Iron Guard of Egypt
{{Short description|Egyptian royalist and pro-Axis political movement}}
{{About|secret Egyptian pro-Axis society and royalist political movement|other uses|Iron Guard (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
The Iron Guard of Egypt was a secret pro-Axis society and royalist political movement formed in Egypt in the early 1930s{{cite web|title=Sadat and His Legacy|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/sadat-and-his-legacy-egypt-and-the-world-1977-1997|accessdate=3 June 2015}} and used by King Farouk for personal and political vendettas.{{cite journal|title=Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910–1954|jstor=217848|date=1982|first1=Donald M.|last1=Reid|journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies|volume=15|issue=4|pages=625–651|publisher=Boston University African Studies Center|doi=10.2307/217848}} The guard was involved in attacks on Farouk's declared enemies,{{cite web|title=Anwar Sadat Facts|url=http://biography.yourdictionary.com/anwar-sadat|accessdate=3 June 2015}} operating with a license to kill, and is believed to have taken orders from Farouk personally.{{cite news|title=Egypt's teenage queen|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/10601/31/Egypt%E2%80%99s-teenage-queen.aspx|date=5 March 2015|accessdate=3 June 2015|publisher=Al-Ahram|archive-date=2 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602183459/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/10601/31/Egypt%E2%80%99s-teenage-queen.aspx|url-status=dead}} Its other functions included protecting Farouk, serving as a special operations force, and gathering military intelligence.{{cite book|isbn=9781491871744|title=Farida, the Queen of Egypt: A Memoir of Love and Governance|last1=Hashem|first1=Farouk|first2=Morad|last2=Abou-Sabe'|publisher=AuthorHouse|year= 2014}}
History and members
Thought to have been formed during the 1930s[http://almesryoon.com/%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%86/718341-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A3%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%9FAl Mesryoon] {{dead link|date=August 2023}} by Aribert Heim (this claim is backed by the appearance of the Iron Guard of Palestine[http://eltaher.org/biography/english/biography_p29_en.html Iron Guard during the 1936–1939 Great Revolt in Palestine] and the Iron Guard of Romania in the same time period),{{Cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63476834|title=Farouk's 'Iron Guard' in Court Martial Trials|date=1952-10-03|website=The Townsville Daily Bulletin|access-date=2016-07-04}} It was made up mostly of army officers and was connected to the Free Officers, a secret military group.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/217848|title=Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910–1954|author=Reid, Donald M.|year=1982|journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies|volume=15|issue=4|pages=625–651|doi=10.2307/217848|jstor=217848 }} The Iron Guard ceased operations in 1952.
Yusuf Rashad was the chief organizer of the Iron Guard in 1944 or 1945,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQNSAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Iron+guard%22+++Egypt&pg=PA206|title=Historical Dictionary of Egypt|first=Arthur|last=Goldschmidt, Jr|year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810880252 |accessdate=11 August 2023|via=Google Books}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKaJAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Iron+guard%22+++Egypt&pg=PA71|title=Contemporary Egypt: Through Egyptian Eyes: Essays in Honour of P.J. Vatikiotis|first=Charles|last=Tripp|date= 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134927050 |accessdate=11 August 2023|via=Google Books}} and recruited Anwar Sadat.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D5FulN2WqQC&dq=Iron+guard+++Farouk&pg=PA454|title=Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary|first=Bernard|last=Reich|date=1990|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313262135 |accessdate=11 August 2023|via=Google Books}} Another leader was Captain Mustafa Kamil Sidqi. Members included Muhammad Ibrahim Kamel,:ar:الحرس الحديدي Nahed Rashad, and General Hussein Sirry Amer.
Actions
The Iron Guard's acts of political violence in Egypt included the assassinations of Amin Osman, a former finance minister, in 1944; of Rafik al-Tarzi in 1945;{{Cite web|url=http://today.almasryalyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=89644|title=The Body Matured, but the Mind Didn't|website=today.almasryalyoum.com|access-date=2016-07-04}} and of the Muslim Brotherhood leader Hassan al-Banna in 1949. They also attempted twice, in 1945 and 1948, to assassinate Mustafa el-Nahhas.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4WRVAQAAQBAJ|title=The Secret War for the Middle East: The Influence of Axis and Allied Intelligence Operations During World War II|last1=Aboul-Enein|first1=Youssef H.|last2=Aboul-Enein|first2=Basil H.|year=2013|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=9781612513096|language=en}}
Twelve members of the Iron Guard were court-martialed in Cairo on October 2, 1952, on charges of instigating and carrying out assassinations. They included General Amer, who was charged with the murder of an army maintenance corps lieutenant, hashish smuggling, and desertion. Five of the members were charged with murdering al-Banna.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970 {{ISBN?}}
External links
{{Commons category|Iron Guard of Egypt}}
- [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63476834 End of Iron Guard of Egypt]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Organizations established in the 1930s
Category:1930s establishments in Egypt
Category:Organizations disestablished in 1952