Nasser

Dr.
Nermien Ismail American School HS History Department
NASSER, THE EMERGING LEADER
Of the nine core members of the Free Officers, Gamal Abdel Nasser stood out as the leader of
the group. The son of a postal clerk, Nasser was born in Bakos, a neighborhood of Alexandria,
and had entered the Military Academy in Cairo in 1937. He was among the first cadets to
benefit from the law passed by the Wafd Party in 1936 that opened the Military Academy to all
social classes. Attending the Military Academy had allowed him to leave his hometown and
had offered him a career beyond his expectations. Living in the capital had also given him the
opportunity to widen his experience socially and politically.
Cairo in the late 1930s was an eye-opener for the young Nasser. He recalled this time as "the
days of great excitement and enthusiasm" when they “marched in demonstrations" and "joined
delegations of students" calling on the leaders to "unite to safeguard the security of the mother
country". The Great Depression of 1929 had brought about major economic and social
problems, causing political unrest.
Not only had the British renegotiated a treaty in 1936 reconfirming their military presence in the
Canal Zone, but politicians were fighting one another to gain power instead of working together
for the good of their country. King Farouk, who had acceded to the throne in 1936, was only 16
years old. The streets of Cairo were therefore overflowing with political agitation.
The young Nasser, witnessing this instability, was outraged - as much by the British military
presence as by the internal rivalry of the politicians. Looking for a solution, he was attracted
both by Mustafa Kamil's nationalism as well as Mohammad Abduh's Islamic reformism. Both
proposed an "Egypt for Egyptians" as opposed to an Egypt that was constantly serving the
interests of an external power. As Nasser's career in the army progressed, his political views
also matured. He came to see the importance of strong leadership in a country that suffered
from weak and hesitant leaders.
The Revolution Principles
The Revolution leaders determined six principles which they aimed to achieve. They are as
follows:
1) Getting rid of colonization and its assistants.
2) Getting rid of the monopoly and the capital domination over the regime.
3) Getting rid of feudalism.
4) Establishment of social justice.
5) Establishment of a strong army.
6) Establishment of a sound democratic life.
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Dr. Nermien Ismail American School HS History Department
The Revolution Accomplishments
The revolution achieved many accomplishments in various domains such as:
The Political Domain:

1- It contributed to the cancellation of the monarchy system and the declaration of the
republic on the 18th of June 1953, in addition to appointing Major General
Mohamed Naguib to be the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
2- The cancellation of the 1923 Constitution on the 10 th of December 1952.
3- The dissolution of all the political parties and confiscation of funds for the benefit
of the nation on the 17th of January 1953.
4- Evacuation Treaty signing:

The evacuation actually took place on 19 th of October 1954, as the British forces left
Egyptian land. This was agreed to be carried out within 20 months after the date of the
agreement. The last group of the British forces withdrew from Egypt on the 13 th of June
1956. Accordingly, on the 18th of June 1956, Egypt gained independence after seventy-
four years of occupation. After that Gamal Abdel Nasser raised the Egyptian flag over the
navigation department in Port Said. Hence, Egypt has two days to rejoice for; the 18 th of
June 1953 is Republic Day and the Evacuation Day in 1956.
5- The return of the Suez Canal to Egyptian authority on the 26 th of July 1956 (Suez
Canal nationalization). President Gamal Abdel Nasser issued the republic decree
stipulating the return of the Suez Canal to the Egyptian government and all its
money, rights and commitments transferred to the nation’s benefit.
The Economic Domain
1) Agriculture: The Revolution focused on agriculture and desert land reclamation in El Tahrir
Directorate and the New Valley. It was also concerned with building the High Dam, which was
completed in 1970. It is worth mentioning here that the High Dam saved Egypt from the high
water flow, which would over flow large amounts of land. It also helped during the periods of
danger from drought, when water levels decreased tremendously in the Nile.
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2) Industry: The Revolution directed its efforts to industrial production expansion. It established
the small national industrial projects that increased national production. The most important of
them were:
a) Electricity regeneration from the Aswan Dam.

