born Oct. 7, 1943, Ṭanṭā, Egypt
Egyptian scholar.
He attended Cairo University and received a Ph.D. in Arab and Islamic studies. His research and writings on Quranic exegesis, including his well-known Critique of Islamic Discourse (1995), offended some Islamic fundamentalists. In 1993 a colleague denounced him in a major Cairo mosque, and Islamic radicals successfully sought a nullification of his marriage from an Egyptian family court on the grounds that his writings demonstrated his apostasy (and under Egyptian law a Muslim woman may not be married to a non-Muslim man). Though the court declined to pass judgment, an appeals court divorced Abū Zayd and his wife, a decision confirmed by the Egyptian Supreme Court. The case attracted widespread concern among intellectuals and human rights groups. Since 1995 Abū Zayd and his wife have lived in exile in The Netherlands.