Events at home, at work, in the street - these are the bases for a story.
At my age it is unseemly to be pessimistic.
God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.
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 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 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.
Without literature my life would be miserable.
If the urge to write should ever leave me, I want that day to be my last.
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.
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.
We are passing through a very sensitive time, and on the whole, this country is facing very big problems.
The Koran and the laws of all civilized nations legislate against the vilification of religions.
I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised.
In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works.
According to Islamic principles, when a man is accused of heresy, he is given the choice between repentance and punishment.
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.
I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.
My wife thought I deserved it, but I always thought the Nobel a Western prize.
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.
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.
I am practically in the employ of Mr. Nobel. I have to meet everyone he sends my way.
The writer interweaves a story with his own doubts, questions, and values. That is art.
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.
I've never worked in politics, never been a member of an official committee or a political party.
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