How Egypt fought for independence. From protectorate to the abolition of the monarchy
28 February 1922. The United Kingdom unilaterally recognized the political independence of Egypt. It was a forced step. Despite the fact that Egypt, which was in fact a semi-colony, was the most important acquisition of the British Empire, London was forced to grant Egypt full independence. The reason for this was the mass protests against the subordinate status of Egypt, which could not be suppressed by the British government.
British protectorate and rising patriotic sentiment
For just over seven years, from 1914 to 1922, Egypt was a protectorate of Great Britain. The country gained this status after the overthrow of the last Egyptian Khedive Abbas II (as early as 1867, the Turkish sultan granted the ruler and so semi-independent Egypt the title of “khedive”, which elevated the Egyptian ruler over the governors of the rest of the Ottoman Empire). When the last Khediv of Abbas II Khilmi took the side of the Ottoman Empire in the beginning World War I, the British-backed circles of the Egyptian political elite quickly organized a coup d'état. Khedive was visiting Istanbul when 19 December 1914 was removed from his post. Power in the country formally passed to his uncle Hussein Camil (1853-1917), who took the title of sultan. In fact, Egypt, proclaimed by a British protectorate, was under the external control of Great Britain. So ended the centuries-old story the existence of Egypt as part of the Ottoman Empire. Egypt was proclaimed a sultanate under the protectorate of Britain, and the head of state officially bore the title of sultan of Egypt and Sudan. Egyptian political and intellectual elite divided. Part of the political elite was satisfied with the existing status of the country, but another, more active and modernization-oriented part of the Egyptian elite, believed that Egypt should gain true political independence - not only from the Ottoman Empire, but also from Great Britain.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century. in Egypt, Arab nationalism was gaining strength, focused on the modernization of Egyptian society and, at the same time, on its liberation from "external control". Ahmed Fouad (1868-1936) - the younger brother of Sultan Hussein Camille also sympathized with the nationalists. Ahmed Fuad grew up in Italy, in his youth he served in the Italian army and was well aware of the need to modernize and strengthen Egyptian statehood. After the death of Sultan Hussein Kamil in 1917, the son of the last prince Kamaluddin Hussein was to ascend to the throne, but he refused the sultan's throne and Ahmed Fuad I became the new ruler of the country. the movement of the Egyptian nationalists. In November, the Wafd political party (“Delegation”) was created in Egypt in Egypt. Initially, it was a small political circle of Egyptian intellectuals, numbering only 1918 people.
The founder of this liberal-nationalist organization was Saad Zaglul (1857-1927), a veteran of the anti-British movement. Saad Zaglul was a typical representative of the emerging new Egyptian intelligentsia. Coming from the village of Ibyana in the province of Kafr el-Sheikh, Saad Zaglul was the son of the village headman, who managed to make a fortune and become a landowner. Education Saad received in a Muslim school, then in the madrasa and in the famous University of Al-Azhar - one of the world centers of Islamic education. It was during his studies at the university that Saad Zaglul met the famous religious and political leader Muhammad Abdo, who was publishing at that time the newspaper Al-Wakai al-Mishriya (Egyptian events). Muhammad Abdo (1849-1905), of Turkmen origin, was already one of the ideologues of the anti-colonial and pan-Islamic movement in Egypt, and later, after going through the persecutions of the colonial authorities, was able to become an Egyptian mufti. Abdo called Saad Zaglul to work in a newspaper, but in 1882, Muhammad Abdo was expelled from Egypt for six years for supporting the Arabi Pasha uprising. Zaglul’s career was more successful. Although Zaglul already had publications in the Abdo newspaper, where he opposed an absolute monarchy and promoted the need for political reforms in Egypt, he was accepted to work in the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs. But the peaceful life of the official Zaglul did not suit - when the British occupied Egypt, he joined the Retribution Society (“Jamaa al-Intiq”), which was preparing an anti-British uprising.
In 1883, Mr. Saad Zaglul was arrested, but the investigators were unable to collect an evidence base, after which Saad and his friend Sacr were released. Of course, a career in the Egyptian Ministry of Internal Affairs after imprisonment, Saad no longer shone, but he took up the practice of law and gradually became one of the most famous and well-paid lawyers in Egypt. The name of a successful lawyer gave Zaglulu a pass to the world of the Egyptian political and economic elite. But an even greater role in the growth of Saad Zaglul’s capabilities was played by his marriage to the daughter of Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Fahmy. Saad Zaglul became an adviser to the Court of Appeal, which did not prevent him from continuing his opposition activities as one of the active participants in the Egyptian national liberation movement. In 1906, Mr. Zaglul took the high post of Minister of Education of Egypt. One of the first steps of Zaglul was the translation of Egyptian schools into Arabic. In addition, Saad Zaglul spoke with a very revolutionary for the Arab world the idea of developing female education. In 1907, he participated in the creation of the People’s Party of Egypt, and in 1910-1912. served as the Minister of Justice of Egypt. Because of the conflict with Khedive Abbas II, Zaglul was removed from the government, but in 1913 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Cairo and took the post of first vice-president of the Legislative Assembly. In the Legislative Assembly, Zaglul continued opposition activities and advocated the further liberation of Egypt from British influence. Becoming the leader of a small organization “Wafd”, Zaglul soon gave a new impetus to the anti-British movement. The British leadership was worried and chose to move to repressive methods of influence. 8 March 1919 Mr. Saad Zaglulu was arrested. The British authorities sent him to a link to the island of Malta, which was used to contain political prisoners.
Declaration of Independence of the Kingdom of Egypt
The arrest and deportation of Saad Zaglul caused a sharp outrage among the Egyptian population. In the country, protests began. Throughout the second half of March, 1919, in Egypt, mass demonstrations continued, in which virtually all segments of the population participated - from workers and fellahs (peasants) to clergy and students. It is noteworthy that these days solidarity was demonstrated not only by representatives of different social groups and wealth levels, but also by followers of both Islam and Christianity. The idea of national liberation of Egypt turned out to be a priority compared to social and religious contradictions. At the same time, the demonstrators tried to act relatively peacefully, knowing full well that they could arouse the anger of the British authorities and provoke them into armed suppression of the demonstrations. However, it was not without clashes and human casualties. To suppress the demonstrations, units of the ANZAC — the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps — were deployed from 1914 in Egypt and actively participated in the First World War. ANZAC soldiers repeatedly fired on demonstrators. As a result of the clashes, 800 was killed by the Egyptians, and 1600 people were injured of varying degrees of severity.