b) Expansion of oil drilling and establishing refineries.
c) The establishment of iron and steel factories in Helwan as well as the cement factory in
Aswan.
d) The establishment of military factories to provide the Egyptian and the Arab armed forces
with weapons and military equipment.
e) The introduction of industrial education and establishing many professional training
centers.
f) Establishing new industries and expanding existing ones.
3- Trade: The revolution directed Egypt’s foreign trade all over the world. It also nationalized
banks, insurance companies, and import and export companies. Moreover, it opened the
international markets for Egyptian products. The Egyptian economists and finance scholars took
charge of banks, companies, and foundation management during nationalization.
The Social Domain

1- The revolution’s third principle was “Getting rid of feudalism”. To achieve this goal,
the revolution issued the first agricultural reformation law on the 9 th of September
1952. This law stipulates that no one shall possess more than 200 feddans of
agricultural lands. However, a son/daughter or wife may be granted, a maximum
of 100 feddans. Moreover, in respect of land distribution to the minority peasants,
it stipulated that each of them should have the right to a small property, not less
than two feddans, and not more than five. In addition, the revolution issued many
other laws; the last one prohibited anyone from owning more than 50 feddans for
agricultural property.
2- The revolution’s fourth principle was “Establishment of social justice”. To achieve

this goal, the revolution generalized free education of all stages, including
university. It issued social insurance and retirement’s laws for employees and
workers, in addition to limitations to the working hours (maximum of 7 hours per
day), in addition to those laws, which enabled workers to join company and factory
boards, and appointing a share of company’s profits to them. The revolution was
also concerned with women and granted women rights to election and dedication.
On the Arab Level:
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Since its eruption, the revolution committed itself to the mission of supporting the Arab people in
gaining independence from the occupation. Hence, it helped the Sudan and northwestern
African countries, especially Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, and Southern Yemen to obtain
their independence from foreign occupation. Moreover, it supported the Palestinian people and
is still supporting them up until now.
On the International Level:

Among the most important principles followed by the revolution was the following:
1) Fighting all forms of occupation and supporting people of Asia and Africa to get rid
of foreign occupation.
2) Rejection of joining the foreign military alliances, which foreign countries were
pursing with Egypt and the Arab countries. In fact, Britain and the U.S. invited
Egypt to join the Baghdad Alliance signed on the 23 rd of February 1955 in
Baghdad, between Iraq and Turkey. Britain immediately joined this alliance in April
1955, Pakistan and Iran also did so. However, President Abdel Nasser resisted
Britain and US persistence of Egypt or any other Arab country to join the alliance.
3) Adopting neutralism and nonalignment policies not to side with any of the two major fronts
(the Western and the Eastern) was evident through Egypt’s role in the Bandong Conference
in Indonesia in April 1955, in which 29 countries, more than half the world inhabitants,
participated.
In September 1970, Egypt and the Arab nations lost a national hero, who spent his life fighting
for the nation. He also achieved many national accomplishments for Egypt. He was the late
leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.
After Gamal’s death, Mohamed Anwar Al Sadat continued the leadership of the national struggle.
He issued the permanent constitution in 1971, uniting the internal and the external fronts,
prepared the army for war and uniting the Arab nations. He also took the decision of starting the
War of October 1973. It is worth mentioning here that the air strike leader in this war was
Lieutenant General Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.
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Evaluating Nasser’s domestic policies
Principles Policies
1
-This would explain policies of
sequestration and nationalization;
through public ownership,
citizens would share the nation’s
Political democracy cannot be separated from social
wealth and be free from
democracy; in order to be “free to vote", a citizen
exploitation and anxiety.
needs to be free from exploitation, enjoy a fair share
of the nation's wealth and be free from anxiety.
2 Political democracy cannot exist under the domination

