Egyptian - Novelist | December 11, 1911 - August 30, 2006
In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works.
Naguib Mahfouz
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An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.
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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.
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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.
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You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
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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.
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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.
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Insults are the business of the court.
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The writer interweaves a story with his own doubts, questions, and values. That is art.
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I was a government employee in the morning and a writer in the evening.
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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.
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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.
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