1935–1936 protests in Egypt

Anti-colonial civil unrest 1935–1936 protests in Egypt Ākhir sāʼah no.70 1935.jpg Front page political cartoon from Ahker Sa'a on November 10th 1935: "Unifying the Ranks: Egypt calls on its sons, in the hour of danger, the rank close around the sole leader" 1935 11 11 – 1936 05 02 Egypt Egyptian nationalism Restoration of the 1923 Constitution Abrogation of the 1930 Constitution (Nov 30, 1935) Restoration of the 1923 Constitution (Dec 12, 1935) Wafd victory in 1936 elections Wafd Party British Government Liberal Constitutional Party Fuad I of Egypt Young Egypt Party Prime Minister Mohamed Tawfik Naseem Pasha Non-Partisan Students The 1935-36 protests in Egypt were a series of student led nationalist uprisings in Egypt. These demonstrations were against the ministry of Mohamed Tawfik Naseem Pasha as well as British colonial influence in Egypt. The protests resulted in the restoration of the 1923 Egyptian constitution, the resignation of Nassem, a victory for the Wafd party in the 1936 elections and the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty. History Following the 1919 Egyptian revolution, politics in Egypt were divided between the British colonial authorities, the monarchy and conservative elite and the liberal nationalist Wafd party. While a de facto native Egyptian government existed, the British still had substantial control over Egypt, including control of Sudan and the Suez Canal. The British had a policy of balancing power between the Wafd and the palace, concerned both by a palace dictatorship and a Wafdist republic. The 1923 constitution made Egypt into a constitutional monarchy, where the king has substantial powers, such as dismissing prime ministers. The Wafd party won a majority in every election under the 1923 constitution, yet frequently clashed with King Fuad and his conservative allies. In 1930, prime minister Ismail Sidky instituted a new constitution and electoral law, further siphoning away power from parliament and electorate while increasing the king's ability to dominate politics. The Wafd and Liberal Constitutionalists, led by Mohammad Mahmud, boycotted the rigged 1931 elections in protest, and agreed to protest against the government. Sidky resigned in late 1933, replaced by Abdel Fattah Yahya Pasha. The Wafd continued their opposition to the government, determined to restore the 1923 constitution. King Fuad's health was failing at this point, leading to the appointment of a three man regency in the event of his death. The British were against anyone in the regency that could be too anti-British, pressuring Yahya to remove Zaki al-Ibrashi from the Council of Chief of the Royal Cabinet in favor of Ahmad Ziwar. Yahya later resigned in favor of Nassim.Marsot 1977 172Baker Robert L. 1934 Egypt Weathers a Crisis Current History (1916-1940) 41 3 378–380 2641-080X 45340182August 2026Baker Robert L. 1935 Egypt's Dictator Goes Current History (1916-1940) 42 3 329–331 2641-080X 45335122 Nassim agreed to abrogate the 1930 constitution, securing Wafdist support for his government, yet was unable to find British support for the restoration of the 1923 constitution.Gibb 1936 354 The Wafd's decision to support Nassim's government was not uncontroversial. The journalist for Rose al Yusuf Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad left the Wafd in protest.el-Din Aly 1985 116 Mustafa el-Nahhas, the leader of the Wafd, and Makram Ebeid supported a moderate attitude to Nassim's government, while Ahmad Mahir, and Mahmud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi were more militant and determined to bring down the government.Marsot 1977 173 left|thumb|Protestors demonstrating on Abbas Bridge On November 7, 1935, a mass rally of around 10,000 to 12,000 people took place, attended by Mahir, Nuqrashi, Mahmud and Aqqad. Mahmud attacked Nassim for "selling out the country to the British".Erlich 1989 111 Two days later, British foreign secretary Samuel Hoare gave a speech where he declared the 1923 constitution as "unworkable".Quraishi 1967 123Baker Robert L. 1936 Behind the Egyptian Riots Current History (1916-1940) 43 4 439–441 2641-080X 45335212 This speech transformed the constitutional conflict into a nationalist one against the British.el-Din Aly 1985 117 Demonstrators marched through Cairo shouting "Down with Nasim and Samuel Hoare", and demanded a return to the 1923 constitution.TIME "EGYPT: Down With Hoare" November 25, 1935 The protests were across the country, but there were a few key epicentres, namely Cairo, Shebeen El-Kom, Tanta, and Zagazig.Foster Reginald Tingey 18 November 1935 Student Riots in Egypt https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35931209?