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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 September 1999 Issue No. 445 
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Published in Cairo by Al-Ahram established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 September 1999 Issue No. 445
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| Published in Cairo by Al-Ahram established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Al-Ahram:
A Diwan of contemporary life (301)
Few leaders of 20th century Egypt enjoyed the immense popularity Saad Zaghlul basked in until he died in 1927. Even today, his name is a byword for patriotism. Zaghlul led the Egyptian drive against British occupation after World War I and his exile to Malta in the spring of 1919 sparked off a nationwide uprising. The revolt eventually forced the British to free him and he spent more than two years in Europe lobbying for the Egyptian cause -- first at the postwar peace conference in Paris and then in talks with European and British leaders. He returned to Egypt on 4 April, 1921 to a hero's welcome without precedent in Egypt's modern history. Dr Yunan Labib Rizk *sums up Al-Ahram's extensive coverage of Zaghlul's homecoming
The British exiled Saad Zaghlul on 8 March, 1919. However, even prior to the declaration of the British protectorate over Egypt in 1914 it appeared that he would spell trouble for the occupation forces. When serving as minister of education (1906-1908), he was frequently at loggerheads with the British adviser to that ministry. In 1913, his populist, nationalist appeal helped gain him membership in the Legislative Assembly. In the Legislative Assembly itself, he succeeded in winning for himself, as the elected deputy speaker, precedence over the appointed deputy speaker, Adli Yakan. The return of the idol
Lord
MilnerMustafa Kamel
Mohamed Farid
Abbas El-Aqqad
Abdel-Rahman El-Rafie
It was on that day, in March 1919, that he was banished to Malta, precipitating the mass uprising known as the 1919 Revolution. Such was the outcry for his release that the British capitulated, released him and permitted him to travel to Paris to present the Egyptian nationalist cause before the Versailles peace conference. Although his efforts, as the head of the nationalist delegation, known as the Wafd, failed, he remained in Europe for more than two years to campaign for Egyptian independence. His efforts in coordinating the campaign both at home and abroad eventually forced the British to enter into negotiations with him, particularly after he successfully mobilised the Egyptian public to boycott the Milner Commission. If the Wafd's negotiations failed to accomplish its objectives, they nevertheless crowned Zaghlul's rise to become the uncontested leader of the Egyptian people, particularly as his only possible rival, Mohamed Farid, had died in 1919.
There could be no greater testimony to Saad Zaghlul's standing among the Egyptian people than the tumultuous jubilation with which he was received upon his return to Egypt from his lengthy stay abroad. However, the making of the legend itself is an issue over which even historians who were contemporaries of this leader differed. To illustrate, we have chosen three historians -- Abbas Mahmoud El-Aqqad, Abdel-Rahman El-Rafie and Abdel-Khaleq Lashine -- each of whom brought a unique perspective to their inquiries. Before turning to Zaghlul's reception in his homeland, it is useful to have a brief overview of these different accounts.
In his famous work, Saad Zaghlul: A Biography and a Salute, Abbas El-Aqqad devotes a chapter to constructing a portrait of the national hero. He used some flowery language which was a clear departure from the customary rationalism that characterised most of his works. He writes: "Saad Zaghlul epitomises strength of mind and body. He is among those who have demonstrated the saying that a sound physique is a prerequisite for those who assume the leadership of nations and take upon themselves the burden of politics. As soon as you see him you feel that you are in the presence of a man as formidable in outward appearance as he is in nature. His bearing immediately reminds you of the prowess and nobility of a lion. Indeed, no human face so strikingly resembles the awe-inspiring countenance of a lion as does that of Saad Zaghlul." Further on he writes, "He is tall and slender. His face has certain pallor. It is a long face, but not excessively so. He has a broad, high and slightly inclined forehead. His eyes are piercing. When impassioned or angry, he tends to close them and then open them only to that fraction that emits a sharp gleam, as penetrating as an arrow and as commanding as a powerful hypnotist. He has prominent cheekbones, well-shaped ears... Such is the pattern of the protrusions on his face that, at first glance, one imagines that it is cast of angles of steel, not bones and flesh."
El-Aqqad's panegyric of Saad Zaghlul is more readily understandable when we note that El-Aqqad was a member of the Wafd Party under Zaghlul's leadership, even if his attitude would change towards the Wafd later under Zaghlul's successor, Mustafa El-Nahhas.
