Liberation Rally

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LIBERATION RALLY

Political party formed by Egypt's Revolutionary Command Council following the January 1953 ban on all existing political parties.

The Liberation Rally was intended to mobilize popular support for the new regimethe Free Officers who had overthrown the government of King Farouk in a military coup in 1952by co-opting student leaders and workers. The Liberation Rally called for the unconditional withdrawal of the British from the Suez Canal zone, self-determination for Sudan, the establishment of a socialist welfare state, panArabism, and the installation of a constitution guaranteeing civic liberties. The rally became associated with Gamal Abdel Nasser in his struggle for supremacy with General Muhammad Naguib, who was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood. Following a clash between the Liberation Rally and the Muslim Brotherhood on the campus of Cairo University in January 1954, Nasser began to mobilize his support in the Rally against Naguib. After Naguib and his supporters were purged from the government, the Liberation Rally was dissolved.

see also farouk; free officers, egypt; muslim brotherhood; naguib, muhammad; nasser, gamal abdel; panarabism.

Bibliography


Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-State. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1988.

david waldner