A letter handwritten by the writer Naguib Mahfouz, signed in Arabic and English. Sent from Cairo to Israel. December 11, 1988. Arabic.
The letter, written one day after Mahfouz was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, expresses his age-old aspiration for peace in Israel and his hope that Israelis and Palestinians will be able to live together in Israel as partners.
The writer Naguib Mahfouz (نجيب محفوظ,i 1911-2006), born in Cairo, is considered one of the leading contemporary Arab writers. He published more than 30 novels, hundreds of short stories and dozens of screenplays in his lifetime. His most famous work, "The Cairo Trilogy", was published during 1981-1987, winning him the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. Throughout his life, Mahfouz was known for his liberal and democratic opinions and was one of the prominent supporters of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. His opinions earned him many enemies in the Arab world, in Egypt and abroad, and for many years his books were banned in Syria, Iraq and other countries. In 1994, a Muslim extremist tried to assassinate Mahfouz, but only succeeded in wounding him. Mahfouz died in 2006 at the age of 94.
[1] leaf, 32.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. Enclosed is the original envelope in which the letter was sent.