attribute to religions the errors and fanaticism of human beings. (Tahar Ben Jelloun)
I love life in spite of all that mars it. I love friendship, jokes and laughter. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
My hope is that countries like Morocco will have investment to create work, so people don't have to leave. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
In Morocco, it's possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time. View quote
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Real friendship, like real poetry, is extremely rare - and precious as a pearl. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
This universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables which are not those of one's mother tongue. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Religion has to stay in the heart, not in politics. It is private. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Be vigilant, for nothing one achieves lasts forever. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
For me, poetry is a situation - a state of being, a way of facing life and facing history. (Tahar Ben Jelloun)
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Egypt has suffered more ordeals than the other countries to get where it is. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
I don't feel guilty about expressing myself in French; nor do I feel that I am continuing the work of the colonizers. View quote
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
My characters are driven by a passionate desire for justice. They are rebellious and incorruptible. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
What have we achieved since the end of the Second World War? We have allowed petty, bourgeois regimes in which everything is average, mediocre. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Intellectuals try to keep going. But their situation is very difficult. Those who have had the courage to voice their opposition have often paid a very high price. (Tahar Ben Jelloun)
I am a Moroccan writer of French expression. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
My sensibility steers me toward writers who are out on their own. View quote
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. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Beauty is first and foremost an emotion. View quote
Tahar Ben Jelloun

Tahar Ben Jelloun

Tahar Ben Jelloun - Image
Photo: Photo Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0
Occupation: French Poet
Born: December 1, 1944
Quotes count: 48