Anwar Al-Sadat - Research Paper Example

Biography: Anwar al-Sadat By I.D Number: Submitted to of Introduction: Anwar Sadat was born on25 December 1918 in Egypt to a poor family (Alagna 2004). His parents were both Egyptian. He enlisted in the armed forces as a second lieutenant and met Gamal Abdel Nasser in Sudan (Coppa 268). Sadat and Nasser formed the Free Officers Movement with the assistance of several other officers and orchestrated the military coup which brought about the Egyptian Revolution in 1952 and, consequently, overthrew King Farouk I (Tucker, Spencer & Roberts 1055). Sadat became the third president of Egypt on 15 October 1970 and ruled till he was assassinated on 6 October 1981 in Cairo by a lieutenant, Khalid Islambouli, in the middle of the yearly celebratory parade marking Egypts crossing of the Suez Canal (Cook 156). The cause of the assassination was rumored to be the increasing unpopularity of Sadat in Egypt mainly because of two reasons: his economic policies which lifted price controls from basic necessities such as bread and made it unaffordable for the laymen, and the signing of the Sinai treaty with Israel which angered the Egyptian Islamist groups. Sadat is considered to be an important personality for a number of reasons. Firstly, he attempted to put Egypt on the path towards economic prosperity by launching the Infitah economic policy; also, he ignored some of the economic practices of Nasser and re-instated the multi-party system (Otto 64). Secondly, during his reign he attempted to regain the regions lost to Israel as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War by launching the October War of 1973 against Israel. This was another event that signified his importance since he gained huge popularity in his home country and garnered respect from the overall Arab bloc as well (Baker 97). Other than these events, it was the result of Sadat’s timely negotiations with Israel which culminated in the future Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. However, Sadat was deemed controversial as well and a lot of significant instances seem to support this claim. Some of his actions are widely contested. For example, if he was a close aide of Nasser and was with him for a long time, how could he take a u-turn from Nasser’s policies of seemingly pro- Arabian nature and follow his own policies after he had come into power? Other changes he brought about included purging all the earlier associates of Nasser and the main ruling authorities to make himself more powerful; changing the economic structure by introducing the Infitah economic policy; and releasing countless Islamic activists convicted under Nasser as part of his ‘Corrective Revolution’ which was seen as an attempt to derive political support from the Islamic wing. Another point of controversy was the close ties between Anwar El Sadat and the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Cockcroft 104). Their friendship was so strong that Sadat let the Shah live in Egypt during his exile and treated him very well (Brzezinski et al. 63). Then again, Talaat al-Sadat who was the nephew of President Sadat caused quite a stir when he publicly claimed that his uncle was assassinated due to an international conspiracy; he claimed that both the United States and Israel were involved in it. • A Different Opinion about Anwar El Sadat: According to the general consensus within the American public, Anwar El Sadat was considered to be a great leader who tried to propel his nation towards socio-political success. He was pro- peace as was demonstrated by his willingness to enter into the Israel- Egypt treaty, for which he was awarded the Nobel peace prize and highly respected in the process. Likewise, building on this perception of Anwar El Sadat, a miniseries titled ‘Sadat’ was created for the American public in 1983 and was supposed to revolve around the life of the Egyptian President. The role of Sadat was to be performed by the Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. a- Quote: According to the Daily Observer (2008), Anwar El Sadats portrayal by Louis Gossett, Jr. was the cause of much attention in Egypt; the Egyptians were conscious of the fact that an Afro-American author was portraying their former leader. . The paper further stated that this mentality would surely not have made the deceased Sadat happy as he himself was sensitive about his color and wanted his people to rise above such issues. b- Explanation of the quote: Through this quote, the paper tries to re-instate that this kind of mentality of certain Egyptians was unwholesome since it signified giving preference to one race over another and was against the concept of equality of rights for all. Since equality was very hard earned in America, the paper wants the targeted audience to realize that it should be respected and everyone should be given equal status in society. The paper justifies the portrayal of the personality by a black man with the view that it neither disrespects the personality being portrayed, nor affects the actor in any way. The author ends the argument by saying that Sadat was a progressive leader who wanted his people to move ahead from this mentality because