Gamal Abdel Nasser

I am alive, and even if I die, all of you are Gamal Abdul 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.

Quotes

Gamal Abdel Nasser giving a homeless Egyptian man a job

• We are awaiting aggression by Israel and any supporters of Israel. We will make it a decisive battle and get rid of Israel once and for all… This is the dream of every Arab.
  • As quoted in the Washington Post (27 July 1959)

• If the refugees return to Israel – Israel will cease to exist.
  • As quoted in A Mandate for Terror : The United Nations and the PLO (1989), by Harris O. Schoenberg, p. 239

• 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, as 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.
  • As quoted in Copeland, Miles (1970). The Game of Nations (4 ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 216. 

• Our path to Palestine will not be covered with a red carpet or with yellow sand. Our path to Palestine will be covered with blood… In order that we may liberate Palestine, the Arab nation must unite, the Arab armies must unite, and a unified plan of action must be established
  • In a re-election speech (1965), as quoted in Islamic Imperialism : A History (2007) by Efraim Karsh, p. 162

• 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. 

• If anyone thinks we have become tired, let me say that we are a struggling nation, a fighting nation, a patient nation.
  • "Egypt: Back to the Balcony". TIME. 4 March 1966. Retrieved on September 6, 2011. 

• We knew that by closing the Gulf of Aqaba it might mean war with Israel. [If war comes] it will be total and the objective will be to destroy Israel.
  • As quoted in the Washington Post (27 May 1967)

• We must fight our way to victory on a sea of blood and a horizon of fire.
  • As quoted in the Wall Street Journal (14 November 1969)

• I believe that we now have a duty to remove the aggressor from our land and to regain the Arab territory occupied by the Israelis. We can then engage in a clandestine struggle to liberate the land of Palestine, to liberate Haifa and Jaffa.
  • In a meeting with King Hussein, as quoted in the in Efraim Karsh, Islamic Imperialism: A History (2007), p. 172

Quotes about 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.
  • An American official as quoted in "Egypt: Back to the Balcony". TIME. 4 March 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 "Gadhafi, the man the world loves to hate" by Marie Colvin (UPI) in The Pittsburgh Press (3 August 1986)

• 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 The Shah and I (1991) by Asadollah Alam