Quotes By Naguib Mahfouz

I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace.

It is simply not part of my culture to preserve notes. I have never heard of a writer preserving his early drafts.

At my age it is unseemly to be pessimistic.

The Arab world also won the Nobel with me. I believe that international doors have opened, and that from now on, literate people will consider Arab literature also. We deserve that recognition.

I was suffering from a peculiar and persistent sense that I was being pursued, and also the conviction that under the political order of the times, our lives had no meaning.

Without literature my life would be miserable.

If you want to move people, you look for a point of sensitivity, and in Egypt nothing moves people as much as religion.

As the tension eases, we must look in the direction of agriculture, industry and education as our final goals, and toward democracy under Mr Mubarak.

I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that I would like to write something like that someday.

I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised.

My wife thought I deserved it, but I always thought the Nobel a Western prize.

An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.

According to Islamic principles, when a man is accused of heresy, he is given the choice between repentance and punishment.

I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees.

I love Sufism as I love beautiful poetry, but it is not the answer. Sufism is like a mirage in the desert. It says to you, come and sit, relax and enjoy yourself for a while.

The writer interweaves a story with his own doubts, questions, and values. That is art.

One effect that the Nobel Prize seems to have had is that more Arabic literary works have been translated into other languages.

Hosni Mubarak... his constitution is not democratic, but he is democratic. We can voice our opinions now. The press is free.

Sadat made us feel more secure.

I consider Khomeini's position dangerous. He does not have the right to pass judgment-that is not the Islamic way.

God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.

I was a government employee in the morning and a writer in the evening.

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.

I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.

Winning Nobel imposed on me a lifestyle to which I am not used and which I would not have preferred.

It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat.

I defend both the freedom of expression and society's right to counter it. I must pay the price for differing. It is the natural way of things.

I've never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party.

Insults are the business of the court.

My countrymen have the right to shake my hand and talk to me if they so wish. Don't forget that their support and their reading of my works is what brought me the Nobel prize.