Sayyid Al-Qemany

Sayyid Al-Qemany was an Egyptian secular writer and thinker. His works emphasize the importance of critical thinking, and he was an opponent of Islamic fundamentalism, supporting separation of religion and state, and tolerance. In 2009, he won the Egyptian Culture Ministry's prize for achievement in the social sciences, a cash award of 200,000 Egyptian pounds. A judicial and media campaign was launched calling for the prize to be withdrawn by those who claimed Al-Qemany was a heretic who had harmed Islam and Muslims with his writings.