Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouzwas an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. He published 34 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, and five plays over a 70-year career. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and foreign films...
NationalityEgyptian
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth11 December 1911
CityCairo, Egypt
CountryEgypt
One effect that the Nobel Prize seems to have had is that more Arabic literary works have been translated into other languages.
We used the Western style to express our own themes and stories. But don't forget that our heritage includes The Thousand and One Nights.
I reject any path which rejects life, but I can't help loving Sufism because it sounds so beautiful. It gives relief in the midst of battle.
I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees.
If you want to move people, you look for a point of sensitivity, and in Egypt nothing moves people as much as religion.
God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.
Without literature my life would be miserable.
We are passing through a very sensitive time, and on the whole, this country is facing very big problems.
I wake up early in the morning and walk for an hour. If I have something to write, I prefer to write in the morning until midday, and in the afternoon, I eat.
If the urge to write should ever leave me, I want that day to be my last.
There are no heroes in most of my stories. I look at our society with a critical eye and find nothing extraordinary in the people I see.
An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.
Only the poor are handicapped by honor.
Today's interpretations of religion are often backward and contradict the needs of civilization.