History of Egypt under Anwar Sadat

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The history of Egypt under Anwar Sadat covers the eleven year period of

On 6 October 1973, Egypt under Sadat, and Syria under Hafez al-Assad, initiated the October War to liberate Egyptian and Syrian territory that had been under Israeli occupation since the Six Day War of 1967. The war was fought entirely within the borders of Egypt and Syria, and was launched via a coordinated surprise assault at 2pm on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, which coincided with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian and Syrian forces separately crossed ceasefire lines into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and Syria's Golan Heights respectively, enjoying major successes in the first half of the war. The second half of the war saw a successful Israeli counterstrike, with Egypt and Syria sustaining heavy casualties. The ceasefire which ended the war left Egypt holding newly-liberated land in Sinai on the east bank of Suez Canal, but also with Israeli forces holding newly-captured land on the west bank of the Canal. Notwithstanding the military reversals suffered in the closing stages of the war, Sadat was seen as having restored Egyptian pride following the devastating defeat of 1967, and convinced the Israeli leadership that the status quo was no longer tenable. Via negotiations brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty by which Egypt formally recognised the State of Israel in exchange for a complete end to the Israeli occupation of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and autonomy for the Palestinian Gaza Strip and West Bank. Hafez al-Assad, and other Arab leaders, refused to participate in the negotiations, condemned the agreement, and suspended Egypt from the Arab League, beginning a period of near complete regional isolation for Egypt.^[2][3][4][5] Domestic opposition to the treaty was immense across all sectors of Egyptian society, however, the most vociferous denunciation was from Islamists, a group of whom from within Egypt's own armed forces plotted and executed Sadat's assassination several years later on the anniversary of the beginning of the October War.

Early years

After Nasser's death, another of the original revolutionary "

Following the disastrous Six-Day War of 1967, Egypt waged a War of Attrition in the Suez Canal zone. In 1971, four years into this war, Sadat endorsed in a letter the peace proposals of UN negotiator Gunnar Jarring, which seemed to lead to a full peace with Israel on the basis of Israel's withdrawal to its pre-war borders. This peace initiative failed, as neither Israel nor the United States of America accepted the terms as discussed then. To provide Israel with more incentive to negotiate with Egypt and return the Sinai to it, and also because the Soviets had refused Sadat's requests for more military support, Sadat expelled the Soviet military advisers from Egypt and proceeded to bolster his army for a renewed confrontation with Israel.^[11]

Yom Kippur War

In 1971, Sadat concluded a treaty of friendship with the

Egypt's armed forces achieved initial successes in the Crossing and advanced 15 km, reaching the depth of the range of safe coverage of its own air force. Having defeated the Israeli forces to this extent, Egyptian forces, rather than advancing under air cover, decided to immediately penetrate further into the Sinai desert. In spite of huge losses they kept advancing, creating the chance to open a gap between army forces. That gap was exploited by a tank division led by Ariel Sharon, and he and his tanks managed to penetrate onto Egyptian soil, reaching Suez city. In the meantime, the United States initiated a strategic airlift to provide replacement weapons and supplies to Israel and appropriate $2.2 billion in emergency aid. OPEC oil ministers, led by Saudi Arabia retaliated with an oil embargo against the US. A UN resolution supported by the United States and the Soviet Union called for an end to hostilities and for peace talks to begin. On 4 March 1974^[13] Israel withdrew the last of its troops from the west side of the Suez Canal, and 12 days later Arab oil ministers announced the end of the embargo against the United States. For Sadat and many Egyptians the war was seen as a victory, as the initial Egyptian successes restored Egyptian pride and led to peace talks with the Israelis that eventually led to Egypt regaining the entire Sinai peninsula in exchange for a peace agreement.

