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

Insults are the business of the court.
Naguib Mahfouz

Without literature my life would be miserable.
Naguib Mahfouz

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.
Naguib Mahfouz

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

God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.
Naguib Mahfouz

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.
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.
Naguib Mahfouz