Sa‘d Zaghlūl

Egyptian politician

• Born: July 1, 1857
• Birthplace: Ibyānah, Egypt
• Died: August 23, 1927
• Place of death: Cairo, Egypt

Zaghlūl was modern Egypt’s outstanding politician before Gamal Abdel Nasser. He led the 1919 revolution against the British and founded the Wafd Party.

Early Life

Saՙd Zaghlūl (sahd zag-LEWL) was born in Ibyānah, Egypt. His parents were Sheikh Ibrahim Zaghlūl and Miriam. Of peasant extraction, Ibrahim possessed wealth and his village’s Muslim leadership. When Ibrahim died during Saՙd’s early youth, Miriam and her stepson, Shanaui, arranged for Saՙd’s education so he would become, like his father and grandfather, a Muslim sheikh. In 1864, Saՙd began study at Ibyānah’s mosque school. In 1870-1873, he studied recitation of the Qur՚ān under a famous teacher at Dusuq’s main mosque.

In 1873, Zaghlūl entered Al-Azhar University, exhibiting independence by lodging outside the student inhabited area. At Al-Azhar, he met Jamāl al-Dīin al-Afghānī and MuḥammadՙAbduh. The former’s stress on anti-imperialism, constitutionalism, and revitalized Arabic captivated Zaghlūl. In 1880, Zaghlūl left Al-Azhar without a degree. In October, 1880, Muḥammad ՙAbduh, chief editor of the Egyptian government’s official gazette, hired Zaghlūl. They used the publication to mold public opinion. In May, 1882, Zaghlūl shifted to the ministry of the interior as an aide and then to Giza province’s legal department as an overseer.

In 1881-1882, Zaghlūl vocally supported the Urabi Revolt. This caused loss of his position, deprivation of civil rights, and barring from governmental service. He now represented some of the accused in the revolt. In June, 1883, he was arrested as a member of the Society of Revenge, an organization pledged to end Great Britain’s occupation and the khedivial regime. In October, 1883, he was freed on bond. In 1884, he became a lawyer in the new national court system. He rose rapidly because of his courtroom eloquence. In 1892, his reputation brought an unprecedented appointment as a deputy judge in the appellate court. His legal success also led to entrée into Egypt’s Turco-Circassian aristocracy. In 1896, he married a member of this class, Safiyya, daughter of Prime Minister Mustafa Pasha Fahmī. The marriage was arranged by Princess Nazli, cousin to KhediveՙAbbās II. She was Zaghlūl’s mentor in Egyptian high society and he her lawyer. Following her advice, he studied French. At Nazli’s salon, Zaghlūl met the head of the British occupation in Egypt, Sir Evelyn Baring (later First Earl of Cromer).

Life’s Work

In 1904, Cromer made Zaghlūl Egypt’s first minister of education, the title “pasha” being awarded by the khedive. Zaghlūl checked the autocratic British adviser in his ministry, assigned to Egyptians several jobs formerly always reserved for Britons, founded the School of Qadis (judges in Islamic law courts), enlarged the Training College and added a section for training secondary school teachers, expanded the use of Arabic in schools, established free education in governmental institutes for poverty-stricken students, and disciplined a British headmistress.

In 1910, Zaghlūl became minister of justice. His efforts to make the cabinet effective in governing Egypt aroused the British,ՙAbbās, and his prime minister. Zaghlūl sought vainly to render three repressive bills ineffective. In March, 1912, he resigned on his failure to prevent prosecution of Muhammad Farid, the nationalist leader. In December, 1913, Zaghlūl was the only candidate elected to represent two constituencies in the new Legislative Assembly, winning easily. In January, 1914, by sixty-five to fourteen votes, he became the elected vice president of the Legislative Assembly, which he dominated. He helped to bring down Prime Minister Muhammad Sa՚īd and sought to replace him with Fahmī. Since the latter had fallen under the influence of his son-in-law Zaghlūl, the British agent, Lord Kitchener, vetoed him. Because of World War I’s outbreak, the British authorities prorogued the assembly sine die. The British refused three times (1914-1918) to allow Prime Minister Husain Rushdi to take Zaghlūl into his cabinet.