Domestic policy and the Infitah

United Arab Republic (1970–1971) الجمهورية العربية المتحدة ( Arabic ) Jumhūrīyat Miṣr al-ʻArabīyah
1970–1981
Top: Flag (1970–1972) Bottom: Flag (1972–1981) Top: Coat of arms (1970–1972) Bottom: Coat of arms (1972–1981)
Anthem: “Walla Zaman Ya Selahy” (1970–1979) " semi-presidential Republic (1976–1981)
President
• 1970–1981	Anwar Sadat
Prime Minister
• 1970–1971 (first)	Mahmoud Fawzi
• 1980–1981 (last)	Anwar Sadat
Legislature	Corrective Revolution	15 May 1971
• Yom Kippur War	6 October 1973
• Camp David Accords	17 September 1978
• Assassination of Anwar Sadat	6 October 1981
Area
• Total	950,408 km2 (366,955 sq mi)
Population
• 1971	35,311,910
• 1978	41,275,736
Currency	Egyptian pound
ISO 3166 code	EG
Preceded by Succeeded by United Arab Republic Egypt

Sadat used his immense popularity with the Egyptian people to try to push through vast economic reforms that ended the

During Sadat's presidency, Egyptians began to receive more of their income from abroad. Between 1974 and 1985, more than three million Egyptians—construction workers, labourers, mechanics, plumbers, electricians as well as young teachers and accountants—migrated to the Persian Gulf region. Remittances from these workers allowed families in Egypt to buy "refrigerators, TV sets, video recorders, cars and flats."[14]

Liberalization also included the reinstitution of due process and the legal banning of torture. Sadat dismantled much of the existing political machine and brought to trial a number of former government officials accused of criminal excesses during the Nasser era. Sadat tried to expand participation in the political process in the mid-1970s but later abandoned this effort. In the last years of his life, Egypt was wracked by violence arising from discontent with Sadat's rule and sectarian tensions, and it experienced a renewed measure of repression including extra judicial arrests.

International relations and the Camp David Accords

In foreign relations Sadat also launched momentous change from the Nasser era. President Sadat shifted Egypt from a policy of confrontation with Israel to one of peaceful accommodation through negotiations. Following the

In October 1978, Sadat reportedly offered Ugandan President Idi Amin aid in form of military equipment, as his country invaded Tanzania.^[15] According to researcher Mark Yared, Egypt was one of the countries which provided Uganda with "multiform aid" during the Uganda–Tanzania War.^[16]

Islamic revival

In his first public speech after Egypt's defeat at the hand of the Israel, Sadat's predecessor

Another change Sadat made from the Nasser era was a bow towards the Islamic revival. Sadat loosened restrictions on the Muslim Brotherhood, allowing it to publish a monthly magazine, al-Dawa, which appeared regularly until September 1981 (although he did not allow the group's reconstitution).[24] In 1971, the concentration camps where Islamists were held were closed, and the regime began to gradually release the imprisoned Muslim Brothers, though the organisation itself remained illegal; the last of those still behind bars regained their freedom in the general amnesty of 1975.

Sadat also considered Islamists, particularly

In the late 1970s, he began calling himself "The Believer President" and signing his name Mohammad Anwar Sadat. He ordered Egypt's state-run television to interrupt programs with the adhan (call to prayer) on the screen five times a day and to increase religious programming. Under his rule local officials banned the sale of alcohol except at places catering to foreign tourists in more than half of Egypt's 26 governorates.^[26]

However, Islamists came to clash with Sadat who supported women's rights and opposed compulsory hijab.^[27] Most particularly they opposed what they called his "shameful peace with the Jews," aka the Camp David Accords with Israel.^[28] By the late 1970s the government turned against Islamism. In June 1981, after a brutal sectarian Muslim-Copt fight in the poor al-Zawaiyya Al Hamra district of Cairo, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya was dissolved by the state their infrastructure was destroyed and their leaders arrested."^[25]

According to interviews and information gathered by journalist Lawrence Wright, the radical Islamist group Egyptian Islamic Jihad was recruiting military officers and accumulating weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch "a complete overthrow of the existing order" in Egypt, killing the main leaders of the country, capturing the crucial headquarters of regime institutions, spreading news of the Islamic coup, which they hoped would unleash a popular uprising against secular authority all over the country."^[29]

In February 1981, Egyptian authorities were alerted to El-Jihad's plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information. In September, Sadat ordered a highly unpopular roundup of more than 1,500 people, including many Jihad members, but also

• History of Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser
• History of Egypt under Hosni Mubarak
• Infitah
• Assassination of Anwar Sadat
• Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council
• History of modern Egypt
• List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

References