Iron Guard of Egypt
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The Iron Guard of Egypt was a secret pro-Axis society and royalist political movement formed in the early 1930's[1] which was used by King Farouk of Egypt for personal and political vendettas.[2] The guard was used in attacks on Farouk's declared enemies,[3] operating with a license to kill, and is believed to have taken orders from Farouk personally.[4] It is said that Farouk also formed the Iron Guard with the intentions of self protection, the gathering of military intelligence through their use as spies, and as a special operations force.[5]
Activity period
Thought to have been formed during the 1930s[6] by Aribert Heim (this claim is backed by the appearance of the Iron Guard of Palestine[7] & Romania Iron Guard in the same time period),[8] the Iron Guard was associated clandestinely with the Egyptian Trotskyites.[9] It was made up mostly of army officers, and was connected to the Free Officers, a secret military group.[10] The Iron Guard ceased operations in 1952.[8]
Members
- Dr Yusuf Rashad was the head or Chief Organizer of King Farouk's Iron Guard in 1944 or 1945.[11][12] He requited Anwar Sadat into the Iron Guard.[13]
- Captain Mustafa Kamil Sidqi led the Iron Guard.[10]
- Anwar Sadat was active in many political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the fascist Young Egypt, the Iron Guard, and a secret military group called the Free Officers.[14] Sadat was proud of his part in the assassination of anglophile politician Amin 'Uthman and the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Nahhas in the 1940s.[10]
- Muhammad Ibrahim Kamel[15]
- Nahed Rashad[15]
- General Hussein Sirry Amer[8]
Related incidents
The Iron Guard of Egypt practiced political violence in Egypt along with other wide national and international organizations at the time. Al-Wafd party had a "Secret apparatus of the Wafd",[10] "The secret Society of Fraternal Solidarity" of al-Watani Party,[16] also Muslim Brotherhood had a "Secret apparatus of the Muslim Brotherhood[17]" along with other paramilitary organisations as the "Green shirts" of Misr al-Fatah party,[9] "Blue shirts" of Wafd party[9] and "Muslim Brotherhood Boy Scouts[17]".
- Wafd members assassination
- 1944 - Amin Othman assassination, ex-minister of Finance & Mustafa al-Nahas Pasha conduit to British ambassador. The trigger was Amin's statement that the Anglo-Egyptian relationship is "a Catholic marriage" and therefore indissoluble"[16][18]
- 1945 & 1948 - Mustafa al-Nahas Pasha two attempted assassinations[9] or warnings to change his policies as mentioned by Sayed Gadallah in his book about Iron Guard of Egypt.[19]
- 1945 - Rafik al-Tarzi assassination[20] as he formed personal guard to Nahas Pasha.
- 1949 - Hassan el-Banna: King Farouk and his "Iron guards" were accused to be behind the Al-Bana assassination.[21] It is said they killed Hasan al-Bana as a birthday present to the King[22]
- British soldiers' assassination
- Officer Taha Abdul-Kader's assassination[20]
- Watching Queen Farida after her divorce from King Farouk.[20]
End
Court Martial Trials were held in Cairo on October 2, 1952 for 12 members of ex-King Farouk's Iron Guard on charges of instigating and carrying out assassinations.[8] The accused, indicted by the military and now in a military prison, include General Hussein Sirry Amer, former director general of the frontiers administration.[8] General Amer was charged with the murder of an army maintenance corps lieutenant, hashish smuggling and desertion. He attempted to flee the country in an Egyptian Air Force plane but was forced down near the Egyptian Libyan border. Prince Farouk's 'iron guard', the spokesman said, was formed just after the Palestine war to smash opposition to the former monarch, according to army intelligence Investigations.[8]
Five of the accused were charged with the murder of the Muslim Brotherhood's 'supreme ruler' Sheikh Hassen el Banna.[8]
References
- ^ "Sadat and His Legacy". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ Reid, Donald M. (1982). Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954. Boston University African Studies Center. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ "Anwar Sadat Facts". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ "Egypt's teenage queen". Al-Ahram. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ Hashem, Farouk; Abou-Sabe', Morad (22 May 2014). Farida, the Queen of Egypt: A Memoir of Love and Governance. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781491871744.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Iron Guard during the 1936-1939 Great Revolt in Palestine
- ^ a b c d e f g [2]
- ^ a b c d The Secret War for the Middle East: The Influence of Axis and Allied Intelligence Operations During World War II, Youssef H. Aboul-Enein, Basil H. Aboul-Enein, Naval Institute Press, 2013, Page 174
- ^ a b c d Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR
- ^ Historical Dictionary of Egypt, Goldschmidt Jr., Scarecrow Press 2013, Page 207
- ^ Contemporary Egypt: Through Egyptian Eyes: Essays in Honour of P.J. Vatikiotis, Charles Tripp, Routledge 2002, Page 71
- ^ Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary, Bernard Reich, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1990 Page 454
- ^ [3]
- ^ a b ar:الحرس الحديدي
- ^ a b Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR Page
- ^ a b The Secret War for the Middle East: The Influence of Axis and Allied Intelligence Operations During World War II, Youssef H. Aboul-Enein, Basil H. Aboul-Enein, Naval Institute Press, 2013, Page 175
- ^ ar:أمين عثمان
- ^ [4]
- ^ a b c The Body Matured, But The Mind Didn’t
- ^ [5]
- ^ The Middle East Today, Don Peretz, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994, Page 228
External links
- Arabic Wikipedia page
- End of Iron Guard of Egypt
- The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970