Naguib Mahfouz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Naguib Mahfouz ON ORE OME
Mahfouz in 1990s
Native name	نجيب محفوظ
Born	Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha (1911-12-11)11 December 1911 Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt
Died	30 August 2006(2006-08-30) (aged 94) Agouza, Giza Governorate, Egypt
Occupation	Novelist, screenwriter, and playwright
Nationality	Egyptian
Period	1932–2004
Genre	Novel, short story
Subject	Egyptian Lane
Literary movement	Literary realism
Notable works	The Cairo Trilogy, Children of our Alley, and The Harafish
Notable awards	Order of the Nile Nobel Prize for Literature
Spouse	Atiyatullah Ibrahim ​ (m. 1954)​
Children	2

Naguib Mahfouz (born Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was a famous Egyptian writer. He won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature, which is one of the highest awards for writers in the world. He was the only Egyptian to ever win this prize.

Mahfouz wrote many books, short stories, and screenplays over 70 years. He published 35 novels and over 350 short stories. His stories often took place in Egypt, especially in the busy streets of Cairo. Some of his most famous books are The Cairo Trilogy and Children of Gebelawi. Many of his works were even turned into movies.

Naguib Mahfouz's Early Life and Education

Naguib Mahfouz was born in Old Cairo, Egypt, in 1911. His family was Muslim and middle-class. He was the youngest of seven children, with four older brothers and two older sisters. He often felt like an only child because his siblings were much older.

His family first lived in the Gamaleya area of Cairo. Later, in 1924, they moved to Abbaseya, a newer suburb. These places became the settings for many of his future stories.

Mahfouz's father, Abdel-Aziz Ibrahim, worked for the government. His mother, Fatimah, loved culture. Even though she couldn't read, she took young Naguib to places like the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids.

His family was very religious, and Mahfouz had a strict upbringing. He once said that no one would have expected an artist to come from his family.

How Politics Shaped His Childhood

The Egyptian Revolution of 1919 greatly impacted Mahfouz when he was only seven. He saw British soldiers shooting at people protesting from his window. He later said this event was one of the things that most shook his childhood.

In his younger years, Mahfouz loved to read. He was influenced by many writers and thinkers, including Taha Hussein.

After finishing high school, Mahfouz went to the Egyptian University (now Cairo University) in 1930. He studied philosophy and graduated in 1934. He thought about getting a master's degree but decided to become a full-time writer instead in 1936. He started by publishing his first work in a magazine called Al Majalla Al Jadida. He also wrote for newspapers like Arrissalah and Al-Ahram.

Working for the Government

After getting his degree in philosophy, Mahfouz started working for the Egyptian government in 1934. He held different jobs in various ministries until he retired in 1971.

He worked as a clerk at Cairo University first. Then, in 1938, he worked for the Ministry of Islamic Endowments. In the 1950s, he became the Director of Censorship in the Bureau of Arts. He also directed the Foundation for the Support of the Cinema and advised the Ministry of Culture.

Naguib Mahfouz's Writing Career

Mahfouz in the 1960s

Naguib Mahfouz wrote a lot during his 70-year career. He published 34 novels, over 350 short stories, and many screenplays. His most famous work is probably The Cairo Trilogy. This series of books tells the story of three generations of families in Cairo. It covers the time from World War I until after the Egyptian revolution of 1952, when King Farouk was overthrown.

Many of his novels were first published in parts, like a series, in newspapers like Al-Ahram. Before he won the Nobel Prize, only a few of his books were known in Western countries.

His Writing Style and Common Themes

Most of Mahfouz's early stories were set in Cairo. He first tried writing historical novels about the history of Egypt. But soon, he became more interested in writing about modern life and how changes in society affected ordinary people.

Mahfouz wrote in a clear and direct way. His books covered many different topics, even some that were considered sensitive in Egypt, like ideas about society and religion.

His stories often showed how Egypt changed during the 20th century. He was influenced by both Eastern and Western literature. He loved reading Western detective stories, Russian classics, and modern writers. His stories usually took place in the busy parts of Cairo. His characters were often regular people trying to deal with modern life and new ideas.

His main work in the 1950s was the Cairo Trilogy. He finished these books before the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The novels are named after real street names in Cairo: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street. These books show the life of a family over three generations, from World War I to the 1950s. Mahfouz stopped writing for a few years after finishing this trilogy.

He started writing again in 1959. He wrote many novels, short stories, and articles. He once said that he greatly admired Gamal Abdel Nasser, who became president after the 1952 revolution, especially after Nasser took control of the Suez Canal.

His 1966 novel Adrift on the Nile is very popular. It was made into a film. The story gently criticized some parts of Egyptian society during the Nasser era.

Children of Gebelawi and Its Impact

Children of Gebelawi (1959) is one of Mahfouz's most famous books. It tells the story of a family feud that lasts for generations. The book was not allowed in most Arab countries, except Lebanon, until 2006. This was because some people felt it was disrespectful to religion by using characters that seemed to represent God and important figures from different faiths.

In the 1960s, Mahfouz wrote more novels that explored how people might feel disconnected from God. For example, in The Thief and the Dogs (1961), he wrote about a thief seeking revenge after leaving prison.