A wave of protests forced the British authorities to make concessions. Saad Zaglul was released. Meanwhile, in November 1919, a British commission led by Alfred Milner arrived in Egypt. In 1920, Mr. Milner reported to British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon about the expediency of replacing the British protectorate in Egypt with an alliance treaty. After this, Curzon made further concessions. He received a delegation of Egyptian politicians headed by yesterday’s political prisoner Saad Zahlul and Adly Pasha. In August, 1920 entered into an agreement approved in February by 1921 by the British Parliament. Adly-Pasha’s re-mission arrived in London in June 1921. However, Lord Curzon was unable to convince the other British ministers of the need for an agreement with Adly-Pasha. In December, 1921 was martial law in Egypt. The Wafd leader Saad Zaglulu was arrested and expelled from the country. This time he was sent to the Seychelles. But before that, the British offered Zaglulu to become the Sultan of Egypt in exchange for accepting the British protectorate over the country. Zaglul, as a convinced Egyptian patriot, refused, after which he was deported from the country. In all cities of Egypt, protest demonstrations began again, clashes with policemen and soldiers. The growing public discontent with British politics led London to reconsider its relations with Egypt. High Commissioner Lord Allenby made a proposal to recognize the independence of Egypt, with which the British authorities agreed and at the end of February 1922 went to the recognition of Egypt’s political independence.
- King Fuad
After that, the Sultanate of Egypt was transformed into the Kingdom of Egypt, and Sultan Ahmed Fuad took the title of King of Egypt. 18 August 1922 was released by Saad Zaglul, who returned to Egypt and took over as chairman of the top leadership of the Wafd Party, which after becoming independent of Egypt, became the country's leading political organization. Saad Zaglul, becoming the leader of the Wafd party, continued to advocate a further weakening of Egypt’s dependence on Britain. Despite the fact that Egypt gained formal political independence, London in every way sought to “tear off” Sudan from Egypt, which was of great economic interest for the British colonial empire. Although the ruler of Egypt, King Fouad, was officially called the King of Egypt and Sudan, and Sudan was formally considered an Anglo-Egyptian condominium, in reality, the British Colonial authorities exercised real control over Sudan. This fact greatly irritated the Egyptian nationalists, who demanded that Sudan be brought under full control of Egypt. After the victory of the Wafd party in the parliamentary elections in 1924, Saad Zaglul 26 in January 1924 took over the post of Egyptian Prime Minister. In the modern political history of Egypt, Saad Zaglul has remained as one of the most decisive and, at the same time, constructively minded patriots of the country. Speaking for the independence of Egypt, he was well aware of the need for political and economic modernization of Egyptian society, advocated the development of market relations in the country and the constitutional system of democratic governance.
On the other hand, Zaglul was convinced of the uniqueness of the historical path of Egypt and called for the unification of the Egyptian people regardless of religious differences (Muslims and Christian Copts of Egypt from time immemorial were in rather complex relationships). It was possible to reconcile the Muslim and Coptic people of Egypt in the interests of strengthening the state, developing the economy and culture, only in the context of modernizing Egyptian society and abstracting state ideology from religious disputes and contradictions. Saad Zaglul and was about to begin to modernize the country, but his plans were not heard by the Egyptian king Fouad and the royal entourage. In addition, Great Britain sought to oppose the Egyptian national movement with all its forces, as it feared that in the event of a national revival of Egypt and the rise of its economy, it would lose control of the Suez Canal. Therefore, although in 1922 Egypt and received formal independence, London continued to have a tremendous influence on the policies of the Egyptian state. First, units and subunits of the British army remained on the territory of Egypt. Secondly, in the armed forces of Egypt itself, the most important posts were occupied by British officers, including the “sardar” - the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army, was also an Englishman. Under the full control of the UK was the Egyptian police, in which top positions were also occupied by British officers. This caused great dissatisfaction among the Egyptian patriots, among whom were radical-minded activists who were ready to forcibly expel the British from Egypt. November 19 1924 city in Cairo, the sardar of the Egyptian army, Lee Stack, was killed. The murder of a British officer caused an immediate and very sharp reaction from London. Already 22 November 1924 The British High Commissioner in Egypt, Lord Allenby, presented an ultimatum to the Egyptian government. The British authorities demanded: 1) apologize for killing Lee Stack, 2) immediately punish the criminals, 3) pay compensation in the amount of 500 thousand pounds sterling, 4) ban all political rallies and demonstrations, 5) withdraw all parts and connections of the Egyptian army from the territory of Sudan, 6) to lift the restrictions established in the interests of the Egyptian side in the areas of Sudan to be irrigated, 7) to stop obstructing the British authorities in protecting the rights of foreign nationals living in Egypt . Thus, London did not expose specific terrorists, but the entire Egyptian state, guilty of the murder of Lee Stack. This was more than strange, given that the post of chief of police of Cairo, in which the murder occurred, was occupied by a British officer. The Englishman was also on the post of Director General of the European Department of the Ministry of Public Security of Egypt. That is, it was the British who were responsible for organizing the protection of public order, the fight against crime and terrorism and the investigation of crimes against European citizens in Egypt. However, London decided to use the killing of Lee Stack as a pretext for political pressure on Egypt and maintain its position in Sudan. The Egyptian leadership agreed to fulfill almost all the requirements of the British side and even paid 500 thousand. pounds in compensation for the first 24 hours after the presentation of the ultimatum. Only in the matter of Sudan, Egypt tried to defend their interests. Then the British High Commissioner Lord Allenby decided to use force. He gave the order to seize the customs in Alexandria, taking control of the Egyptian customs duties. After this, Sudan was turned into a British colony, and the uprisings of Sudanese and Egyptian troops, stationed in Sudan, were brutally suppressed. November 24 1919 city Egyptian Prime Minister Saad Zaglul, in protest against British policy and the consent of King Fouad, resigned from his post as head of government. King Fuad also dissolved the Egyptian Parliament, which supported Zaglul, and the Egyptian deputies' complaints to the League of Nations about the aggressive actions of Great Britain remained unanswered. Cooperative Fuad with the British gave the latter numerous advantages in the territory of Egypt.
"Wafd" against British influence
When the king again allowed 1925 to hold parliamentary elections in March, the Wafd party won a full victory. Saad Zaglul was immediately elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, but King Fuad and his British patrons didn’t like it very much. The new parliament lasted less than a day, after which it was dissolved. For almost a whole year in Egypt there was no parliament, and the British Commissar continued to exercise actual control of the country, with the full support of King Fuad. However, the Egyptian patriots tried to restore the parliamentary system. Finally, in November 1925, the meeting of the banned parliament was held. Then King Fuad attempted to undertake a constitutional reform aimed at restricting the independence of the parliament and increasing the powers of the king. But he soon realized that if changes were adopted, parliamentary elections would not take place at all, since the majority of Egyptian voters simply would not vote. Therefore, elections to the new parliament were nevertheless held according to the old system. They were won by the Wafd party, which won 200 seats in parliament from the existing 214 seats. In accordance with the rules, the leader of the Wafd party was to take the post of prime minister of the country. But the British High Commissioner Lord Lloyd demanded that Saad Zaglulu under no circumstances be put on the post of prime minister. As a result, Saad Zaglul was elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the parliament, but all leading positions in the government were received by members of the Wafd party - after all, only this party had real influence in the country and united representatives of the Egyptian political elite and intelligentsia. 23 August 1927 Mr. Saad Zaglul died. Meanwhile, the British authorities again negotiated with Egypt, hitting even the king of Fuad, loyal to the British, with their arrogance. In fact, London tended to the fact that Egypt should again become a British protectorate.
