Naguib Mahfouz

“قال لنفسه إنه لا نجاة له إلا بالجنون. الجنون وحده هو الذي يتسع للإيمان والكفر، للمجد والخزي، للحب والخداع، للصدق والكذب، أما العقل فكيف يتحمل هذه الحياة الغريبة؟ كيف يشيم ألق النجوم وهو مغرو...”

“Death is more merciful than hope itself! There is nothing surprising in this, for death is divinely appointed, while hope is the creation of human folly. Both end in frustration. Am I destin...”

“الإيمان الحق نفيض السعادة التافهة”

“ليس المجتمع الذي نحلم به بخال من الشر، فلا خير في مجتمع يخلو من نقص يحث على الكمال. ولكن المجتمع الذي نحلم به يمحو شرورا نراها في وضعنا الحالي ضربا من القضاء والقدر.”

“If we reject science, we reject the common man.”

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

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

“We are passing through a very sensitive time, and on the whole, this country is facing very big problems.”

“The Koran and the laws of all civilized nations legislate against the vilification of religions.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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 started writing while I was a little boy. Maybe it's because I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that I would like to write something like that someday. Also, my love for g...”

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

“Insults are the business of the court.”

“The Nobel Prize has given me, for the first time in my life, the feeling that my literature could be appreciated on an international level.”

“Today's interpretations of religion are often backward and contradict the needs of civilization.”

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

“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.”