The Novelist and the Sheikh
A REPORTER AT LARGE about the growing tensions between the Islamic fundamentalists and Hosni Mubarak's government, and how Nobel Laureate Naguib …
Dr. Fathi on the moment Mahfouz was stabbed: "'When I shouted, he hesitated, and for a few seconds his eyes locked with mine. I couldn't see his face, only his forehead and his eyes—they were aggressive and afraid at the same time. He had very dark skin, not like us.' Then, in an instant, the young man turned and ran. 'It was only then that I saw something brown lying on Mr. Mahfouz's shoulder. It was the handle of a knife. The blade was still in his neck.'"