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The case of two Egyptian academics, Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid and Ibtihal Younis, illustrates the way in which lives are being torn apart in the battle between liberals and Islamists for the soul of the Arab world. Abu Zeid and Younis were ordered to divorce by an Egyptian judge in 1996, despite being happily married. Muslim fundamentalists had decided that Abu Zeid had renounced his Muslim faith through his writings and could therefore not remain married to a Muslim woman. The couple fled to the Netherlands and Abu Zeid is taking legal action against the Egyptian justice minister.

Divorce proceedings have commenced against happily married couple Nasr and Ibtihal Abu-Zaid by Islamic fundamentalists in Egypt who accuse the husband of being apostate and consequently disallowed from being married. Abu-Zaid, a professor at Cairo University, Egypt, was denouned as an atheist for querying the Muslim belief that all misfortunes are God's will. The Egyptian government would have to give Abu-Zaid the death penalty if he is found guilty of being an apostate in order to prove it is an Islamic government.