I started writing while I was a little boy. Maybe it's because I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that I would like to write something like that someday. Also, my love for good writing pushed me.

Today's interpretations of religion are often backward and contradict the needs of civilization.

God did not intend religion to be an exercise club.

When you spend time with your friends, what do you talk about? Those things which made an impression on you that day, that week ... I write stories the same way. Events at home, in school, at work, in the street, these are the bases for a story. Some experiences leave such a deep impression that instead of talking about them at the club I work them into a novel.

I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees.

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

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.