| Plot Summary |
Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leader of the free Officers whose members include his closest friend, Amer, successfully executes a coup which puts an end to the corrupt rule of King Farouk. The son of a postmaster, he is the first Egyptian to rule Egypt in over two thousand years. He sets about to improve the living standard of the people. His land reform enables the peasants to own the land they are tilling. A Dramatic attempt to assassinate him which fails add to his stature. He achieves the withdrawal of the British army from the Suez Canal. His policies are directed at giving a sense of national pride and identify to the people who adulate him. In order to build the Aswan High Dam he nationalises the Suez Canal. Eden's attempt to occupy the Canal Zone by force of arms fails, due to Nasser's determined resistance and direct intervention of President Eisenhower. Nasser emerges from the Suez War as the hero of the anti-Imperialist world. Nasser now aims to further the cause of Arab nationalism in the whole of the Middle East. He skillfully foils an invasion of Kuwait by Kassem, Iraq's ruthless dictator. His support for the Palestinians brings him into confrontation with Israel. Ben Gurion and Dayan consider Nasser Israel's most dangerous enemy. The Six-Day War ensures, exposing Field Marshal Amer's total incompetence. Nasser accepts responsibility for the humiliating defeat but the people will not accept his resignation. Amer's lack of integrity leads to final break between the two old friends and ends in tragedy. Nasser's health is deteriorating fast. When bloodshed breaks out in Jordan between the army and the P.L.O. Nasser summons King Hussein and Yasser Arafat to a meeting of The Arab League. The force of his personality persuades them to end the fighting. It is the final achievement draining what little strength was left in him. He dies with his wife Tahia by his side. The expression. of the people's sorrow and mourning for their loss reduces the most spectacular funeral ever seen.
Written by Ahmed Rahmy
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