A changed world

By Naguib Mahfouz

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One of the perks of longevity is that you get to live in a world with which you're hardly familiar. The world in which we live today has so little in common with the one I grew in. Its axes have shifted, its points of reference gone adrift.

Violence, for example, is admittedly part of the human psyche, parcel of human history. But the violence I grew up with was different. You could see where it came from and where it is heading. Not so the violence of today, so cloaked as it is in randomness. Today's violence is not confined to people who feel oppressed, or those who seek liberty from occupation. Today's violence is shared by all individuals, groups and governments -- as if everyone is finally in agreement that gore is the ultimate panacea for humanity.

More often than not, today's violence comes wrapped in religious coating, something which in my time would have raised many brows. Not since the crusades have we had to deal with bloodshed so divinely ensconced. Our violence is like an Olympic parade in which contestants from all major religions claim blood-soaked trophies.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.