Naguib Mahfouz
1911–2006 · Egyptian (Cairo) · 20th Century Arabic Literature
Known for: Father of modern Arabic literature—The Cairo Trilogy, Children of Gebelawi. Nobel Prize 1988
Mahfouz was a quiet civil servant who wrote in the mornings before going to his government job. He set virtually all his work in Cairo, especially the old Islamic quarter. His Cairo Trilogy is the Arab world's answer to War and Peace. Children of Gebelawi was banned for its allegorical treatment of religion.
In 1994, a fundamentalist stabbed him in the neck, partially paralyzing his writing hand. He continued dictating until his death at 94. He was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize.
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