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

My wife thought I deserved it, but I always thought the Nobel a Western prize.

I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace.

One effect that the Nobel Prize seems to have had is that more Arabic literary works have been translated into other languages.

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

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