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FC%2Ftitle%2F12%2F1935%2F11%2F18%2Fpage%2F1960784%2Farticle%2F35931209 The Courier-Mail Australia 11Levy Joseph M 14 November 1935 ANTI-BRITISH RIOTS FLARE UP IN EGYPT; TWO DEAD, 88 HURT; STUDENTS LEAD DISORDER https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/14/archives/antibritish-riots-flare-up-in-egypt-two-dead-88-hurt-students-lead.html New York Times 1 In one incident, three Egyptian University students were killed in Cairo by British police.Erlich 1989 112 Gamal Abdel Nasser, then a law student, briefly joined Young Egypt during these protests.Vatikiotis P. J. Nasser and his Generation 1978 29 "Nasser took an active part in the November 1935 demonstrations which resulted in serious clashes with the police, and was wounded in one of them." The students urged the political parties to form a National Front against the British.Deeb 1979 256 The Wafd party, determined not to become the target of the student's anger, officially withdrew support from Nassim's government on November 14.Quraishi 1967 123 No one political party controlled the students. Instead, sometime between Mahmud's speech on the 7th and Nahhas' speech on the 13th, a group called The Student Executive Committee was formed, which represented a diverse cross section of Egyptian political society. The group contained Wafdists (Suhayr al-Qalamawi and Muhammad Bilal) as well as members of the Watani Party, Young Egypt and the Liberal Constitutionalists. In early December, Nahhas and Liberals finally agreed to form a 'National Front'. The 1923 constitution was restored on 12 December, though Nahhas and Mahmud still had conflicting interests. Nahhas wanted immediate elections, in which the Wafd would win, while Mahmud wanted a coalition government and then move on to negotiating with the British. The student committee split between the Wafdist and Liberals by the 17th. The Wafd, determined not to be outflanked on the nationalist by the Liberals, formed the 'Blue Shirts' in January 1936, a pro-Wafd youth wing organized by Bilal to lead the students against the enemies of the Wafd: namely the Liberals, British, the King and Young Egypt's 'Green Shirts'.Erlich 1989 115–124 The Wafd was unable to come to an agreement with the other parties to form a coalition government, leading them to contest elections alone.Marsot 1977 178 Ali Maher was appointed by the King on 30 January 1936 to lead a transitional government until new elections.Erlich 1989 124 The 1936 election saw a complete Wafdist victory; Nahhas became prime minister. On 13 February, a royal decree appointed a team to negotiate with the British, including: Nahhas as president, Muhammad Mahmud, Sidqi, Yahya, Wassif Butrus Ghali, Ahmad Mahir, Ali Shamsi Pasha, Ebeid and al-Nuqrashi.el-Din Aly 1985 123–124 This team was able to secure the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty which granted Egypt some more domestic control in exchange for allowing a British military presence, especially since the Italian invasion of Ethiopia raised Egyptian concerns over Italian imperialism.Morsy L. 1984-04-01 The effect of Italy's expansionist policies on Anglo-Egyptian relations in 1935 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263208408700581 Middle Eastern Studies 20 2 EN 10.1080/00263208408700581 subscription See also Egyptian Revolution of 1919 2011 Egyptian Revolution References Sources Erlich Haggai Haggai Erlich https://books.google.com/books?id=fZaRAgAAQBAJ Students and University in 20th Century Egyptian Politics Routledge 1989 9781135778972 The 1935–6 Student Riots: The Decline of the Wafd Abdalla Ahmed https://books.google.com/books?id=uFPoWgTLq0EC The Student Movement and National Politics in Egypt, 1923-1973 American University in Cairo Press 1985 9789774161995 el-Din Aly Mohammed Alaa Mustafa Al-Nahhas: a Case Study of Egyptian Political Leadership 1985 University of London https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29195/1/10731290.pdf Terry Janice J. The Wafd: Cornerstone of Egyptian Political Power Publisher: Third World Centre for Research and Publishing 1982 9780861990009 Deeb Marius Party Politics in Egypt: the Wafd & its Rivals 1919–1939 Ithaca Press 1979 9780903729406 Marsot Afaf Lutfi Al-Sayyid Egypt's Liberal Experiment: 1922–1936 University of California Press 1977 9780520031098 Jankowski James P. 1970 The Egyptian Blue Shirts and the Egyptian Wafd, 1935–1938 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4282308 Middle Eastern Studies 6 1 77–95 10.1080/00263207008700139 4282308 Quraishi Zaheer M. https://archive.org/details/liberalnationali0000qura Liberal Nationalism in Egypt; Rise and Fall of the Wafd Party Jamal Printing Press 1967 9780861990009 Gibb H. A. R H. A. R. Gibb 1936 The Situation in Egypt International Affairs 15 3 351–373 10.2307/2603087 2603087 Category:1935 in Egypt Category:1936 in Egypt Category:Protests in Egypt Category:1936 protests Category:1935 protests Category:Egypt–United Kingdom relations