However, Mustafa Nahhas Pasha (pictured), who headed the Wafd party after the death of Saad Zaglul, tried to carry out several reforms aimed at increasing the real independence of Egypt and the civil liberties of the Egyptian people. In particular, he insisted on the legalization of the right to wear weapons Egyptians, which was forbidden by the British during the occupation of Egypt. But the British leadership again put pressure on Egypt and even sent British military ships based in Malta to the port of Alexandria to demonstrate the seriousness of their intentions if the Nakhas Pasha reforms were adopted by parliament. On the basis of a fabricated corruption charge, Nahhasa Pasha was removed from his post as Egyptian Prime Minister. After that, King Fuad again dissolved parliament and amended the country's constitution. The regime in the country significantly tightened, many civil liberties were curtailed, and the king acquired very great powers.
Despite the fact that a judicial investigation established the innocence of Nakhhas Pasha in the charges of corruption, the king, under the influence of the British, continued to persecute the Wafd party. Harsh censorship was introduced in the country, and police repression against Egyptian patriots intensified. But despite this, mass protest demonstrations took place throughout Egypt, in which Egyptian women took a very active part - for the Arab world this, again, seemed incredible. The situation, meanwhile, was changed by the victory in the parliamentary elections in the British Labor Party itself. After that, Lord Lloyd was recalled from his post as High Commissioner in Egypt, which made King Fouad's positions more vulnerable. In December, 1928, King Fuad decided to hold new parliamentary elections. As expected, the Wafd party won. The British government resumed negotiations with representatives of Egypt, who were led by Nahhas Pasha from the Egyptian side, who returned after the victory of Wafd in the elections for the post of prime minister of the country. The British Labor Party made significant concessions, but it was not possible to come to an agreement on the question of Sudan. In June, 1930, King Fuad, once again dismissed Nachasa Pasha from his post as Prime Minister, and the country's parliament was dissolved. However, parliamentarians refused to obey the order of the king to dissolve parliament and 23 June 1930 gathered for a meeting in the parliament building. Protests against the dissolution of parliament, British colonialism and the policies of King Fouad began throughout the country. This time, to disperse the demonstration, troops were sent under the command of British officers. Even Nahhas Pasha, the former prime minister, was injured in the clashes. A new constitution was adopted in the country, significantly increasing the rights of the king and curtailing the rights of parliament. In fact, the royal dictatorship was established in Egypt from 1930, with the direct support of British troops. The garrisons of the British army were located in Cairo and Alexandria, and the Suez Canal was under British control. Thus, despite the fact that the country's independence was proclaimed back in 1922, in fact, eight years after the liquidation of the protectorate, Egypt remained under British control. Naturally, this situation could not satisfy the Egyptian patriots from the Wafd party.
In parallel with the secular patriotism of the Wafdists, who advocated the modernization of the Egyptian society on the European model, the emancipation of women, the cooperation of the Muslim and Christian population of Egypt against the British colonialists, namely in the second half of the 1920-s. formation of a religious fundamentalist opposition to the royal regime begins in Egypt. Unlike wafdists, religious fundamentalists saw the root of evil in the very pursuit of a Western way of life and opposed the modernization of Egyptian society. At the root of the Egyptian religious fundamentalism of the twentieth century, there was a very young man still during the described events - 22-year-old Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Bann (1906-1949).
A graduate of the Damanhur School of Education, al-Banna continued his education at the Dar-al-Ulum Institute (House of Science) in Cairo. After graduation, he became a teacher in the folk school of the city of Ismailia on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast. This school received secondary education for workers who serviced the Suez Canal. Hassan al-Banna worked as a school teacher for almost his short life - until 1946. Gradually, around al-Banny, who was fond of theology, a small circle of six people gathered - a potter, a hairdresser, a barber, a chauffeur, a gardener, a social worker. Initially, all the activities of a small group was to study religious treatises and discuss the future development of Egypt. Thanks to the active propaganda work, the number of members of the circle began to grow. It was called the “Muslim Brotherhood,” as the workers called themselves in a rented apartment in Ismailia. At the beginning of the organization’s existence, it was mainly engaged in religious, educational and charitable activities. The popularity of the brotherhood was due to the fact that people of any social status were allowed to take classes, and the lessons themselves could be given at evenings convenient for working people. This was the beginning of the formation of a religious-political organization, which was destined to play one of the most important roles in the political life of Egypt, especially since the second half of the 20th century. Gradually the religious-fundamentalist trend in the Egyptian national movement began to gain popularity, capable of competing with the popularity of the Wafd party. At the same time, if the support of “Wafd” was mainly the upper and middle strata of Egyptian society - the national bourgeoisie, part of government officials, the intelligentsia, the “Muslim Brotherhood” was more oriented towards the social lower classes. The Egyptians were attracted to the fundamentalist religious movement by the rejection of the Western way of life and capitalism.
King, British and World War II
The political situation in Egypt changed again in 1935, when fascist Italy invaded the territory of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The revitalization of Italy in Northeast Africa could not be ignored by the British authorities, since the UK also had serious interests in this region. In the future, the Italian troops invading Ethiopia could become a threat to British rule in British Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan. Under the changed foreign policy conditions, the United Kingdom could no longer talk to Egypt from a position of strength alone. In addition, London did not need a rise in protest sentiment in Egyptian society. Great fears of the British caused the possibility of reorienting Egypt to Italy and Germany. Therefore, the British leadership gave "good" to King Fouad to liberalize the political climate in the country. In the same 1935, the old constitution was restored. 28 April 1936 d. 68 the summer king of Egypt Ahmed Fuad I passed away. The throne was succeeded by his son 16-year-old Faruk I (1920-1965). Given the minor age of the heir, the Regent Council ruled Egypt for one and a half years. In May, 1936 held elections to the Egyptian parliament, which ended with an unconditional victory for the Wafd party. Nahhas Pasha was again approved as prime minister of the Egyptian government, and the United Kingdom expressed readiness for new negotiations with Egypt and stressed that it could make significant concessions on a number of fundamentally important issues.