Abdel-Rahman El-Rafie was also motivated by similar political considerations, but in reverse. This well-known Egyptian historian was a prominent member of the Nationalist Party and he was not pleased when Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd eclipsed the leadership of his own party. El-Rafie's bias against Saad Zaghlul evinced itself in his famous noteworthy series The National History of Egypt. Rather than chronicling the events of the national movement between 1892 to 1914, this work sums up events through the biographies of the great Nationalist Party leaders: Mustafa Kamel, "the architect of the nationalist movement", and Mohamed Farid, "the symbol of dedication and sacrifice". As the epithets suggest, the author weaves various legendary-like descriptions to create archetypal portraits of these two leaders, a treatment he did not accord to Saad Zaghlul. In his two-volume work, The 1919 Revolution, published shortly after that event, El-Rafie was forced to voice his opinion on Zaghlul. In the first part of the second volume, he allocated a few lines to note Saad Zaghlul's role as leader of the Wafd and more than two pages to what he called "Saad Zaghlul's faults". Among these faults were that Zaghlul opted to negotiate with the British, that he failed to draw up a strategy for sustained national resistance and that he did not provide the nation with an economic policy to support the national struggle.
In between El-Aqqad and El-Rafie, or between the legend builder and the idol destroyer, both of whom were motivated by strong political allegiances, we find Abdel-Khaleq Lashine. Saad Zaghlul and his Role in Egyptian Politics from 1914 to 1927 was Lashine's doctoral thesis. It is a thoroughly academic essay in which the author deliberately sought to dispel the image of Saad Zaghlul the legend in order to present an objective portrait of Saad Zaghlul the person who interacted with concrete situations within a specific time frame. As the author himself writes in the introduction, he followed the materialist approach in order "to accord Saad Zaghlul -- the nationalist leader and historical hero -- his proper place in our national history." Towards this end, he sought to evaluate him as a human being, with certain skills and potentials, who lived on the land of Egypt and assumed the leadership of the country at a particularly vital and complex time. He continues, "Too many people have been inclined to portray Saad Zaghlul as a legendary figure, adrift in realms that have no connection to the historical realities of Egypt."
Perhaps Lashine was somewhat overzealous in his pursuit, for he dwelt heavily on what he perceived to be Zaghlul's shortcomings. If, in so doing, he had opened himself to harsh criticism among his contemporaries, to his credit goes the fact that his motives were purely academic, rather than personal as was the case with El-Rafie.
Having briefly observed the range of intellectual opinion on Saad Zaghlul, we return to Al-Ahram to follow the public reception of the national hero, the legend and the person, on his arrival in Egypt in April 1921. Saad Zaghlul Pasha would be returning on the steamer bound from Trieste to Port Said, announced the first news item to herald his homecoming. The people of Port Said were thrilled that their city was destined to be the first place where the homecoming leader would set foot again in Egypt. To them Zaghlul's choice seemed appropriate. Two years previously, the exiled leader had departed from his homeland from Port Said. They set about making preparations for a reception commensurate with Zaghlul's stature and the place he held in their hearts. But so, too, did the inhabitants of all the cities along the train route from Port Said to the capital.
These people, however, were in for a harsh disappointment. Hardly had they begun preparations than they learned that the leader had changed his plans and would be arriving in Alexandria instead. The people of Alexandria were delighted. Al-Ahram's correspondent in that city reported that "although Saad Zaghlul is not due to arrive for 10 days, the people are preparing to receive him as if he were arriving tomorrow. There is no doubt that the reception being planned for that great leader will be the most magnificent ever hosted by Alexandria." According to the correspondent, upon his return, the hero would be greeted by a chorus of 50 to 60 members with "the most beautiful voices in the city". The chorus was to sing songs especially composed to tribute "Saad Pasha" and the "Wafd". Plans were also being made to prepare a special train to transport Zaghlul and his entourage from Alexandria to the Cairo train station, where further welcome-home ceremonies would be held.
Even as the reception committees in Egypt's "two capitals" planned their agendas, Al-Ahram announced that other cities around the country were making preparations for celebrations of their own. Clearly there was a sense that Zaghlul's homecoming called for a national celebration that should not be restricted to Cairo and Alexandria alone. The people of Port Said and Minya Al-Qamh, one of the cities along the rail route to Cairo, had been placated by a telegram in which Zaghlul apologised for having altered his homecoming route. He only did so, he wrote, "so that my companions and I could return on the same ship." Port Said, however, would always have a special place in his heart, for it was from there that he left Egypt two years previously "under circumstances with which you are fully aware". Thus mollified, the people of Port Said and Minya Al-Qamh made plans to send delegations to Alexandria to take part in the ceremonies there.
