Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (Arabic: نصر حامد أبو زيد, IPA: [ˈnɑsˤɾe ˈħæːmed ˈæbuˈzeːd]; 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 project of a humanistic Quranic hermeneutics, which “challenged mainstream views”on the Quran, sparking “controversy and debate.”[1] While not denying that the Quran was of divine origin, Zayd argued that it was a “cultural product”[2] 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.[3] He also criticized the use of religion to exert political power.[4] In 1995 an Egyptian Sharia court declared him an apostate, this led to threats of death and his fleeing 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