Quotes from Naguib Mahfouz

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

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

paraphrasing.."Science is the language of the intellect of society. Art is language of the entire human personality.

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.

If life has no meaning, why don't we create a meaning for it?

Art is a criticism of society and life, and I believe that if life became perfect, art would be meaningless and cease to exist.

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.

History is full of people who went to prison or were burned at the stake for proclaiming their ideas. Society has always defended itself.

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

He seemed to be waiting for a miracle to save him from the depths his life had reached and take him to a land of dreams.

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 was afraid of marriage. I had the impression married life would take up all my time. I saw myself drowning in visits and parties. No freedom.

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.

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

Without literature my life would be miserable.

A priest's life is spent between question and answer-- or between a question and the attempt to answer it. The question is the summary of the spiritual life.

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

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.

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

We are like a woman with a difficult pregnancy. We have to rebuild the social classes in Egypt, and we must change the way things were.

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

The criminal is trying to solve his immediate problems.

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