Naguib Mahfouz

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

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.

Insults are the business of the court.

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

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.

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

Without literature my life would be miserable.

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

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

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

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.

If the urge to write should ever leave me, I want that day to be my last.

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 good writing pushed me.

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

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.

At my age it is unseemly to be pessimistic.

Events at home, at work, in the street - these are the bases for a story.

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.

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

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.

God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.