Abdelkarim Ghellab, a leading Moroccan fiction writer, journalist, and politician died on Monday at the age 98, leaving behind a rich legacy of writing political activism.

No details about the circumstances of his death have been provided. His funeral is due to take place in Rabat at midday.

Ghellab was born in 1919 in Fez and was actively involved in Morocco’s independence movement, both within the Kingdom and from Cairo, Egypt, where activists from the Maghreb countries joined hands to demand independence from the French occupier.

He had also been one of the Istiqlal Party’s historical figures.

A prolific writer, Ghellab was a pioneer of Moroccan literature in Arabic. He published over 70 books on literature, journalism, and politics.

As a journalist, he was editor of several newspapers and magazines during the French occupation and after Morocco’s independence.

With his death, Morocco loses one of its most prominent cultural names, a man that generations of Moroccan politicians, journalists, and writers have looked up to with veneration.

source:MoroccoWorldNews