On November 13, 1918, Zaghlūl and two colleagues sought permission to go to London to present their demands for Egypt’s complete autonomy. When the British government refused, Zaghlūl organized the Wafd to gain Egyptian independence. He secured thousands of signatures throughout Egypt giving the Wafd power of attorney to act for the nation. The British adviser to the ministry of the interior sought to break this campaign. Zaghlūl composed a long, eloquent appeal to the president of the Paris Conference, Georges Clemenceau, protesting the British protectorate. These and other actions by Zaghlūl led the British on March 9, 1919, to deport Zaghlūl to Malta. Revolutionary fervor now gripped students, workers, lawyers, government clerks, and others throughout Egypt. The British squelched the revolt, but Special High Commissioner Edmund Allenby (Lord Allenby), sensing a dangerous undercurrent of bitterness and nationalism, on April 7, 1919, freed Zaghlūl and three associates and allowed them to travel to Europe.

Frustration plagued Zaghlūl in Europe. The Paris Peace Conference shunned him. In 1920 in London, Lord Alfred Milner met with him informally, but Zaghlūl refused terms that legalized and strengthened Great Britain’s position in Egypt. Thinking he would obtain better terms through backing by the Egyptian people, Zaghlūl agreed to the Wafd’s submitting Milner’s proposals to them. The public disliked the proposals, whereupon Zaghlūl demanded more from Milner, who then canceled negotiations. Zaghlūl returned to Egypt in March, 1921.

Violence erupted in Egypt. Prime Minister՚Adlī Pasha Yakan rejected Zaghlūl’s demand that he head the Egyptian delegation going to London to negotiate with Great Britain. Riots and demonstrations supported Zaghlūl.՚Adlī failed in negotiations in London and resigned. In December, 1921, Allenby deported Zaghlūl to Aden, then to the Seychelles, and finally to Gibraltar. In exile Zaghlūl keenly watched developments. He condemned Great Britain’s 1922 declaration of Egypt’s independence, claiming it was a sham. He denounced the Constitution of 1922 because of its vast royal powers and the difficulty in changing it.

In March, 1923, Allenby released Zaghlūl. The Egyptian people gave him a tumultuous reception. A dislike for other politicians led King Fu՚ād I to a temporary rapprochement with Zaghlūl. In the 1923-1924 elections, Zaghlūl led the Wafd to victory, winning 90 percent of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies. On January 27, 1924, he became prime minister. Optimism engulfed Egypt, being best reflected in the self-confidence and deep sense of responsibility shown by the deputies under Zaghlūl’s guidance. In September, 1924, Zaghlūl went to London to negotiate a treaty with Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. The latter rejected Zaghlūl’s demands: withdrawal of British forces, no control by the British government over Egypt and abolition of the two offices of judicial and financial advisers, no limitation on Egypt’s conduct of foreign affairs, abandonment of Great Britain’s claim to protect foreigners and to defend the Suez Canal, and unity of Egypt and the Sudan.

Anglo-Egyptian relations soon reached a boiling point. Zaghlūl gave cabinet positions to two noted extremists. In November, 1924, in Cairo, Sir Lee Stack, governor-general of the Sudan and commander in chief of Egyptian forces, was assassinated. Zaghlūl expressed profound regret, and his government put a price of ten thousand pounds on the assassins’ heads. High Commissioner Allenby issued an ultimatum to Egypt, asking for an apology, punishment of the assassins, prohibition of political demonstrations, payment of 500,000 Egyptian pounds, withdrawal within twenty-four hours of Egyptian troops in the Sudan, immediate removal of all restrictions on irrigation in the Sudan El-Gezira, and withdrawal of all objections to Great Britain’s assumption of responsibility for foreigners in Egypt. Zaghlūl accepted only the first, second, and fourth demands. Allenby held firm and took over the Alexandria customs. Then, on November 23, 1924, Zaghlūl resigned. His successor accepted all the demands, and the king dissolved parliament. Zaghlūl temporarily left politics, discouraged by the politicians’ opportunism and reactionary monarchy.

Zaghlūl soon returned to public life, however, determined to preserve the constitution because it would allow his party to recover power, to avoid clashes with Great Britain for fear it would nullify the constitution, and to form a Wafd-Liberal Constitution coalition to overthrow the cabinet. In the 1926 elections, Zaghlūl led the Wafd to an outstanding victory, but the high commissioner vetoed Zaghlūl’s becoming prime minister. Zaghlūl headed the chamber and quieted anti-British agitation. Soon, however, on August 23, 1927, he died. His death deepened the cynicism in society.

