We wont develop until we accept that reading is a vital necessity.

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.

Excessive concern with religion seems to me a last resort for people who have been exhausted by life.

In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works.

Without literature my life would be miserable.

The writer interweaves a story with his own doubts, questions, and values. That is art.

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.