Egyptian Revolution of 1952 - Causes

Causes

• Both the United States of America and the Soviet Union promoted the view that the Egyptian monarchy was both corrupt and a pro-British colonial satrapy, its lavish lifestyle in sharp contrast to that of the Free Officers, who lived in poverty. The propaganda of the two Superpowers completed the image of the Egyptian government as a corrupt puppet of the British.

• The Central Intelligence Agency and the KGB through their agents in Egypt promoted the feeling of corruption on the part of several Egyptian institutions such as the police, the palace and even the political parties, and in turn helped coordinate their anti-British and reformist sympathies with the Free Officers Movement.

• The loss of 1948 war with Israel led to the Free Officers' blame of corruption with the King and his court and promotion of that feeling among the Egyptian people.

The Free Officers Movement' was formed by a group of reform minded officers which, backed by the Soviet Union and the United States, coalesced around a young officer named Gamal Abdel Nasser. They used an army general, Muhammad Naguib, as its head to show their seriousness and attract more army followers.

In the warning that General Naguib conveyed to King Farouk on 26 July upon the king's abdication, he provided a summary of the reasons for the revolution:

In view of what the country has suffered in the recent past, the complete vacuity prevailing in all corners as a result of your bad behavior, your toying with the constitution, and your disdain for the wants of the people, no one rests assured of life, livelihood, and honor. Egypt's reputation among the peoples of the world has been debased as a result of your excesses in these areas to the extent that traitors and bribe-takers find protection beneath your shadow in addition to security, excessive wealth, and many extravagances at the expense of the hungry and impoverished people. You manifested this during and after the Palestine War in the corrupt arms scandals and your open interference in the courts to try to falsify the facts of the case, thus shaking faith in justice. Therefore, the army, representing the power of the people, has empowered me to demand that Your Majesty abdicate the throne to His Highness Crown Prince Ahmed Fuad, provided that this is accomplished at the fixed time of 12 o'clock noon today (Saturday, 26 July 1952, the 4th of Zul Qa'ada, 1371), and that you depart the country before 6 o'clock in the evening of the same day. The army places upon Your Majesty the burden of everything that may result from your failure to abdicate according to the wishes of the people.