26 August 1936 The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was signed, defining the nature of the relationship between the UK and the Kingdom of Egypt. Officially, this document was called "the treaty on the union of His Majesty from the United Kingdom, and His Majesty the King of Egypt." In accordance with the text of the treaty, it was envisaged the withdrawal from Egypt of all military units and units of the British army, with the exception of units designed to ensure the security of the Suez Canal. In addition, the UK retained the right to deploy the 10-thousandth military contingent near the Suez Canal. But Egypt received obvious benefits, in particular - the obligation of the British side to organize education and training of the Egyptian army, and in the event of war - to ensure the protection of Egypt from external aggression. However, in the new treaty, the “Sudanese issue” was still not fully resolved. Egyptian nationalists demanded a complete rejection of Britain from the administration of Sudan, while the British side insisted on the need for a joint Anglo-Egyptian administration of Sudan (for obvious reasons, the Anglo-Egyptian administration actually meant maintaining the Sudan as a British colony).
However, it was also difficult to expect the support of the Egyptian patriots from the new king Farouk (in the photo). Farouk received military education in the famous British Royal Military Academy, was influenced by British advisers. 29 July 1937 Propulsion Farouk was crowned on the Egyptian throne and received full authority in the country. Almost immediately, he showed disagreement with the course of the Egyptian government and in December 1937 dismissed Nahasa Pasha from the post of prime minister of the Egyptian state. The new parliamentary elections, appointed by the king, the Wafd party boycotted. After signing the Treaty with Great Britain, Egypt joined the League of Nations in 1937, which formally fully confirmed its rights as an independent state. However, in fact, the royal regime was heavily dependent on Britain, aided by the fighting of the Italians in Northeast Africa. King Farouk suspected that the Italians might try to annex Egypt to their African possessions, so he was ready to make significant concessions to London in exchange for guarantees of security from the UK. 18 August 1939 was formed by the Egyptian government, which did not have its own party in parliament, nor members of parliament in its composition. This government was called the "palace office," and was headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahir (1882-1960) - an active supporter of royal power, who already held the post of prime minister in 1936, and then headed the royal office. It is noteworthy that Ali Mahir Pasha sympathized with the Axis countries, in particular, he included in the government several officials who were very critical of the UK. Recall that at the end of 1930's. Germany tried to strengthen its influence in the Arab world and, more broadly, in general in Muslim countries. In particular, the German security services worked closely with the Great Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini (1895-1974), known for its anti-Semitic and anti-British views. In Egypt, many nationalists saw Germany as the external force that could help free themselves from British dictate.
However, on September 1, 1939, Egyptian Prime Minister Ali Mahir Pasha, in accordance with the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, was forced to break off diplomatic relations with Germany. With the outbreak of World War II, he assumed the functions of military governor of Egypt. At the same time, Egypt did not declare war on Germany, and Egyptian troops did not become part of the coalition armed forces of the Allies and did not participate in battles against the Nazi and Italian forces in North Africa. General Aziz al-Masri, who served as chief of the general staff of the Egyptian army, refused to send Egyptian subordinates to the British command aviation and land parts. Subsequently, the fact of cooperation of General al-Masri with the Italian special services, to which he handed over important documents, in particular the British Western Desert Defense Plan, became known. Upon learning of the betrayal of General al-Masri, the British command demanded that the Egyptian leadership immediately dismiss him. But this did not happen - the prime minister and military governor Ali Mahir Pasha limited himself to sending General al-Masri on indefinite leave, while retaining his position and rank. Until recently, Ali Mahir opposed the severance of diplomatic relations with Italy. In Egypt, there were a large number of Italians employed in various sectors of the economy. Therefore, the Egyptian leadership did not dare to break off relations with Italy, and Ali Mahir for this reason was even forced to resign on June 28, 1940. Hassan Sabri Pasha was appointed the new Prime Minister of Egypt, but he died suddenly in the same 1940, after which the government was headed by Hussein Sirri-para (1894-1960). However, the influence of Mahir Pasha on Egyptian politics remained strong enough, which the British were very afraid of - Ali Mahir maintained pro-German and pro-Italian sentiments and did not want Egypt to take part in the Second World War on the side of Great Britain. In April 1942, under pressure from the British, Egyptian authorities were forced to place the former prime minister under house arrest. He was released only in 1944, and in March 1946 he joined the delegation assembled by Prime Minister Ismail Sidki to participate in negotiations with Great Britain. Hussein Sirry Pasha was also dismissed in 1942 as prime minister after expressing public admiration for the actions of Hitler's troops Erwin Rommel in North Africa. After the resignation of Sirri Pasha, the British insisted that the government of Egypt be led by Nahhas Pasha. Despite the fact that the leader of the Wafd party, Nahhas Pasha, was formerly widely known for his anti-British statements, he, as a liberal politician, also reacted negatively to Nazi Germany. This forced the British to reconsider their perceptions of the politics of Nahhas Pasha. But Nahhas Pasha was not in a hurry to declare war on Germany. As a result, Egypt entered World War II only in 1945, when Nahhas Pasha was dismissed from his post as prime minister of the country.
On the eve of the July revolution
Post-war Egypt continued to haunt anti-British performances. There was growing discontent in the society and royal politics, aided by corruption in the state apparatus, financial expenses of the royal family. The war with the newly emerged state of Israel, which ended in the actual defeat of Egypt and other Arab countries, also played a huge role in the growth of public discontent. The greatest danger to the royal power was the spread of protest sentiment among military officers. It was the army that represented the “forge of cadres” for the anti-British and anti-monarchist movement in Egypt. Back in the summer of 1949, a secret organization, Free Officers, was created. The impetus for its appearance and served as a defeat in the Arab-Israeli war, which many Egyptian officers considered humiliating for Egypt.
The organization was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970), who taught tactics at the staff college of the Egyptian army. In January, 1952 in Egypt were mass demonstrations under anti-British slogans, which ended in clashes with the police. After the clashes, the army finally turned against the royal regime.
On the night of 22 on 23 on July 1952, military units under the control of the “Free Officers” entered Cairo and blocked all strategically important objects of the Egyptian capital. In the morning of July 23, one of the conspirators, Anwar Sadat, read the appeal of Free Officers on the radio. In the evening of July 23, King Farouk appointed Major General Mohammed Naguib, who commanded the Southern Military District, commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army. General Nagugh also participated in the conspiracy of the Free Officers. 26 July 1956. King Farouk left Egypt forever. The royal throne passed to his seven-month-old son Ahmed Fuad II (born 1952), and the actual power in the country fell into the hands of the military led by Mohammed Naguib, who in September 1952 headed the government of the country. In 1953, the monarchy in Egypt was abolished, and Mohammed Nagib became the first president of the country. Since that time, the policy of Egypt acquired an independent focus, and after the replacement of Mohammed Nagiba by Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt shifted to the USSR for a while.