of any one class.. -This would explain the banning
of political parties.
. it is indispensable to liquidate the forces of reaction,
deprive them of their weapons and prevent them from
making any attempt to come back to power.
3
-This would explain the setting up
of a single party, the Arab
The values of true democracy can only be guarded Socialist Union.
through national unity.
4
-This would explain the
Popular organizations, especially cooperatives and importance given to these
trade unions, can play an effective and influential role institutions.
in promoting sound democracy.
Criticism and self-criticism are among the most -This would explain the banning
5 important guarantees of freedom. The most of the opposition press, as they
dangerous obstacle in the way of free criticism... is were regarded as the means
the infiltration of reactionary elements. through which ‘reactionary
elements’
Our mission is to empower our students to utilize their potentials in a diverse and challenging ‘infiltrated.
world. We provide outstanding
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6 The new revolutionary concepts of true democracy -This would explain the tight
must impose themselves [through ] education ...the control of the state over
educational curricula in all subjects must be education.
reconsidered according to the Principles of the
Revolution.
Evaluating Nasser’s foreign policies

Nasser's "foreign adventures" clearly gave Egypt regional as well as global stature. Although
the end of his rule, with Egypt's defeat in the 1967 War, was not glorious, in the course of his
leadership there were moments of glory, which may have been intentional or unintentional.
From a global perspective, Nasser's policies left none of the actors indifferent.
• To the British, Nasser was an undisputed demon who forced them out of Egypt in a
somewhat humiliating fashion. In the words of one historian, Britain left the Middle East "not
with a roar, but with a whimper".
• For the United States, Nasser offered at first a potential pro-western client state. The
decision to place Egypt in the opposing camp and therefore eventually demonize Nasser was
to a large extent circumstantial and Britain had an important role to play in that choice.
• The Soviet Union considered Egypt a useful tool. Their relationship satisfied both their
aims, even though it proved to be a costly one for Nasser.
• The Israelis regarded Nasser as a real threat to the state of Israel's existence; Egypt was
the biggest of its Arab neighbors with the largest army and, with Nasser as its leader, it now
had the most vocal pro-Palestinian/anti-Israeli discourse, potentially capable of arousing Arab
sentiments in other Arab countries too.
• From the Arab perspective, Nasser's rule was disturbing. His policy of disregarding state
boundaries and uniting the Arab Nation brought into question the legitimacy of existing rulers.
His rapprochement with the USSR increased the West's vigilance in the region which took
away the autonomy of some of the Arab rulers. The idea of Arab unity, attractive as it may
have seemed, was in practice unworkable: the existing Arab states were unwilling to give up
their rights. It was therefore a dream that fora while occupied the Arab people and promised
them a more powerful existence. But in the end the dream was, as dreams often are, unreal.
• The Egyptian people were the ones who suffered most as a result of Nasser's rash
foreign policy decisions. They were the ones who paid with their lives when unprepared and
unnecessary wars were declared. They also paid with their meagre savings because their
economies financed the wars. They were, however, also the ones who enjoyed the euphoria of
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the moment when Nasser was subjecting the world to his views.
Culture and Nasser’s use of the media
The media and culture were excellent tools of persuasion in

