Naguib Mahfouz was a famous Novelist from Egypt, who lived between December 11, 1911 and August 30, 2006. He/she became 94 years old.
Zodiac:
He/she is born under the zodiac sagittarius, who is known for Philosophical, Motion, Experimentation, Optimism.
Our collection contains 41 quotes who is written / told by Naguib.
41 Famous quotes by Naguib Mahfouz
"My wife thought I deserved it, but I always thought the Nobel a Western prize"
"An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers"
"According to Islamic principles, when a man is accused of heresy, he is given the choice between repentance and punishment"
"One effect that the Nobel Prize seems to have had is that more Arabic literary works have been translated into other languages"
"It is simply not part of my culture to preserve notes. I have never heard of a writer preserving his early drafts"
"At my age it is unseemly to be pessimistic"
"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"
"If you want to move people, you look for a point of sensitivity, and in Egypt nothing moves people as much as religion"
"I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised"
"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"
"I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace"
"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"
"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"
"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 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 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"
"I consider Khomeini's position dangerous. He does not have the right to pass judgment-that is not the Islamic way"
"God did not intend religion to be an exercise club"
"Insults are the business of the court"
"I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees"
"History is full of people who went to prison or were burned at the stake for proclaiming their ideas. Society has always defended itself"
"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions"
"We are passing through a very sensitive time, and on the whole, this country is facing very big problems"
"In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works"
"If we reject science, we reject the common man"
"If the urge to write should ever leave me, I want that day to be my last"
"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"
"I am practically in the employ of Mr. Nobel. I have to meet everyone he sends my way"
"Winning Nobel imposed on me a lifestyle to which I am not used and which I would not have preferred"
"Today's interpretations of religion are often backward and contradict the needs of civilization"
"I was a government employee in the morning and a writer in the evening"
"Hosni Mubarak... his constitution is not democratic, but he is democratic. We can voice our opinions now. The press is free"
"Events at home, at work, in the street - these are the bases for a story"
"Without literature my life would be miserable"
"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 didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature"
"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"
"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"
"I've never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party"
"I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that I would like to write something like that someday"
"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"