Meanwhile, in Tanta, city officials petitioned the government to declare an official school holiday "at least on the day of Saad Zaghlul's arrival in order to enable the students to demonstrate their feelings freely and in order to avert any disruption of order in the educational institutes on that day."
Upper Egyptians were not about to be left out of the celebrations. From Aswan to the Delta, cities were forming delegations to travel to Alexandria to pay their respects to the homecoming leader. From Qina, for example, Al-Ahram reports that people, eager to find a way to honour Saad Pasha, had decided "to form a delegation of all classes to travel to Alexandria to meet His Excellency and, simultaneously, to host celebrations in the homes of many local dignitaries and notables."
Back to Cairo, Al-Ahram reports that student representatives met to set their own plan for participation. They decided that student delegations would travel to Alexandria where, irrespective of their individual schools, they would assemble under a single banner: "delegates of the institutes of learning in Cairo". In addition, students lining the streets through which Zaghlul's procession was to pass would "hold special flags bearing the picture of the beloved leader".
On 1 April, three days before Saad Zaghlul was scheduled to arrive in Alexandria, officials finalised their plans. On the afternoon of Sunday, 3 April, a special train would go from Cairo to Alexandria carrying the welcoming delegations. Shortly before noon two days later, the train carrying Zaghlul to Cairo would leave Alexandria. Al-Ahram announced that a special committee had been formed to "supervise decorating the train and equipping it with all the necessities of comfort". Entrance onto the platform at the train station would only be by a pass issued by the planning committee and stamped by the committee chairman. "It will be impossible to gain entry to the platform without such a pass due to the tight security precautions being implemented by the police," the newspaper added.
In Cairo, once they designated the route the procession would take, the planning committee decided that "delegations of students, societies, syndicates, workers and others shall be stationed along the sides of the road. A map of the procession route has been drawn up designating the precise location of every delegation. If possible, each delegation shall be given a picture of Saad Zaghlul. All contingents shall remain in their designated positions." In addition, the committee would erect a large marquee next to Zaghlul's residence "in which a host of the country's elite and representatives of various organisations would assemble." Entrance into the marquee required a special pass "in order to avert untoward incidents".
Such was the public ardour that the planning committee could not always control all arrangements. From Al-Ahram we discover, for example, that students used their own initiative to reserve "a private train" to transport students from Cairo to Alexandria on the day before Saad Zaghlul's ship arrived. "Tickets will be issued by the Higher Institute of Commerce Club at the cost of LE1.20." In Alexandria itself the leader of an artistic troupe decided to hire a steam launch to sail out to greet the incoming steamer at sea just outside the harbour. The members of the troupe, he announced, "will be wearing the costumes of Ancient Egyptians".
Certainly the general enthusiasm to greet the leader of the 1919 Revolution, especially in light of the individual initiatives, was a security nightmare. Al-Ahram announced that the Ministry of Interior brought in several police units from the provinces to assist the Alexandrian police in the maintenance of public order. "In addition, a company of police, reported to have been sent from Upper Egypt, is currently camped in Al-Qabari and it is expected that an army regiment will also be mobilised to assist."
With Saad Zaghlul in the centre, Egyptian leaders of the 1919 Revolution in their exile in Malta
On the day before Saad Zaghlul's arrival, final touches were put to the procession arrangements. A car bedecked with flowers would precede the vehicle carrying Saad Zaghlul's wife. Following Safiya Zaghlul's car would be the cars carrying the other women who accompanied her on the train. Next would come mounted police, to be followed at a distance of 100 metres by a police van. Then, spectators would be treated to a motorcade of student guards on motorcycles, after which would come the car carrying Saad Zaghlul. In his wake would follow the other members of the delegation returning from Paris, another student motorcycle brigade and lastly a cavalry unit.
At 7.45am on Monday, 4 April, the steamship Vienna docked in the port of Alexandria. Al-Ahram commented, "This is undoubtedly the greatest day Egypt has seen in a long time. Indeed, it is perhaps absolutely the greatest day it has ever seen." As the steamer drew into port, it was flanked by the private boat bearing the delegation from Port Said, as well as a flotilla of small boats and launches of every description. "All these vessels were decorated with naval banners," wrote Al-Ahram.
