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

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.

I reject any path which rejects life, but I can't help loving Sufism because it sounds so beautiful. It gives relief in the midst of battle.

God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.

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.

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.

In the calculus of good deeds you have the most to gain.