section_path: Culture/Literature
section_name: Literature
paragraph_text: Literature
  
  Moroccan literature is written mostly in Arabic, Berber, Hebrew and French. Particularly under the Almoravid and Almohad empires, Moroccan literature was closely related to the literature of al-Andalus, and shared important poetic and literary forms such as zajal, the muwashshah and the maqama. Islamic literature, such as Quranic exegeses and other religious works such as Qadi Ayyad 's Al-Shifa, were influential. The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fes was an important literary centre attracting scholars from abroad, including Maimonides, Ibn al-Khatib, and Ibn Khaldun.
  
  Under the Almohad dynasty Morocco experienced a period of prosperity and brilliance of learning. The Almohad built the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh, which accommodated no fewer than 25,000 people, but was also famed for its books, manuscripts, libraries and book shops, which gave it its name; the first book bazaar in history. The Almohad Caliph Abu Yakub had a great love for collecting books. He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah and turned into a public library.
  
  Modern Moroccan literature began in the 1930s. Two main factors gave Morocco a pulse toward witnessing the birth of modern literature. Morocco, as a French and Spanish protectorate left Moroccan intellectuals the opportunity to exchange and to produce literary works freely with the contact of other Arabic literature and Europe. Three generations of writers especially shaped 20th century Moroccan literature. The first was the generation that lived and wrote during the Protectorate (1912–1956), its most important representative being Mohammed Ben Brahim (1897–1955). The second generation played an important role in the transition to independence, with writers like Abdelkrim Ghallab (1919–2006), Allal al-Fassi (1910–1974) and Mohammed al-Mokhtar Soussi (1900–1963). The third generation is that of writers of the sixties. Moroccan literature had writers such as Mohamed Choukri, Driss Chraïbi, Mohamed Zafzaf and Driss El Khouri.
  
  During the 1950s and 1960s, Morocco was a refuge and artistic centre and attracted writers as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and William S. Burroughs. Moroccan literature flourished with novelists such as Mohamed Zafzaf and Mohamed Choukri, who wrote in Arabic, and Driss Chraïbi and Tahar Ben Jelloun who wrote in French. Other important Moroccan authors include: Abdellatif Laabi, Abdelkrim Ghallab, Fouad Laroui, Mohammed Berrada and Leila Abouzeid. Orature (oral literature) is also an integral part of Moroccan culture, be it in Moroccan Arabic or Berber.