bio notes:
born: 12/11/1911
died: 8/30/2006
born as: Naguib Mahfouz
nationality: Egypt

Egyptian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 and was the first Arabic writer to be so honored. - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
Mahfouz was know for his portraits of contemporary Egyptians balancing tradition with the modern world, his Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street) is generally considered his masterpiece. Also known for his moderate politics, at the age of 82 he survived a stabbing by a militant assassin acting on a fatwa inspired by his 1959 novel Children of Our Alley.