Editing Nasr Abu Zayd (section)

=== Rejection of promotion ===
The Nasr Abu Zayd case began when he was refused a promotion for the post of full professor. In May 1992, Dr. Abu Zayd presented his academic publications to the Standing Committee of Academic Tenure and Promotion for advancement. Among his thirteen works in Arabic and other languages were ''Imam Shāfi'ī and the Founding of Medieval Ideology'' and ''The Critique of Religious Discourse''. The committee presented three reports, two were in favor of the promotion of Dr. Abu Zayd. But the third one, written by Abdel-Sabour Shahin, a professor of Arabic linguistics at the Cairo Dar al- 'Ulum, and a committee member, accused Abu Zayd of "clear affronts to the Islamic faith," and rejected the promotion.<ref name=FRINHAZ2004:170/>

Despite the two positive reports, the Tenure and Promotion Committee voted against the promotion (seven votes to six), arguing that his works did not justify a promotion. The Council of the Arabic Department made a statement against the committee's decision, and the Council of the Faculty of Arts criticized the committee report. Despite all that, the Council of Cairo University confirmed the decision of the committee report on 18 March 1993.

Not content with blocking the promotion, at the pulpit at Amr Ibn Al-`Aas Mosque where he was a preacher, Shahin publicly denounced Abu Zayd as an apostate (''murtadd'').{{sfn|Murphy|2002|p=204}} Shortly thereafter a "flood of vitriolic articles accusing him of heresy" appeared in the "mainstream, semi-state press".<ref name=FRINHAZ2004:170/>

Critics of the case have noted that Shahin's interest in the beliefs of Abu Zayd may have been motivated by factors other than piety. In addition to being preacher during Friday Services at Cairo's oldest mosque and a host of a number of television and radio programs about Islam, Shahin was active in Egypt's ruling party as chairman of its religious committee.{{sfn|Murphy|2002|p=203}} In addition:

<blockquote>Insiders also knew Shahine had been a consultant in the late 1980s to the Rayyan Investment Company. Rayyan had touted itself as an Islamic financial outfit, appealing to pious Muslims who believed that Islam forbids them to receive interest. It promised to pay them instead with Islamically sanctioned "dividends." Badly run, the firm went bankrupt, depriving thousand of Egyptians of their life savings. In his book, Abu Zaid cited Rayyan as an example of how some Islamists used religious discourse for ulterior motives and material gain. Shahine had not been pleased with the criticism.{{sfn|Murphy|2002|p=203}}<ref>see also: `The Case of Abu Zaid,` ''Index on Censorship'' 4 (1996) 36-37</ref><ref>see also: Loutfi Al Khouli, `University and Academic Freedom,` ''Al Ahram Weekly'', April 8–14, 1993.</ref></blockquote>