Obituary: Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz, novelist. Died aged 94

Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the only writer in Arabic to win the Nobel Prize for literature, has died aged 94. A prolific writer best known for his Cairo Trilogy, he became a literary force when he moved beyond traditional novels to realistic descriptions of Egypt's 20th century experience of colonialism and then autocracy under President Nasser. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1988 for works which "formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind". However, Islamic authorities banned one of his novels in 1959 and Islamic militants physically attacked him in 1994, stabbing him in the neck. Many of his works have been made into Arabic films and his books have been widely sold across the Arab world.