forging "the new national culture" and Nasser was fully aware of
this. Even though educational opportunities had greatly expanded
and the percentage of children receiving primary education rose ▲ Abd el Halim Hafiz,
from 50 to 90 per cent in towns and 75 per cent in the rural photographed in the 1960s
districts. Egypt remained primarily a country with a low literacy
rate and a strong oral tradition in which images and sounds were
far more accessible than the written word. Furthermore, given that
the Arab world shares the same language, Nasser's message
travelled beyond Egypt's frontiers.
Two important tools that spread the message were the cinema and the radio.
THE CINEMA
The first full-length feature film in Egypt had been produced in 1927 and since the 1930s Egypt
had been known as the "Hollywood of the Orient". In 1952 Nasser therefore found not only a
well-established film industry producing up to 50 films a year, but also an audience eager to fill
the cinema halls. Putting the two together, he had a ready-made platform to influence the
masses. Joel Gordon, in an account of Abd el Halim Hafiz, a popular singer and a film star in
the Nasserist era, describes a meeting between the two men. In November 1952, the star had
been summoned to the headquarters of the military junta, where Nasser spoke to him of the
"importance of art in building a new society and anointed him as the voice of the new era". Abd
el Halim Hafiz was, in the words of Nasser, a national treasure, tharwa quawmiyya.
Abd el Halim's movies were melodramatic and celebrated middle- and lower-middle-class
virtues. He often played the romantic hero falling desperately in love with a lady much
wealthier than him. Depending on whether the setting was pre-revolutionary or not, the young
man would overcome the class boundaries, or not. The movies were critical of the past and
painted an optimist picture of the Nasserist reforms. In 1961 the film industry was nationalized.
Egyptian movies were highly popular in the rest of the Arab-speaking world. Thus Nasser's
message travelled beyond Egyptian borders.
THE RADIO
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Another means through which Egyptian views were exported was the radio. The Free Officers
were fully aware of its importance, both inside and outside the country. The radio was a
particularly useful propaganda tool: it was cheap, entertaining, and accessible in remote areas,
especially in regions where people could not read. Sawtal Arab (Voice of the Arabs) was aired
for the first time on 4 July 1953 as a half-hour radio program. By the end of its lifetime in 1967
it was being broadcast for 15 hours a day and had become one of the most influential media
tools in the Arab world. At the height of its popularity, the station claimed to have received
3000 letters from its listeners every day.
Voice of the Arabs was based in Cairo and it came directly under the tutelage of the Ministry of
National Guidance. Nasser once described the radio as his way of "reaching his power base".
The programs were mainly news, commentary, press reviews, interviews, and, most
importantly, music. Patriotic songs known as wataniyyat, sung by popular singers such as
Umm Kulsum and Abd el Halim Hafiz, were the most attractive feature of the station. Their
songs became part of Egypt's cultural heritage: through the radio broadcasts they were heard
and re-sung throughout the Arab world. The commentaries served as a tool to promote
Nasser's views, especially in relation to his arch-enemies: imperialists, Zionists and Arab
reactionary leaders.
Anas Alahmed analyzed two of the programs that illustrated how the radio served as
propaganda. The first was called Truth and Lies, in which the announcer would read out anti-
Nasserist articles, dismiss them as lies and then state "the truth". The other, called Do not
forget, reminded its listeners of all the wrongs that had been done to the Arab world.
The language used for broadcasting was colloquial Arabic, ammiyya, as distinct from the
literary Arabic used by officials. This brought it closer to its public. The use of "we" when
referring to the Arab world was also an interesting way of reaching out to the Arab people as
one entity and forging this identity. It served Nasser's idea of "Arab unity".
The radio station's popularity came to an abrupt end when the "truths" turned out to be lies.
When the 1967 War broke out, Ahmad Said continued to announce to his listeners that the
Egyptian forces were winning, when it had become clear that the defeat was massive. The
radio had by 1967 outlived its purpose
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Dr.

Nermien Ismail American School HS History Department

NASSER, THE EMERGING LEADER

The Revolution Principles

The Revolution Accomplishments

The revolution achieved many accomplishments in various domains such as:

The Political Domain:

2- The cancellation of the 1923 Constitution on the 10 th of December 1952.

4- Evacuation Treaty signing:

The Economic Domain

a) Electricity regeneration from the Aswan Dam.

The Social Domain

2- The revolution’s fourth principle was “Establishment of social justice”. To achieve

On the Arab Level:

On the International Level:

Evaluating Nasser’s domestic policies

2 Political democracy cannot exist under the domination

Evaluating Nasser’s foreign policies

Culture and Nasser’s use of the media

The media and culture were excellent tools of persuasion in

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