Iron Guard of Egypt
Iron Guard of Egypt was a secret pro-Axis society[] & pro-palace political movement[1] or a secret palace organization which was used by King Farouk of Egypt for personal and political vendettas.[2] It struck at Farouk's enemies[3] or a secret unit with a licence to kill, believed to take orders from Farouk personally.[4] It is also said that Farouk formed Iron Guard to protect him, to spy on the army, and to even kill his enemies.[5]
Activity period
Started probably during 1930s[6] by Aribert Heim (this claim might be backed by the appearance of the Iron Guard of Palestine[7] & Romania Iron Guard in the same period) and ended in 1952.[8] They were associated clandestinely with the Egyptian Trotskyites.[9] But it was mostly made up of army officers, the Free Officers - had some links to it.[10]
Members
- Dr Yusuf Rashad was the head of King Farouk's Iron Guard in 1944 or 1945[11] or its Chief organizer.[12] He was the person that made Anwar Sadat join the Iron Guard.[13]
- Captain Mustafa Kamil Sidqi led the Iron Guard.[14]
- Anwar Sadat was active in many political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the fascist Young Egypt, the pro-palace Iron Guard, and a secret military group called the Free Officers.[15] Sadat remained 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.[16]
- Muhammad Ibrahim Kamel[17]
- Nahed Rashad[18]
- General Hussein Sirry Amer[19]
Related incidents
The Iron Guard of Egypt was one of the organizations that practiced political violence in Egypt along with other wide National & Inernational organisations at that period. al-Wafd party had a "Secret apparatus of the Wafd",[20] "The secret Society of Fraternal Solidarity" of al-Watani Party,[21] also Muslim Brotherhood had a "Secret apparatus of the Muslim Brotherhood[22]" along with other paramilitary organisations as the "Green shirts" of Misr al-Fatah party,[23] "Blue shirts" of Wafd party[24] and "Muslim Brotherhood Boy Scouts[25]".
- 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"[26][27]
- 1945 & 1948 - Mustafa al-Nahas Pasha two attempts of assassination[28] or warning him to change his policies as mentioned by Sayed Gadallah in his book about Iron Guard of Egypt.[29]
- 1945 - Rafik al-Tarzi assassination[30] 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.[31] Is said that they killed Hasan al-Bana as a birthday present to the king[32]
- British soldiers assassination
- Officer Taha Abdul-Kader assassination[33]
- Watching Queen Farida after divorce from King Farouk.[34]
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 in stigating and carrying out assassinations.[35] The accused, indicted by the military and now in a military prison, Include General Hussein Sirry Amer, former director general of the frontiers administration.[36] General Amer is 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.[37]
Murder Charges : Five of the accused are charged with the murder of the Moslem Brotherhood's 'supreme rulde' Sheikh Hassen el Banna.[38]
References
- ↑
- ↑ Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Iron Guard during the 1936-1939 Great Revolt in Palestine
- ↑
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR
- ↑
- ↑ Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR
- ↑ ar:الحرس الحديدي
- ↑ ar:الحرس الحديدي
- ↑
- ↑ Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR
- ↑ Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR Page
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954 DM Reid - International Journal of African Historical Studies, 1982 - JSTOR Page
- ↑ ar:أمين عثمان
- ↑ 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
- ↑
- ↑ The Body Matured, But The Mind Didn’t
- ↑
- ↑ The Middle East Today, Don Peretz, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994, Page 228
- ↑ The Body Matured, But The Mind Didn’t
- ↑ The Body Matured, But The Mind Didn’t
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iron Guard of Egypt. |
- Arabic Wikipedia page
- End of Iron Guard of Egypt
- The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970