Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser (January 15, 1918 – September 28, 1970; Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر name also transliterated as Jamal Abd al-Naser , "Jamal Abd An-Nasser", and other variants) was the leader of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. He is considered one of the most important political figures in modern Arab history, and in Developing World politics of the 20th century. He was well-known for his nationalist policies and his version of pan-Arabism also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Many in the general Arab populace still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.

Sourced Quotes

Gamal Abdel Nasser giving a homeless Egyptian man a job

• Let them kill Nasser! What is Nasser but one among many? I am alive, and even if I die, all of you are Gamal Abdul Nasser!
  • To his followers during the assassination attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood, quoted in The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright (ISBN 978-0375414862)

• The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at the possibility that there may be something to them we are missing.
  • Quoted in Copeland, Miles (1970). The Game of Nations (4 ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 216. 

• "If the Jews win this battle, then the Arabs had better go bury their faces in the mud!"
  • "Middle East: What to Do About Germany". TIME. Friday, Mar. 19, 1965. Retrieved on September 6, 2011. 

• Nasser speaking about King Feisal of Saudi Arabia and Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlevi of Iran's "Islamic alliance"- "Their object, is to destroy Arab nationalism and unity."
• Nasser on who was responsible for creating the "Islamic alliance" "Obviously, Washington and London."
• "If anyone thinks we have become tired, let me say that we are a struggling nation, a fighting nation, a patient nation. We can stay in Yemen for one, two, three, four or even five years."
  • "Egypt: Back to the Balcony". TIME. Friday, Mar. 04, 1966. Retrieved on September 6, 2011. 

Quotes about Nasser

• An American Expert on Nasser- "Lyndon's gone and dragged Nasser away from the fireplace and onto the balcony again, Once you get him out there, it's a helluva job to get him back to the fireplace again."
  • "Egypt: Back to the Balcony". TIME. Friday, Mar. 04, 1966. Retrieved on September 6, 2011. 

• When I met Nasser, he said to me, "I see myself when I was young in you. You are the future for the Arab revolution." This meant very, very much to me.
  • Muammar Gaddafi, as quoted in The Pittsburgh Press (3 August 1986) "Gadhafi, the man the world loves to hate" by Marie Colvin (UPI)

• • I have learned by experience that a tragic end awaits anyone who dares cross swords with me; Nasser is no more, John and Robert Kennedy died at the hands of assassins, their brother Edward has been disgraced, Krushchev was toppled, the list is endless.
  • Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, as quoted in Asadollah Alam (1991), The Shah and I, I. B. Tauris