British protectorate and rising patriotic sentiment
For just over seven years, from 1914 to 1922, Egypt was a protectorate of Great Britain. The country gained this status after the overthrow of the last Egyptian Khedive Abbas II (as early as 1867, the Turkish sultan granted the ruler and so semi-independent Egypt the title of “khedive”, which elevated the Egyptian ruler over the governors of the rest of the Ottoman Empire). When the last Khediv of Abbas II Khilmi took the side of the Ottoman Empire in the beginning World War I, the British-backed circles of the Egyptian political elite quickly organized a coup d'état. Khedive was visiting Istanbul when 19 December 1914 was removed from his post. Power in the country formally passed to his uncle Hussein Camil (1853-1917), who took the title of sultan. In fact, Egypt, proclaimed by a British protectorate, was under the external control of Great Britain. So ended the centuries-old story the existence of Egypt as part of the Ottoman Empire. Egypt was proclaimed a sultanate under the protectorate of Britain, and the head of state officially bore the title of sultan of Egypt and Sudan. Egyptian political and intellectual elite divided. Part of the political elite was satisfied with the existing status of the country, but another, more active and modernization-oriented part of the Egyptian elite, believed that Egypt should gain true political independence - not only from the Ottoman Empire, but also from Great Britain.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century. in Egypt, Arab nationalism was gaining strength, focused on the modernization of Egyptian society and, at the same time, on its liberation from "external control". Ahmed Fouad (1868-1936) - the younger brother of Sultan Hussein Camille also sympathized with the nationalists. Ahmed Fuad grew up in Italy, in his youth he served in the Italian army and was well aware of the need to modernize and strengthen Egyptian statehood. After the death of Sultan Hussein Kamil in 1917, the son of the last prince Kamaluddin Hussein was to ascend to the throne, but he refused the sultan's throne and Ahmed Fuad I became the new ruler of the country. the movement of the Egyptian nationalists. In November, the Wafd political party (“Delegation”) was created in Egypt in Egypt. Initially, it was a small political circle of Egyptian intellectuals, numbering only 1918 people.
The founder of this liberal-nationalist organization was Saad Zaglul (1857-1927), a veteran of the anti-British movement. Saad Zaglul was a typical representative of the emerging new Egyptian intelligentsia. Coming from the village of Ibyana in the province of Kafr el-Sheikh, Saad Zaglul was the son of the village headman, who managed to make a fortune and become a landowner. Education Saad received in a Muslim school, then in the madrasa and in the famous University of Al-Azhar - one of the world centers of Islamic education. It was during his studies at the university that Saad Zaglul met the famous religious and political leader Muhammad Abdo, who was publishing at that time the newspaper Al-Wakai al-Mishriya (Egyptian events). Muhammad Abdo (1849-1905), of Turkmen origin, was already one of the ideologues of the anti-colonial and pan-Islamic movement in Egypt, and later, after going through the persecutions of the colonial authorities, was able to become an Egyptian mufti. Abdo called Saad Zaglul to work in a newspaper, but in 1882, Muhammad Abdo was expelled from Egypt for six years for supporting the Arabi Pasha uprising. Zaglul’s career was more successful. Although Zaglul already had publications in the Abdo newspaper, where he opposed an absolute monarchy and promoted the need for political reforms in Egypt, he was accepted to work in the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs. But the peaceful life of the official Zaglul did not suit - when the British occupied Egypt, he joined the Retribution Society (“Jamaa al-Intiq”), which was preparing an anti-British uprising. In 1883, Mr. Saad Zaglul was arrested, but the investigators were unable to collect an evidence base, after which Saad and his friend Sacr were released. Of course, a career in the Egyptian Ministry of Internal Affairs after imprisonment, Saad no longer shone, but he took up the practice of law and gradually became one of the most famous and well-paid lawyers in Egypt. The name of a successful lawyer gave Zaglulu a pass to the world of the Egyptian political and economic elite. But an even greater role in the growth of Saad Zaglul’s capabilities was played by his marriage to the daughter of Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Fahmy. Saad Zaglul became an adviser to the Court of Appeal, which did not prevent him from continuing his opposition activities as one of the active participants in the Egyptian national liberation movement. In 1906, Mr. Zaglul took the high post of Minister of Education of Egypt. One of the first steps of Zaglul was the translation of Egyptian schools into Arabic. In addition, Saad Zaglul spoke with a very revolutionary for the Arab world the idea of developing female education. In 1907, he participated in the creation of the People’s Party of Egypt, and in 1910-1912. served as the Minister of Justice of Egypt. Because of the conflict with Khedive Abbas II, Zaglul was removed from the government, but in 1913 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Cairo and took the post of first vice-president of the Legislative Assembly. In the Legislative Assembly, Zaglul continued opposition activities and advocated the further liberation of Egypt from British influence. Becoming the leader of a small organization “Wafd”, Zaglul soon gave a new impetus to the anti-British movement. The British leadership was worried and chose to move to repressive methods of influence. 8 March 1919 Mr. Saad Zaglulu was arrested. The British authorities sent him to a link to the island of Malta, which was used to contain political prisoners.
Declaration of Independence of the Kingdom of Egypt
The arrest and deportation of Saad Zaglul caused a sharp outrage among the Egyptian population. In the country, protests began. Throughout the second half of March, 1919, in Egypt, mass demonstrations continued, in which virtually all segments of the population participated - from workers and fellahs (peasants) to clergy and students. It is noteworthy that these days solidarity was demonstrated not only by representatives of different social groups and wealth levels, but also by followers of both Islam and Christianity. The idea of national liberation of Egypt turned out to be a priority compared to social and religious contradictions. At the same time, the demonstrators tried to act relatively peacefully, knowing full well that they could arouse the anger of the British authorities and provoke them into armed suppression of the demonstrations. However, it was not without clashes and human casualties. To suppress the demonstrations, units of the ANZAC — the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps — were deployed from 1914 in Egypt and actively participated in the First World War. ANZAC soldiers repeatedly fired on demonstrators. As a result of the clashes, 800 was killed by the Egyptians, and 1600 people were injured of varying degrees of severity.
