A victory for free thought and expression

Dr el-Saadawi

Under Islamic law, an apostate cannot be married to a Muslim.

But the Cairo Family Affairs Tribunal ruled that no individual had the right to bring such a case.

Dr el-Saadawi, 70, told the Associated Press news agency that the court's ruling was "a victory for free thought and expression".

She said she and her husband of 37 years, Egyptian intellectual Sharif Hatata, had "survived this ordeal through...resistance, firmness and refusal to yield to the mentality of the dark ages".

'Quoted out of context'

Mr el-Wahsh brought the action after Dr el-Saadawi was quoted by an Egyptian weekly newspaper Al-Midan as saying that the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca was "a vestige of a pagan practice" and that Muslim inheritance laws which favour males should be abolished.

Dr el-Saadawi's lawyers told the court that the writer's comments had been taken out of context.

The newspaper, for its part, has filed a criminal libel case against Dr el-Saadawi, for alleging that her statements had not been reported accurately.

An earlier attempt by Mr el-Wahsh to have Dr el-Saadawi charged with insulting Islam was rejected by the Egyptian prosecutor general in April this year.

Mr el-Wahsh told the Associated Press that he intended to challenge the court's verdict, although under Egyptian law the ruling cannot be appealed.