Death of Naguib Mahfouz’s daughter passes quietly

CAIRO – 8 May 2017: Faten, known as Fatma, daughter of world-renowned writer Naguib Mahfouz, passed away at the age of 60 about three weeks ago after a long struggle with illness.

A source close to the family announced Faten’s death, stating that her sister, Um Kulthum Mahfouz, preferred to keep the news of her sister’s death quiet. The source explained that Um Kulthum did so because this was her late sister’s desire.

According to Al-Ahram Al-Arabi magazine, Faten’s death was not publicized because of the sisters’ anger at Mahfouz’s friends who abandoned them directly after their father’s death.

They felt such people only cared to benefit from Mahfouz’s fame and were not his true friends, as none of them contacted the family since the author passed away, the magazine elaborated.

Several news websites reported the death of Faten, which was circulated by a large number of intellectuals, including poet and writer Shaaban Youssef on his Facebook account.

Mahfouz’s wife died nearly a year ago. Her funeral was only attended by publisher Ibrahim el-Moallem, Jihan el-Sadat and some of their relatives.

Faten was buried next to her father and mother.