Mr Wahsh: The court should separate her from her husband

Mr Wahsh is known for his many lawsuits, including ones against Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mrs Saadawi appeared in the Family Affairs Court in Cairo on Monday flanked by human rights activists from Italy and Tunisia.

A former European Union commissioner, Emma Bonino, was among those who came to lend their support.

Mr Wahsh argues that her remarks in a newspaper interview indicate that she is an apostate.

Misquoted

But Dr el-Saadawi says she has been misquoted and she denies accusations that she has insulted Islam.

The Egyptian general prosecutor's office, which questioned Dr el-Saadawi about the allegations some weeks ago, has urged the court to dismiss the case.

A decision is now expected next month.

A similar suit filed against a university lecturer six years ago was successful and the academic had to move to the Netherlands to avoid divorcing his wife.

Unconstitutional

The case was based on the Islamic concept of hisba, which allows an individual to sue on behalf of the community if he believes that actions against Islam have been committed.

Since then, the law has been changed to restrict the right to bring hisba cases to the prosecution only.

But Mr Wahsh argues in his case against Mrs Saadawi that the new legislation is unconstitutional and should not be allowed to stand.