Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd
  • Gender:Female
  • Year of Birth:1943, Quhafa, Tanta, Egypt
  • Year of Flourishing:1992
  • Year of Death:2010, Cairo, Egypt
  • Education:Cairo, Egypt
  • Profession:
  • Cairo University - Egypt
  • University of Humanistic Studies - Netherlands
Biography

Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (نصر حامد أبو زيد), also Abu Zaid or Abu Zeid, (July 10, 1943 – July 5, 2010) was an Egyptian Quranic thinker, author, academic, and one of the leading liberal theologians in Islam. He is famous for his humanistic approach to Quranic hermeneutics, which "challenged mainstream views" on the Quran, sparking "controversy and debate." While not denying that the Quran was of divine origin, Zayd argued that it was a "cultural product" that had to be read in the context of the language and culture of seventh-century Arabs, and could be interpreted in more than one way. He also criticized the use of religion to exert political power. In 1995 an Egyptian Sharia court declared him an apostate, this led to threats of death and his fleeing from Egypt several weeks later. He later quietly returned to Egypt where he died.

Abu Zayd has been referred to as among "the big names" of the post-1967 Arab intellectual tradition. He authored at least fourteen books in Arabic, including works on the Muʿtazila, Ibn Arabi, Al-Shafi'i, and Qurʿanic criticism, as well as books in English and numerous articles in both languages.

Published works
  • Thus Spoke Ibn al-'Arabī, By (author), General Egyptian Book Organization, 2002, ISBN-10, 9786144721063, Book
  • Reformation of Islamic Thought, By (author), Amsterdam University Press, 2006, ISBN-13, 9789053568286, Book
  • Circles of Fear, By (author), Arabic Culture Center, 1999, ISBN-13, 9789953681900, Book
  • Rethinking the Qur'an, By (author), SWP Publisher, 2004, ISBN-13, 9789066656055, Book
Awards
  • Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom and Democracy, Germany, Winner, 2005

This profile was created by: Abdulrahman Atassi