Since 1936, King Farouk I was reigning Egypt and Sudan. British were occupying Egypt once again, and people were very displeased with the way their country was being run. Following World War II, a war between Israel and various Arab country regions had taken place; known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (Part of the Palestine War). After over a year of fighting, Israel came out victorious in a war where their chances of victory were extremely slim. The people of Egypt blamed King Farouk for their loss, and many nationalist groups took to the streets and protested to overthrow the king. Next to the loss, King Farouk I was also rumored to be operating the country under British influence for more money. The number of protests around Egypt and Sudan spread like wildfire, as thousands of people a day worked to overthrow their own king. Britain disbanded the Egyptian army because it was not accomplishing anything. In early July of 1952, a group of Egyptian officers who wanted to speak out in an organized way formed a group called The Free Officers. This was all led by a young Egyptian officer named Gammal Abdel Nasser; however, they told others that their head of the group was Muhammad Neguib to show they were an organized, serious, group; in order to convince other officers to join. In a journal called Foreign Affairs (pp 199-211), Nasser writes his observations of the revolution.
Nasser writes: "There were protests, international as well as Egyptian, and the British, sensing that their status was not legitimate, claimed that they were only staying for a particular objective", as well as "For a century and a half the Arab world has been following a negative policy, Misapplication of western patterns of government brought a confused mixture of philosophies and political systems". These were only a few of Nasser's observations of what Egypt was dealing with. Another leader of The Free Officers released a statement that said: "Egypt has passed through a critical period in her recent history characterized by bribery, mischief, and the absence of governmental stability. All of these were factors that had a large influence on the army. Those who accepted bribes and were thus influenced caused our defeat in the Palestine War. As for the period following the war, the mischief-making elements have been assisting one another, and traitors have been commanding the army. They appointed a commander who is either ignorant or corrupt. Egypt has reached the point, therefore, of having no army to defend it..."I assure the Egyptian people that the entire army today has become capable of operating in the national interest and under the rule of the constitution apart from any interests of its own. I take this opportunity to request that the people never permit any traitors to take refuge in deeds of destruction or violence because these are not in the interest of Egypt. Should anyone behave in such ways, he will be dealt with forcefully in a manner such as has not been seen before and his deeds will meet immediately the reward for treason. The army will take charge with the assistance of the police. I assure our foreign brothers that their interests, their personal safety, and their property are safe, and that the army considers itself responsible for them. May God grant us success".
This is an extremely famous quote in the history of Egypt. It is the equivalent to the Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream" speech in The United States of America. It was the first organized speech against the king in Egypt's history. Egypt's people continued to riot, and on July 26th 1952, King Farouk was overthrown. This marked the end of the 1952 revolution; however, after the king was overthrown, a republic was formed called the Revolutionary Command Council (the RCC). Nasser was promoted to the leader of this and later on was promoted even further to President of Egypt's new republic in 1956.
Nasser writes: "There were protests, international as well as Egyptian, and the British, sensing that their status was not legitimate, claimed that they were only staying for a particular objective", as well as "For a century and a half the Arab world has been following a negative policy, Misapplication of western patterns of government brought a confused mixture of philosophies and political systems". These were only a few of Nasser's observations of what Egypt was dealing with. Another leader of The Free Officers released a statement that said: "Egypt has passed through a critical period in her recent history characterized by bribery, mischief, and the absence of governmental stability. All of these were factors that had a large influence on the army. Those who accepted bribes and were thus influenced caused our defeat in the Palestine War. As for the period following the war, the mischief-making elements have been assisting one another, and traitors have been commanding the army. They appointed a commander who is either ignorant or corrupt. Egypt has reached the point, therefore, of having no army to defend it..."I assure the Egyptian people that the entire army today has become capable of operating in the national interest and under the rule of the constitution apart from any interests of its own. I take this opportunity to request that the people never permit any traitors to take refuge in deeds of destruction or violence because these are not in the interest of Egypt. Should anyone behave in such ways, he will be dealt with forcefully in a manner such as has not been seen before and his deeds will meet immediately the reward for treason. The army will take charge with the assistance of the police. I assure our foreign brothers that their interests, their personal safety, and their property are safe, and that the army considers itself responsible for them. May God grant us success".
This is an extremely famous quote in the history of Egypt. It is the equivalent to the Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream" speech in The United States of America. It was the first organized speech against the king in Egypt's history. Egypt's people continued to riot, and on July 26th 1952, King Farouk was overthrown. This marked the end of the 1952 revolution; however, after the king was overthrown, a republic was formed called the Revolutionary Command Council (the RCC). Nasser was promoted to the leader of this and later on was promoted even further to President of Egypt's new republic in 1956.