180 Quotes by Naguib Mahfouz

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.

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

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.

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

I consider Khomeini's position dangerous. He does not have the right to pass judgment-that is not the Islamic way.

I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised.

I've never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party.

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