Quote by Tierno Bokar: “Intelligence without love ruins the world.”

Being clever or knowledgeable is not enough to do good. Intelligence applied without care for others — without empathy, compassion, or a sense of responsibility — produces systems and ideas that are sophisticated but harmful. The world's greatest cruelties have often been carried out by highly intelligent people who lacked love.

Tierno Bokar was a spiritual teacher in the French Sudan (present-day Mali) during the colonial era. His teachings took place in the context of French colonial administration and the suppression of local religious practice. He preached tolerance and spiritual depth across religious boundaries in a period of political and cultural repression.

Malian Sufi mystic and Islamic scholar known as 'the sage of Bandiagara,' whose teachings blended Sufi Islam with West African spiritual wisdom. He became widely known outside West Africa through Amadou Hampâté Bâ's 1980 biography Vie et enseignement de Tierno Bokar, which preserved his oral teachings.