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Court Hears Egypt's Apostasy Case
CAIRO, July 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)- An Egyptian court said on Monday that on July 30, it would rule on the marriage of a leading Arab feminist writer, Nawal El-Sadaawi, who is accused of disavowing the Islamic faith, news agencies reported.
Sadaawi, an Egyptian writer, is facing a charge of apostasy -- renunciation of her religion.
In Monday's hearing, Judge Hassanein el-Wakil of the Civil Status Court turned down a request by lawyer Nabih el-Wahsh to summon Egypt's grand mufti -- the highest Islamic scholar in the country -- Sheik Nassr Farid Wassel, to testify on whether Sadaawi's quotes transgressed Islam, news agencies reported.
The judge also rejected a request from Wahsh, a lone lawyer whose longing for publicity has before pushed him to sue former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Britain's Queen Elizabeth, to force them to submit a tape, which newspaper reporters allegedly used to record the interview with Sadaawi.
Sadaawi, 69, has been quoted as saying that the Muslim Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca has pagan roots, and that women should inherit the same percentage as men, instead of half.
The Egyptian al-Midan weekly paper has quoted Sadaawi as saying that the pilgrimage to Mecca -- one of the pillars of Islam -- was "a vestige of a pagan practice" and that Islamic inheritance law, which discriminates against female heirs, should be abolished.
Sadaawi, who was not present in Monday's hearing, said she was misquoted and she has no intention of leaving her husband of 37 years, Sherif Hatata.
"I said we have to rethink about the inheritance law because we have 30% of families in Egypt where the mother is working and paying for the family and the husband is not working," she said.
She added, "It is the mother who is the provider for the family, so why should women inherit only half?"
Wahsh, who accuses Sadaawi of breaking with Islam in remarks she made in an interview with al-Midan in March, initiated the action against her.
"What she said about pilgrimage and the laws of inheritance is atrocious. She has offended the feelings of Muslims," he said.
"Whether she has to divorce her husband or not is not important. What matter, is that she should keep her opinions to herself because they are against Islam," he added.
"These opinions are poison for Muslims," he went on to say.
Under Islamic law, an apostate cannot be married to a Muslim.
Many people are surprised that this case has even gotten as far as going before a judge.
According to BBC online service, Sadaawi's husband said he was stunned when he first heard of this lawsuit. "Well, you know it was midway between a nightmare and a dream. I mean, it sounded absolutely unreal and ridiculous, but at the same time, for a little while it was frightening."
Sadaawi was the first Arab woman to write against female circumcision.
She has tackled other sacred subjects too. In a recent newspaper interview, she said the veil was not Islamic; Jewish and Christian women wore it before and after the advent of Islam.
Nawal El-Sadaawi has been called "the new Salman Rushdie", a term she vigorously rejects. She considers herself a good Muslim, pointing out that she studied and respects Islam.
Her case is the second apostasy case in recent years.
In 1995, Egyptian lawyers brought a similar charge against the secularist Arabic literature professor, Nasr Abu Zeid.
Abu Zeid has been accused of apostasy. As the trial was being adjudicated, he fled the county and now lives in the Netherlands. He has, however, won the case.
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