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.

My hope is that countries like Morocco will have investment to create work, so people don't have to leave.

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

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.

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

This universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables which are not those of one's mother tongue.

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.

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.

The mistake we make is to attribute to religions the errors and fanaticism of human beings.

Beauty is first and foremost an emotion.

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

However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship.

You are never listening to what someone is saying, you are only ever listening to what you are hearing

September had never been betrayed before. She did not even know what to call the feeling in her chest, so bitter and sour. Poor child. There is always a first time, and it is never the last time.

We love to love and feel loved because love is the greatest pleasure of all.

A state is better governed which has few laws, and those laws strictly observed.

The fear tactic is a tactic that's used by people who want to maintain control, and it's very effective.

Sometimes you need to stand with your nose to the window and have a good look at jazz. And I've done that on many occasions.

What you tend to find in the personal lives of brilliant men is devastation akin to a nuclear bomb going off.

A naturopath once told me you should never take antibiotics except if you have pneumonia, a kidney infection or some other serious illness. That's my philosophy, too.

Could we have prevented in 100% certainty? I don't think anything is that certain. However, we would have had a very, very good chance for preventing it.