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.
For the first time in my life, I felt that a wave, a justice was sweeping away a deep-seated decay without any indulgence. I dearly wished that it would keep going without hesitation or deviation, in a spirit of purity forever.
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.
It’s not surprising that truly humanitarian manifestos originate frequently in minority circles or with people whose consciences are troubled by the problems of minorities.
Winning Nobel imposed on me a lifestyle to which I am not used and which I would not have preferred.
We wont develop until we accept that reading is a vital necessity.
I’ve never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party.
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.
History is full of people who went to prison or were burned at the stake for proclaiming their ideas. Society has always defended itself.
I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace.
My wife thought I deserved it, but I always thought the Nobel a Western prize.
In the calculus of good deeds you have the most to gain.
In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works.
A priest’s life is spent between question and answer – or between a question and the attempt to answer it. The question is the summary of the spiritual life.
I am practically in the employ of Mr. Nobel. I have to meet everyone he sends my way.
I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised.
I didn’t make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.
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 consider Khomeini’s position dangerous. He does not have the right to pass judgment-that is not the Islamic way.
When we’re in love, we may resent it, but we certainly miss love once it’s gone.