On 26 October 1954,

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

narrowly survived an

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

attempt while giving a public speech in Manshiyya,

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. Mahmoud Abdel-Latif, a member of the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

, fired eight shots at Nasser, all of which missed, although two dignitaries were slightly injured by shattered glass. The failed attempt escalated tensions between Nasser's

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

regime and the Brotherhood, culminating in a nationwide crackdown on all political opponents. The event also consolidated Nasser's power, allowing him to overthrow

Mohamed Naguib Major General Mohamed Bey Naguib Youssef Qutb El-Qashlan (; 19 February 1901 – 28 August 1984), known simply as Mohamed Naguib (, ), was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who, along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, was one of the two prin ...

and formally assume the presidency. The incident has been referred to as the Manshiyya incident.

Background

Although the Muslim Brotherhood initially supported the Free Officers Movement, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, in overthrowing the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-backed

Egyptian monarchy ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years ...

, relations between the two soured after the

1952 Egyptian revolution The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

. Hoping that the coup would pave the way for the implementation of an Islamist government, the Muslim Brotherhood felt betrayed and sidelined after realizing Nasser's unwillingness to share power with the Brotherhood or fulfil its Islamist agenda. Tensions stemmed from the ideological divide between the two: Nasser sought to implement

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

and

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

in Egypt, while the Muslim Brotherhood advocated for the establishment of an

Islamic state The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

based on religious principles. The brotherhood and the ruling Revolutionary Command Council had disagreements over introducing

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

-based legislation, which the former had been avid proponents of.

Assassination attempt

The assassination attempt took place on 26 October 1954, while Nasser was delivering a speech in

celebrating British military withdrawal, which was broadcast to the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

by radio. The gunman, a thirty-year old Muslim Brotherhood member named Mahmoud Abdel-Latif, was away from Nasser and fired eight shots at him as he spoke from a third-floor balcony, but all missed Nasser. Two seated dignitaries were slightly injured by broken glass. While panic broke out among the audience, Nasser maintained his posture and raised his voice to appeal for calm.Rogan, Eugene (2011), ''The Arabs: A History'', New York: Basic Books, p. 227 He then exclaimed the following with great emotion:

My countrymen, my blood spills for you and for Egypt. I will live for your sake and die for the sake of your freedom and honor. Let them kill me; it does not concern me so long as I have instilled pride, honor, and freedom in you. If Gamal Abdel Nasser should die, each of you shall be Gamal Abdel Nasser ... Gamal Abdel Nasser is of you and from you and he is willing to sacrifice his life for the nation.

Aftermath

Following the failed assassination, Nasser initiated a widespread crackdown campaign on the Muslim Brotherhood. On 29 October, the Egyptian government officially dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood. On 13 November, Nasser deposed president

, who was implicated in the assassination attempt, and placed him under house arrest. This allowed Nasser to formally assume the presidency.

Raids in Egypt

The military regime raided several offices and branches across Egypt belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and imprisoned over 4,000 of the group's members. Seven senior leaders of the organization were sentenced to death, six of which – including Mahmoud Abdel-Latif – were executed on 7 December 1954, while the remainder,

Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb (9 October 190629 August 1966) was an Egyptian political theorist and revolutionary who was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood. As the author of 24 books, with around 30 books unpublished for differe ...

, had his sentence commuted to imprisonment for life. Nasser used the assassination attempt as a pretext to crack down on political opponents, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, by utilizing mass arrests, torture, and executions in order to consolidate his power. The once influential Muslim Brotherhood was forced to go underground and begin clandestine activities.

References

{{Reflist Failed assassination attempts in Africa 1954 in Egypt 1954 in politics October 1954 in Africa 1954 crimes in Africa Gamal Abdel Nasser Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt 20th century in Alexandria Political violence in Egypt Attacks in Egypt