A wave of protests forced the British authorities to make concessions. Saad Zaglul was released. Meanwhile, in November 1919, a British commission led by Alfred Milner arrived in Egypt. In 1920, Mr. Milner reported to British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon about the expediency of replacing the British protectorate in Egypt with an alliance treaty. After this, Curzon made further concessions. He received a delegation of Egyptian politicians headed by yesterday’s political prisoner Saad Zahlul and Adly Pasha. In August, 1920 entered into an agreement approved in February by 1921 by the British Parliament. Adly-Pasha’s re-mission arrived in London in June 1921. However, Lord Curzon was unable to convince the other British ministers of the need for an agreement with Adly-Pasha. In December, 1921 was martial law in Egypt. The Wafd leader Saad Zaglulu was arrested and expelled from the country. This time he was sent to the Seychelles. But before that, the British offered Zaglulu to become the Sultan of Egypt in exchange for accepting the British protectorate over the country. Zaglul, as a convinced Egyptian patriot, refused, after which he was deported from the country. In all cities of Egypt, protest demonstrations began again, clashes with policemen and soldiers. The growing public discontent with British politics led London to reconsider its relations with Egypt. High Commissioner Lord Allenby made a proposal to recognize the independence of Egypt, with which the British authorities agreed and at the end of February 1922 went to the recognition of Egypt’s political independence.
After that, the Sultanate of Egypt was transformed into the Kingdom of Egypt, and Sultan Ahmed Fuad took the title of King of Egypt. 18 August 1922 was released by Saad Zaglul, who returned to Egypt and took over as chairman of the top leadership of the Wafd Party, which after becoming independent of Egypt, became the country's leading political organization. Saad Zaglul, becoming the leader of the Wafd party, continued to advocate a further weakening of Egypt’s dependence on Britain. Despite the fact that Egypt gained formal political independence, London in every way sought to “tear off” Sudan from Egypt, which was of great economic interest for the British colonial empire. Although the ruler of Egypt, King Fouad, was officially called the King of Egypt and Sudan, and Sudan was formally considered an Anglo-Egyptian condominium, in reality, the British Colonial authorities exercised real control over Sudan. This fact greatly irritated the Egyptian nationalists, who demanded that Sudan be brought under full control of Egypt. After the victory of the Wafd party in the parliamentary elections in 1924, Saad Zaglul 26 in January 1924 took over the post of Egyptian Prime Minister. In the modern political history of Egypt, Saad Zaglul has remained as one of the most decisive and, at the same time, constructively minded patriots of the country. Speaking for the independence of Egypt, he was well aware of the need for political and economic modernization of Egyptian society, advocated the development of market relations in the country and the constitutional system of democratic governance.
On the other hand, Zaglul was convinced of the uniqueness of the historical path of Egypt and called for the unification of the Egyptian people regardless of religious differences (Muslims and Christian Copts of Egypt from time immemorial were in rather complex relationships). It was possible to reconcile the Muslim and Coptic people of Egypt in the interests of strengthening the state, developing the economy and culture, only in the context of modernizing Egyptian society and abstracting state ideology from religious disputes and contradictions. Saad Zaglul and was about to begin to modernize the country, but his plans were not heard by the Egyptian king Fouad and the royal entourage. In addition, Great Britain sought to oppose the Egyptian national movement with all its forces, as it feared that in the event of a national revival of Egypt and the rise of its economy, it would lose control of the Suez Canal. Therefore, although in 1922 Egypt and received formal independence, London continued to have a tremendous influence on the policies of the Egyptian state. First, units and subunits of the British army remained on the territory of Egypt. Secondly, in the armed forces of Egypt itself, the most important posts were occupied by British officers, including the “sardar” - the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army, was also an Englishman. Under the full control of the UK was the Egyptian police, in which top positions were also occupied by British officers. This caused great dissatisfaction among the Egyptian patriots, among whom were radical-minded activists who were ready to forcibly expel the British from Egypt. November 19 1924 city in Cairo, the sardar of the Egyptian army, Lee Stack, was killed. The murder of a British officer caused an immediate and very sharp reaction from London. Already 22 November 1924 The British High Commissioner in Egypt, Lord Allenby, presented an ultimatum to the Egyptian government. The British authorities demanded: 1) apologize for killing Lee Stack, 2) immediately punish the criminals, 3) pay compensation in the amount of 500 thousand pounds sterling, 4) ban all political rallies and demonstrations, 5) withdraw all parts and connections of the Egyptian army from the territory of Sudan, 6) to lift the restrictions established in the interests of the Egyptian side in the areas of Sudan to be irrigated, 7) to stop obstructing the British authorities in protecting the rights of foreign nationals living in Egypt . Thus, London did not expose specific terrorists, but the entire Egyptian state, guilty of the murder of Lee Stack. This was more than strange, given that the post of chief of police of Cairo, in which the murder occurred, was occupied by a British officer. The Englishman was also on the post of Director General of the European Department of the Ministry of Public Security of Egypt. That is, it was the British who were responsible for organizing the protection of public order, the fight against crime and terrorism and the investigation of crimes against European citizens in Egypt. However, London decided to use the killing of Lee Stack as a pretext for political pressure on Egypt and maintain its position in Sudan. The Egyptian leadership agreed to fulfill almost all the requirements of the British side and even paid 500 thousand. pounds in compensation for the first 24 hours after the presentation of the ultimatum. Only in the matter of Sudan, Egypt tried to defend their interests. Then the British High Commissioner Lord Allenby decided to use force. He gave the order to seize the customs in Alexandria, taking control of the Egyptian customs duties. After this, Sudan was turned into a British colony, and the uprisings of Sudanese and Egyptian troops, stationed in Sudan, were brutally suppressed. November 24 1919 city Egyptian Prime Minister Saad Zaglul, in protest against British policy and the consent of King Fouad, resigned from his post as head of government. King Fuad also dissolved the Egyptian Parliament, which supported Zaglul, and the Egyptian deputies' complaints to the League of Nations about the aggressive actions of Great Britain remained unanswered. Cooperative Fuad with the British gave the latter numerous advantages in the territory of Egypt.
"Wafd" against British influence
When the king again allowed 1925 to hold parliamentary elections in March, the Wafd party won a full victory. Saad Zaglul was immediately elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, but King Fuad and his British patrons didn’t like it very much. The new parliament lasted less than a day, after which it was dissolved. For almost a whole year in Egypt there was no parliament, and the British Commissar continued to exercise actual control of the country, with the full support of King Fuad. However, the Egyptian patriots tried to restore the parliamentary system. Finally, in November 1925, the meeting of the banned parliament was held. Then King Fuad attempted to undertake a constitutional reform aimed at restricting the independence of the parliament and increasing the powers of the king. But he soon realized that if changes were adopted, parliamentary elections would not take place at all, since the majority of Egyptian voters simply would not vote. Therefore, elections to the new parliament were nevertheless held according to the old system. They were won by the Wafd party, which won 200 seats in parliament from the existing 214 seats. In accordance with the rules, the leader of the Wafd party was to take the post of prime minister of the country. But the British High Commissioner Lord Lloyd demanded that Saad Zaglulu under no circumstances be put on the post of prime minister. As a result, Saad Zaglul was elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the parliament, but all leading positions in the government were received by members of the Wafd party - after all, only this party had real influence in the country and united representatives of the Egyptian political elite and intelligentsia. 23 August 1927 Mr. Saad Zaglul died. Meanwhile, the British authorities again negotiated with Egypt, hitting even the king of Fuad, loyal to the British, with their arrogance. In fact, London tended to the fact that Egypt should again become a British protectorate.
