Out of context

By Naguib Mahfouz

I have long felt that Nasser was one of the greatest political leaders in modern history. I only began to appreciate him fully after he nationalised the Suez Canal, however. In the preceding years, I had not been happy to see army officers in the seats of power. As a Wafdist, I felt that their duty was to hand over the government to the Wafd.

The nationalisation of the Suez Canal reassured me that Nasser was a true leader who was struggling for the independence of his nation and the liberation of its political will. He endeavoured to bring about social justice and political independence -- the goals of the Wafd in pre-Revolution days. Nasser's premature death, which we commemorate this week, came as a severe blow; indeed, it traumatised me.

I had reservations about the Revolution, and openly criticised it in several of my novels published during Nasser's time. Still, my criticism of certain aspects never diminished my admiration or esteem for Nasser himself; and it is thanks to the Revolution that we are today a modern republican state rather than a reactionary monarchy, and have freed ourselves from the shackles of an obsolete class system.