Following an official reception in the harbour, Zaghlul's procession moved through the streets, "amid crowds of unprecedented size until it reached Claridge Hotel where it was greeted with an amazing outpouring of patriotic fervour. So large was the throng that it took two and a half hours for the procession to move a distance that would normally take 20 minutes."
Al-Ahram reported that in the few days preceding Zaghlul's arrival, people scrambled to obtain advantageous spots from which to view the procession. As the newspaper's correspondent recounted, "Thousands of people rented locations for themselves and their families in the buildings overlooking the streets through which the cavalcade was to pass. The rates were exorbitant. A senior army officer told me that a hotel next to Sidnawi's department store collected over LE100 in such rents." At that time, that amount of money was sufficient to rent a villa for several years. The crowds had begun to assemble at the crack of dawn. Al-Ahram recounts, "With the first light of day, people made their way to the spots they had selected for themselves. By 6.00am, the road from Abu Warda Street to the Claridge Hotel was densely packed with row upon row of spectators on either side. By 7.00am, the windows, balconies and roofs of adjacent buildings had filled to overflowing while at ground level the crowds had become so dense that there was no place to move."
After having witnessed that unprecedented spectacle, Al-Ahram's correspondent on the scene observed that the crowds remained until late that evening. He wrote, "Long after sunset the city was as alive as waves on the sea, sparkling in the light, its people gleaming with joy. In my desire to investigate the mood of the city, I roamed its streets from one end to the other. Everywhere I turned I came across processions of merrymakers jubilantly chanting patriotic songs. By God, I would be unable to say which street showed the greatest exhilaration and which neighbourhood was the most beautifully decked out."
On Tuesday morning, Saad Zaghlul and his entourage boarded the train for Cairo. On board was the correspondent of Al-Ahram who described the train's progress through the countryside. "All along the way, the Pasha and the peasant moved as one, stringing up decorations that stretched from Alexandria to Cairo. From the early hours of the morning, people swarmed out of the hamlets, villages, farms and estates and arranged themselves along both sides of the tracks. Somehow they created a harmonious order with colourful banners waving overhead and bands playing pleasant music as they craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the man they so revere."
Meanwhile, Cairo awaited the approaching train with bated breath. Every street and alleyway and every house and building sported fluttering flags, banners and other cheerful ornamentation. Commercial markets, factories, schools and government bureaus were closed for the day. By early morning on the day of Saad Zaghlul's arrival, crowds packed the pavements and buildings along the route from the Cairo train station to the leader's home. According to the newspaper reports, balconies were being rented out at up to LE40, a room with a window view for LE15 and seats for 10 piastres. The tramway service was suspended and tramway cars, transport vehicles and automobiles were being rented out and decorated for popular processions. "Pictures of Saad Zaghlul were everywhere, either wreathed in flowers or elegantly framed."
Another Al-Ahram correspondent had managed to obtain a pass permitting him access to the train platform. He reports that by 9.30am the doors to the train station had shut and "trains had stopped running as the Railway Authority announced they would". Deeply moved by the universal excitement and air of anticipation, the correspondent wrote that he had read many historical accounts describing the receptions accorded to victors of war returning home at the head of their troops, "but never before in history has an entire nation honoured a man with such a celebration combining honour and reverence."
Even though the train bearing Saad Zaghlul was delayed, there was no sense of boredom. Indeed, perhaps the sense of anticipation grew. Finally, the nationalist hero emerged from the train station to greet the cheering throngs. Al-Ahram's correspondent estimated a crowd of over 600,000 on Cairo's streets. It must have come as a shock to many spectators that women participated so openly in the procession. The correspondent recounted that the car immediately behind that carrying Saad Zaghlul "carried several Egyptian girls in white costumes representing the ancient Pharaonic gods". The procession wove its way slowly to the marquee outside Zaghlul's residence where "more than 5,000 dignitaries, notables, politicians and delegates from the governorates and directorates" had awaited the arrival of the procession.
It would be some time before the mass jubilation subsided. The scale and intensity of this outpouring of popular sentiment undoubtedly became an ingredient in the creation of Saad Zaghlul the legend.
* The author is a professor of history
and head of Al-Ahram History Studies Centre.