However, Mustafa Nahhas Pasha (pictured), who headed the Wafd party after the death of Saad Zaglul, tried to carry out several reforms aimed at increasing the real independence of Egypt and the civil liberties of the Egyptian people. In particular, he insisted on the legalization of the right to wear weapons Egyptians, which was forbidden by the British during the occupation of Egypt. But the British leadership again put pressure on Egypt and even sent British military ships based in Malta to the port of Alexandria to demonstrate the seriousness of their intentions if the Nakhas Pasha reforms were adopted by parliament. On the basis of a fabricated corruption charge, Nahhasa Pasha was removed from his post as Egyptian Prime Minister. After that, King Fuad again dissolved parliament and amended the country's constitution. The regime in the country significantly tightened, many civil liberties were curtailed, and the king acquired very great powers. Despite the fact that a judicial investigation established the innocence of Nakhhas Pasha in the charges of corruption, the king, under the influence of the British, continued to persecute the Wafd party. Harsh censorship was introduced in the country, and police repression against Egyptian patriots intensified. But despite this, mass protest demonstrations took place throughout Egypt, in which Egyptian women took a very active part - for the Arab world this, again, seemed incredible. The situation, meanwhile, was changed by the victory in the parliamentary elections in the British Labor Party itself. After that, Lord Lloyd was recalled from his post as High Commissioner in Egypt, which made King Fouad's positions more vulnerable. In December, 1928, King Fuad decided to hold new parliamentary elections. As expected, the Wafd party won. The British government resumed negotiations with representatives of Egypt, who were led by Nahhas Pasha from the Egyptian side, who returned after the victory of Wafd in the elections for the post of prime minister of the country. The British Labor Party made significant concessions, but it was not possible to come to an agreement on the question of Sudan. In June, 1930, King Fuad, once again dismissed Nachasa Pasha from his post as Prime Minister, and the country's parliament was dissolved. However, parliamentarians refused to obey the order of the king to dissolve parliament and 23 June 1930 gathered for a meeting in the parliament building. Protests against the dissolution of parliament, British colonialism and the policies of King Fouad began throughout the country. This time, to disperse the demonstration, troops were sent under the command of British officers. Even Nahhas Pasha, the former prime minister, was injured in the clashes. A new constitution was adopted in the country, significantly increasing the rights of the king and curtailing the rights of parliament. In fact, the royal dictatorship was established in Egypt from 1930, with the direct support of British troops. The garrisons of the British army were located in Cairo and Alexandria, and the Suez Canal was under British control. Thus, despite the fact that the country's independence was proclaimed back in 1922, in fact, eight years after the liquidation of the protectorate, Egypt remained under British control. Naturally, this situation could not satisfy the Egyptian patriots from the Wafd party.
In parallel with the secular patriotism of the Wafdists, who advocated the modernization of the Egyptian society on the European model, the emancipation of women, the cooperation of the Muslim and Christian population of Egypt against the British colonialists, namely in the second half of the 1920-s. formation of a religious fundamentalist opposition to the royal regime begins in Egypt. Unlike wafdists, religious fundamentalists saw the root of evil in the very pursuit of a Western way of life and opposed the modernization of Egyptian society. At the root of the Egyptian religious fundamentalism of the twentieth century, there was a very young man still during the described events - 22-year-old Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Bann (1906-1949).
A graduate of the Damanhur School of Education, al-Banna continued his education at the Dar-al-Ulum Institute (House of Science) in Cairo. After graduation, he became a teacher in the folk school of the city of Ismailia on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast. This school received secondary education for workers who serviced the Suez Canal. Hassan al-Banna worked as a school teacher for almost his short life - until 1946. Gradually, around al-Banny, who was fond of theology, a small circle of six people gathered - a potter, a hairdresser, a barber, a chauffeur, a gardener, a social worker. Initially, all the activities of a small group was to study religious treatises and discuss the future development of Egypt. Thanks to the active propaganda work, the number of members of the circle began to grow. It was called the “Muslim Brotherhood,” as the workers called themselves in a rented apartment in Ismailia. At the beginning of the organization’s existence, it was mainly engaged in religious, educational and charitable activities. The popularity of the brotherhood was due to the fact that people of any social status were allowed to take classes, and the lessons themselves could be given at evenings convenient for working people. This was the beginning of the formation of a religious-political organization, which was destined to play one of the most important roles in the political life of Egypt, especially since the second half of the 20th century. Gradually the religious-fundamentalist trend in the Egyptian national movement began to gain popularity, capable of competing with the popularity of the Wafd party. At the same time, if the support of “Wafd” was mainly the upper and middle strata of Egyptian society - the national bourgeoisie, part of government officials, the intelligentsia, the “Muslim Brotherhood” was more oriented towards the social lower classes. The Egyptians were attracted to the fundamentalist religious movement by the rejection of the Western way of life and capitalism. King, British and World War II
The political situation in Egypt changed again in 1935, when fascist Italy invaded the territory of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The revitalization of Italy in Northeast Africa could not be ignored by the British authorities, since the UK also had serious interests in this region. In the future, the Italian troops invading Ethiopia could become a threat to British rule in British Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan. Under the changed foreign policy conditions, the United Kingdom could no longer talk to Egypt from a position of strength alone. In addition, London did not need a rise in protest sentiment in Egyptian society. Great fears of the British caused the possibility of reorienting Egypt to Italy and Germany. Therefore, the British leadership gave "good" to King Fouad to liberalize the political climate in the country. In the same 1935, the old constitution was restored. 28 April 1936 d. 68 the summer king of Egypt Ahmed Fuad I passed away. The throne was succeeded by his son 16-year-old Faruk I (1920-1965). Given the minor age of the heir, the Regent Council ruled Egypt for one and a half years. In May, 1936 held elections to the Egyptian parliament, which ended with an unconditional victory for the Wafd party. Nahhas Pasha was again approved as prime minister of the Egyptian government, and the United Kingdom expressed readiness for new negotiations with Egypt and stressed that it could make significant concessions on a number of fundamentally important issues.
