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CAIRO: On July 23, 1952, a group of mid-ranking military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a coup against the Egyptian monarchy, giving birth to an era which made Egypt the unchallenged leader of the Arab world.
A visionary hero to some, a short-sighted dictator to others, Nasser came to personify the revolution.
With his powerful personality Nasser became the champion of pan-Arab nationalism and non-alignment, credited with uniting Arabs and restoring a sense of regional pride after a humiliating military defeat by the newly-formed state of Israel.
“The world had found in him one of its most controversial statesmen, and the Arabs had chosen him as the symbol of their lost dignity and their unfulfilled hopes,” wrote Nasser’s biographer, Mohammed Hassanein Heikal.
As Egypt marks the 50th anniversary of the revolution, many Egyptians and Arabs are pondering Nasser’s legacy, and wondering what remains of it in a world dominated by the United States and a globalized economy.
While some Egyptians blame Nasser for many of Egypt’s economic and political woes today, others remember the Nasser era as the glory days of the Arab world.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, historical nostalgia has grown amid a perception that Egypt has lost its power, respect and leadership role of the 50s and 60s.
NASSER AND MUBARAK: Nasser and his “Free Officers” came to power just four years after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which some Arabs considered the beginning of a neo-colonial era and the real start of the Middle East conflict.
For some Arabs, today’s Egypt under President Hosni Mubarak is the antithesis of Nasser’s reign.
Where Egypt once rejected alliances with the West and sought to ply an independent economic path, it is now one of Washington’s key Arab allies, and its ailing economy is closely bound to the global marketplace.
While many Arabs say Nasser promoted pan-Arab unity, championed Arab interests and forged the short-lived United Arab Republic with Syria, they feel betrayed by his successor Anwar Sadat for “going it alone” and signing the Camp David peace accord.
In their view, Mubarak’s ties with Israel amid continued occupation of Palestinian territories are just as bad.—Reuters