Significance

Zaghlūl’s life became synonymous with obtaining Egypt’s independence. His pre-1914 career involved a cautious course through service in the British Occupation. As minister of education and minister of justice he sought to prepare Egypt for freedom through moderate reform and Egyptianization of the administration. Thus he advanced secularism in education and law and promoted modernization of Al-Azhar University.

By 1914, Zaghlūl emerged as Egypt’s leading nationalist. This position he maintained in World War I, counseling loyal opposition. In 1919, he led Egypt’s greatest revolution between that ofՙUrābī Pasha and Nasser. Nothing, not two exiles, illnesses, attempts on his life, British imperial might, King Fu՚ād I’s machinations, or politicians’ intrigues, deflected Zaghlūl from working for a truly independent Egypt. Perhaps had he lived longer he would have succeeded, because he had modified his extremism toward Great Britain as his life ebbed.

Welding peasants and townspeople together, Zaghlūl created the Wafd, Egypt’s largest mass party. This legacy would bode ill for the future. As Wafd chief, he became, in 1924, the first prime minister of the modern Kingdom of Egypt. His administration brought direct suffrage but established a pattern of spoils system by party and continued the practice of muzzling the press. He gained reverence as the Grand Old Man of Egypt. Tallness, leanness, noble mien, and quick wit characterized him. His oratory captivated audiences. His wife was called Mother of the Egyptians. Zaghlūl’s home became a national museum.

Bibliography

Ahmed, Jamal Mohammed. The Intellectual Origins of Egyptian Nationalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960. Emphasizes Zaghlūl’s many years of apprenticeship in Egypt’s social and political life. Stresses that his long service and association with MuḥammadՙAbduh produced qualities of leadership and intellect that he used skillfully and intelligently.

Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. 3d ed. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2004. Chapter 11, “The Arab Struggle for Independence: Egypt, Iraq, and Transjordan from the Interwar Era to 1945,” discusses Zaghlūl and Egypt’s revolution against the British.

Harris, Christina Phelps. Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt. Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, 1964. Objective treatment of Zaghlūl. Contrasts his conciliatory attitude toward Great Britain in 1920 with the British government’s intransigent stand. Criticizes Great Britain for the harsh ultimatum of 1924 imposed on Egypt at the dawn of her first democratic experiment.

Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798-1939. New York: Oxford University Press, 1962. In his activities before 1914, Zaghlūl reflected the beliefs of Jamāl al-Dīin al-Afghānī and MuḥammadՙAbduh. After 1914, Zaghlūl became more exacting in his dealings and more exclusive in his conception of the Egyptian nation.

McIntyre, John D., Jr. The Boycott of the Milner Mission: A Study in Egyptian Nationalism. New York: Peter Lang, 1985. In 1919, Egypt developed the idea of “complete independence” during the boycott campaign against the Milner Mission. Zaghlūl got Milner to include recommendations in his report that would cause the British cabinet to dismiss them.

Marlow, John. A History of Modern Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Relations, 1800-1956. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1965. Denies that Zaghlūl was a statesman. Asserts he had no interest in the Egyptians’ welfare or any enthusiasm for reforming the Egyptian administration.

Rejwan, Nissium. Arabs Face the Modern World: Religious, Cultural, and Political Responses to the West. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998. Chapter 2 includes information on Zaghlūl as one of the founders of Egyptian nationalism.

Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi al-. Egypt’s Liberal Experiment: 1922-1936. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. Holds that Zaghlūl galvanized and united the nationalist movement until he became synonymous with it. Believes that he sowed and nurtured the seeds of many political ills that beset political life for decades to come.

Vatikiotis, P. J. The Modern History of Egypt. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1969. Notes Zaghlūl’s achievements as minister of education and then as minister of justice. Clearly delineates the strengths and weaknesses in his political activity.

Zayid, Mahmud Y. Egypt’s Struggle for Independence. Beirut, Lebanon: Khayats, 1965. Affirms that Zaghlūl’s political role before 1918 was the prelude to his later leadership. Observes that initially after World War I he “was ready to forget the Sudan.”