He also started using different ways to tell his stories. In Miramar (1967), four different characters tell the story from their own viewpoints. His later books, like Arabian Nights and Days (1979), used ideas from traditional Arabic stories.

Many of his novels were first published in parts, like Children of Gebelawi and Midaq Alley. Midaq Alley was even made into a Mexican film starring Salma Hayek.

His Political Views

Mahfouz's writings often included political ideas. He once said, "In all my writings, you will find politics... it is the very center of our thinking."

He supported Egyptian nationalism and was interested in socialist and democratic ideas when he was young. These ideas are clearly seen in his early novels. He also did not like extreme religious groups.

Mahfouz was disappointed with the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and Egypt's defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War. He had supported the revolution's goals but felt that the way things turned out did not match the original ideals.

Political Involvement and Threats

Mahfouz was not afraid to share his opinions, even if they caused controversy. When he supported Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1978, his books were banned in many Arab countries. This ban lasted until he won the Nobel Prize.

Like many Egyptian writers, Mahfouz faced threats from some extreme religious groups.

He also spoke out in defense of the British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. Rushdie had been condemned to death by a religious leader in 1989 for his novel The Satanic Verses. Mahfouz believed in freedom of expression. Even though he didn't agree with Rushdie's book, he strongly spoke against the death threat. He joined 80 other thinkers in saying that "no disrespect harms Islam and Muslims so much as the call for murdering a writer."

Attack and Recovery

The controversy around Rushdie's book brought back attention to Mahfouz's own novel, Children of Gebelawi. Because of this, Mahfouz received threats to his life. He was given police protection.

However, in 1994, an attacker stabbed the 82-year-old novelist in the neck outside his home in Cairo. Mahfouz survived the attack. But his right arm was permanently damaged, making it hard for him to write for more than a few minutes a day. After this, he wrote fewer books and always had bodyguards.

In 2006, his novel Children of Gebelawi was finally published in Egypt. Mahfouz stayed in Cairo with his lawyer, Nabil Mounir Habib, until his death.

Naguib Mahfouz's Personal Life

Mahfouz remained single until he was 43 years old. He thought that marriage would stop him from focusing on his writing. He said he was afraid of marriage because he saw how much time his siblings spent on social events. He felt married life would take up all his time and freedom.

However, in 1954, he quietly married Atiyyatallah Ibrahim, a Christian woman from Alexandria. They had two daughters, Fatima and Umm Kalthum. They first lived on a houseboat on the Nile River in Cairo, then moved to an apartment nearby. Mahfouz liked to keep his private life out of the public eye.

Mahfouz did not enjoy traveling much. Belgrade, in Serbia, was one of the few cities he liked to visit.

Works

• A translation into Arabic of James Baikie's Ancient Egypt (1932)
• Whisper of Madness (1938)
• Mockery of the Fates (1939) (also known as Khufu's Wisdom)
• Rhadopis of Nubia (1943)
• The Struggle of Thebes (1944)
• Cairo Modern (1945)
• Khan al-Khalili (1945)
• Midaq Alley (1947)
• The Mirage (1948)
• The Beginning and the End (1949)
• Palace Walk (1956) (Part 1 of the Cairo Trilogy)
• Palace of Desire (1957) (Part 2 of the Cairo Trilogy)
• Sugar Street (1957) (Part 3 of the Cairo Trilogy)
• Children of Gebelawi (1959)
• The Thief and the Dogs (1961)
• Autumn Quail (1962)
• God's World (1962)
• Zaabalawi (1963)
• The Search (1964)
• The Beggar (1965)
• Adrift on the Nile (1966)
• Miramar (1967)
• The Pub of the Black Cat (1969)
• A Story Without a Beginning or an Ending (1971)
• The Honeymoon (1971)
• Mirrors (1972)
• Love in the Rain (1973)
• The Crime (1973)
• Karnak Café (1974)
• Stories from Our Neighbourhood (1975)
• Respected Sir (1975)
• The Harafish (1977)
• Love above the Pyramid Plateau (1979)
• The Devil Preaches (1979)
• Arabian Nights and Days (1979)
• Love and the Veil (1980)
• Wedding Song (novel) (1981)
• I Saw, in a Dream (1982)
• One Hour Remains (1982)
• The Journey of Ibn Fattouma (1983)
• Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth (1985)
• The Day the Leader was Killed (1985)
• The Hunger (1986)
• Please and Your Kindness (1986)
• Morning and Evening Talk (1987)
• The False Dawn (1988)
• The Coffeehouse (1988)
• Echoes of an Autobiography (1994)
• Echoes of Forgetness (1999)
• Dreams of the Rehabilitation Period (2004)
• The Seventh Heaven (2005)
• Dreams of Departure (2007; published after his death)
• Before the Throne (2009; published after his death)
• In the Time of Love (2010; published after his death)
• Heart of the Night (2011; published after his death)
• The Quarter (short stories, 2019; published after his death)

Honours and Awards

Ribbon bar	Country	Honour
	Egypt	Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile (a high Egyptian award)
	Egypt	Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Egypt)
	Chile	First Class of the Order of Educational and Cultural Merit Gabriela Mistral
	France	Commander of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
	Italy	Grand Officer of Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
	Tunisia	Grand Cordon of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia

See also

In Spanish: Naguib Mahfuz para niños

• List of Egyptian authors
• List of African writers
• The Beginning and the End