CAIRO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Egyptian writer Sonallah Ibrahim has died at the age of 88, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture said on Wednesday.

Minister of Culture Ahmed Fouad Hanou said in a statement that the deceased "represented a pillar of contemporary Arab narrative. His works were distinguished by their profound vision and his constant commitment to the issues of the nation and humanity, making him an example of a creative person who combined a creative sense with critical awareness."

Ibrahim was born in Cairo in 1937 and inherited his love of stories and novels from his father, whom he describes as a "brilliant storyteller" who owned a library rich with international works and recent publications.

He studied law but soon abandoned it to pursue politics and journalism. He belonged to the left and was involved in political activities that led to his brief arrest before being imprisoned for five years between 1959 and 1964. This experience inspired many of his later works, including *Oasis Diaries*.

He worked for the Egyptian Middle East News Agency, then as an editor in the Arabic section of the German Aden News Agency in Berlin, part of the German Democratic Republic. He then traveled to Moscow on a scholarship to study cinematography.

He returned to Egypt in 1974 and decided to devote himself to literature and translation. Some of his works were adapted into television and film productions.

His most prominent works include (That Smell), (67), (August Star), (The Committee), (Americanly), (Berlin 69), (Beirut Beirut), (Honor), and (Self).

He won the Sultan Al Owais Cultural Foundation Award and the Ibn Rushd Foundation Award for Free Thought. However, in 2003, he sparked controversy in the literary community when he declined to accept the Cairo Forum for Arab Novel Creativity Award due to his stance against the government at the time.

(Press coverage for the Arabic edition by Sameh Al-Khatib - Edited by Suha Gado)