26 August 1936 The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was signed, defining the nature of the relationship between the UK and the Kingdom of Egypt. Officially, this document was called "the treaty on the union of His Majesty from the United Kingdom, and His Majesty the King of Egypt." In accordance with the text of the treaty, it was envisaged the withdrawal from Egypt of all military units and units of the British army, with the exception of units designed to ensure the security of the Suez Canal. In addition, the UK retained the right to deploy the 10-thousandth military contingent near the Suez Canal. But Egypt received obvious benefits, in particular - the obligation of the British side to organize education and training of the Egyptian army, and in the event of war - to ensure the protection of Egypt from external aggression. However, in the new treaty, the “Sudanese issue” was still not fully resolved. Egyptian nationalists demanded a complete rejection of Britain from the administration of Sudan, while the British side insisted on the need for a joint Anglo-Egyptian administration of Sudan (for obvious reasons, the Anglo-Egyptian administration actually meant maintaining the Sudan as a British colony).
However, it was also difficult to expect the support of the Egyptian patriots from the new king Farouk (in the photo). Farouk received military education in the famous British Royal Military Academy, was influenced by British advisers. 29 July 1937 Propulsion Farouk was crowned on the Egyptian throne and received full authority in the country. Almost immediately, he showed disagreement with the course of the Egyptian government and in December 1937 dismissed Nahasa Pasha from the post of prime minister of the Egyptian state. The new parliamentary elections, appointed by the king, the Wafd party boycotted. After signing the Treaty with Great Britain, Egypt joined the League of Nations in 1937, which formally fully confirmed its rights as an independent state. However, in fact, the royal regime was heavily dependent on Britain, aided by the fighting of the Italians in Northeast Africa. King Farouk suspected that the Italians might try to annex Egypt to their African possessions, so he was ready to make significant concessions to London in exchange for guarantees of security from the UK. 18 August 1939 was formed by the Egyptian government, which did not have its own party in parliament, nor members of parliament in its composition. This government was called the "palace office," and was headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahir (1882-1960) - an active supporter of royal power, who already held the post of prime minister in 1936, and then headed the royal office. It is noteworthy that Ali Mahir Pasha sympathized with the Axis countries, in particular, he included in the government several officials who were very critical of the UK. Recall that at the end of 1930's. Germany tried to strengthen its influence in the Arab world and, more broadly, in general in Muslim countries. In particular, the German security services worked closely with the Great Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini (1895-1974), known for its anti-Semitic and anti-British views. In Egypt, many nationalists saw Germany as the external force that could help free themselves from British dictate. However, on September 1, 1939, Egyptian Prime Minister Ali Mahir Pasha, in accordance with the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, was forced to break off diplomatic relations with Germany. With the outbreak of World War II, he assumed the functions of military governor of Egypt. At the same time, Egypt did not declare war on Germany, and Egyptian troops did not become part of the coalition armed forces of the Allies and did not participate in battles against the Nazi and Italian forces in North Africa. General Aziz al-Masri, who served as chief of the general staff of the Egyptian army, refused to send Egyptian subordinates to the British command aviation and land parts. Subsequently, the fact of cooperation of General al-Masri with the Italian special services, to which he handed over important documents, in particular the British Western Desert Defense Plan, became known. Upon learning of the betrayal of General al-Masri, the British command demanded that the Egyptian leadership immediately dismiss him. But this did not happen - the prime minister and military governor Ali Mahir Pasha limited himself to sending General al-Masri on indefinite leave, while retaining his position and rank. Until recently, Ali Mahir opposed the severance of diplomatic relations with Italy. In Egypt, there were a large number of Italians employed in various sectors of the economy. Therefore, the Egyptian leadership did not dare to break off relations with Italy, and Ali Mahir for this reason was even forced to resign on June 28, 1940. Hassan Sabri Pasha was appointed the new Prime Minister of Egypt, but he died suddenly in the same 1940, after which the government was headed by Hussein Sirri-para (1894-1960). However, the influence of Mahir Pasha on Egyptian politics remained strong enough, which the British were very afraid of - Ali Mahir maintained pro-German and pro-Italian sentiments and did not want Egypt to take part in the Second World War on the side of Great Britain. In April 1942, under pressure from the British, Egyptian authorities were forced to place the former prime minister under house arrest. He was released only in 1944, and in March 1946 he joined the delegation assembled by Prime Minister Ismail Sidki to participate in negotiations with Great Britain. Hussein Sirry Pasha was also dismissed in 1942 as prime minister after expressing public admiration for the actions of Hitler's troops Erwin Rommel in North Africa. After the resignation of Sirri Pasha, the British insisted that the government of Egypt be led by Nahhas Pasha. Despite the fact that the leader of the Wafd party, Nahhas Pasha, was formerly widely known for his anti-British statements, he, as a liberal politician, also reacted negatively to Nazi Germany. This forced the British to reconsider their perceptions of the politics of Nahhas Pasha. But Nahhas Pasha was not in a hurry to declare war on Germany. As a result, Egypt entered World War II only in 1945, when Nahhas Pasha was dismissed from his post as prime minister of the country.
On the eve of the July revolution
Post-war Egypt continued to haunt anti-British performances. There was growing discontent in the society and royal politics, aided by corruption in the state apparatus, financial expenses of the royal family. The war with the newly emerged state of Israel, which ended in the actual defeat of Egypt and other Arab countries, also played a huge role in the growth of public discontent. The greatest danger to the royal power was the spread of protest sentiment among military officers. It was the army that represented the “forge of cadres” for the anti-British and anti-monarchist movement in Egypt. Back in the summer of 1949, a secret organization, Free Officers, was created. The impetus for its appearance and served as a defeat in the Arab-Israeli war, which many Egyptian officers considered humiliating for Egypt.
The organization was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970), who taught tactics at the staff college of the Egyptian army. In January, 1952 in Egypt were mass demonstrations under anti-British slogans, which ended in clashes with the police. After the clashes, the army finally turned against the royal regime.
On the night of 22 on 23 on July 1952, military units under the control of the “Free Officers” entered Cairo and blocked all strategically important objects of the Egyptian capital. In the morning of July 23, one of the conspirators, Anwar Sadat, read the appeal of Free Officers on the radio. In the evening of July 23, King Farouk appointed Major General Mohammed Naguib, who commanded the Southern Military District, commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army. General Nagugh also participated in the conspiracy of the Free Officers. 26 July 1956. King Farouk left Egypt forever. The royal throne passed to his seven-month-old son Ahmed Fuad II (born 1952), and the actual power in the country fell into the hands of the military led by Mohammed Naguib, who in September 1952 headed the government of the country. In 1953, the monarchy in Egypt was abolished, and Mohammed Nagib became the first president of the country. Since that time, the policy of Egypt acquired an independent focus, and after the replacement of Mohammed Nagiba by Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt shifted to the USSR for a while.
- P P 'SЊSЏ RџRѕR "RѕRЅSЃRєRёR№
- http://rovdyrdreams.com/
Information