it was the only way they could achieve success as a nation. • Another different opinion about him: All American presidents held Anwar El Sadat in high esteem, which is evidenced by the fact that four former presidents personally visited Egypt and paid their respects during his funeral. They respected him so much probably because Sadat had proved his mettle in the fields of politics and diplomacy a number of times and impressed them with his actions, especially with his peace initiative with Israel after the 1973 October War. On the death of Anwar El Sadat, Ronald Reagan has given a speech to the American people and termed this loss as a great setback for the nation of Egypt and progressive, peace loving people around the world. a- Quote: According to Kirkpatrick (3), Ronald Reagan stated in his speech that Anwar El Sadat was a brave and courageous man who was progressive in thinking and desired peace in the world and prosperity for his nation. b- Explanation of the quote: The author attempts to suggest that through his speech Ronald Reagan praised Anwar El Sadat for the contributions he had made to his country and the entire world and expressed his grief on his demise. Reagan called him progressive for the policies the Egyptian President had introduced in his country. He called him brave for proceeding with his peace initiatives towards Israel since he was aware of the possible backlash from the Islamist groups in the future; Reagan also appreciated his hopes of financial and social prosperity of his nation. • A third opinion about him: The followers of the Shah of Iran (Persia), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, highly revered the Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat for his relationship with their leader. They were aware that the Shah and his wife would often socialize with the Egyptian president and that these political leaders helped each other upon various occasions. Their friendship can be further justified by the fact that when the Shah of Iran was exiled after the Islamic revolution in Iran, he chose Egypt as the place to spend his future. Besides, when the Shah of Iran passed away in Egypt in 1980, Anwar El Sadat gave him a state funeral and buried him in the resting place of the Egyptian royal families. a- Quote: The Shah of Iran (Persia), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, called Anwar El Sadat his "brother” (Craughwell 230). b- Explanation of the quote: This quote was often heard from both parties. It was quite obvious that the Shah of Iran was very fond of Anwar El Sadat and considered him as his own brother. Conclusion In my opinion, Anwar El Sadat was a great leader who could have really improved the standards of Egypt during his reign, had he been given more time and power. His assassination by the Islamist wing due to the fact he pursued peace in relationships with Israel was completely unjustifiable. His wisdom had allowed him to see ahead of his time; he understood that peace was the only way forward for his nation. Instead of praising him for his vision, the fundamentalists gathered support against him and decided to topple his rule. All the sources used for this research have been taken from reliable books and have been referenced thoroughly to give due credit to their renowned authors who are experts in their respective fields. The topics range from biographies of Anwar El Sadat to the books on the various issues of the Middle Eastern region in and around the time of the Egyptian Leader. WORKS CITED Alagna, Magdalena. Anwar Sadat. New York, N.Y.: Rosen Pub. Group, 2004. Print. Baker, Raymond William. Sadat and After: Struggles for Egypt’s Political Soul. London: Tauris, 1990. Print. Brzezinski, Zbigniew, Robert Michael Gates, and Suzanne Maloney. “Iran Time for a New Approach”. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. Cockcroft, James D. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989. Print. Cook, Steven A. “The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square”. Oxford University Press, 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. Coppa, Frank J. Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators: From Napoleon to the Present. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. Print. Craughwell, Thomas J. Failures of the Presidents: Our Leaders’ Worst Decisions from the Dred Scott Case to Watergate to the Bay of Pigs to Iraq. Gloucester, Mass.; Hove: Fair Winds; RotoVision [distributor], 2008. Print. “The Big Read: Anwar El Sadat, a Martyr of Peace”. Daily Observer, 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. Kirkpatrick, Jeane J. Legitimacy and Force 2, National and International Dimensions. New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988. Print. Otto, Jan Michiel. Sharia and National Law in the Muslim World: First Global Overview from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia. Leiden; Manchester: Leiden University Press; Manchester University Press [distributor], 2010. Print. Tucker, Spencer, Priscilla Mary Roberts, and ABC-Clio Information Services. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars the United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. Read More