Ahmed Hussein (1911–1982)

Ahmed Hussein (8 March 1911–27 September 1982) was an Egyptian lawyer and politician who founded a nationalist party, Young Egypt, in the 1930s.

Ahmed Hussein
Hussein during the inauguration of Young Egypt in 1933
Born
Ahmed Mahmoud Hussein

8 March 1911
Died27 September 1982(1982-09-27) (aged 71)
OccupationLawyer
Years active1929–1969
Known forFounder of Young Egypt Party
RelativesAdel Hussein (brother)

Early life and education

Hussein was born on 8 March 1911.[1] His father, Mahmoud Hussein, was a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance. The family was from Kafr El Battikh near Damietta and had lands in Lower Egypt.[1]

Hussein received religious education and a degree in law.[2][3]

Career and political activities
A poster written by Ahmad Hussein arguing for the independence of Egypt with Sudan and the evacuation of British troops

Hussein started a magazine entitled Al Sarkha (Arabic: Scream) in which he published a program of his political group, "Society of the Free Youth, Supporters of the Treaty", endorsing Prime Minister Mohamed Mahmoud's negotitaions with the British.[1][3][4] The group included the nationalist Egyptian figures led by Hussein's friend Fathi Radwan.[5] The society's slogan was "God, Fatherland and the King", and aimed at reviving the Egyptian nationalism, especially after Egypt experienced negative outcomes of the economic crisis in 1929.[1] In late 1931, a committee of students headed by Ahmad Hussein initiated the Piastre Plan to raise funds to improve the industry in the country.[1] They managed to collect the funds and employed them to set up a fez factory.[1] In his writings in Al Sarkha Hussein harshly criticized Western democracy and praised Fascism and Nazism supporting the implementation of these ideologies in addition to Sharia rule in Egypt.[3]

The Society of the Free Youth, Supporters of the Treaty was reestablished as a political party, Young Egypt, on 21 October 1933.[4][5] The party was modeled on the Italian National Fascist Party.[6] Hussein sent a letter to Adolf Hitler and asked him to convert to Islam.[3] Hussein was arrested in July 1941 due to his extreme nationalist activities.[2] He escaped while he was being treated at a hospital, but in November 1942 he surrendered himself to the police.[2] In 1944 he was released from prison.[2] In July 1946 Hussein was again arrested with other Young Egypt party members following the headline of the party newspaper, Al Ishtrakia, as "Revolt, Revolt, Revolt!".[7] They were freed on bail soon.[2]

Hussein renamed his party as the Egyptian Social Democratic Party in the late 1940s, and later it was renamed as the National Islamic Party.[2] In the 1950s his brother and a member of the Young Egypt party, Adel Hussein, joined a communist party, namely Haditu.[8]

Later life and death

Hussein had a stroke in 1969 and retired from public life.[9] He died at age 71 on 27 September 1982 after he had been hospitalized because of heart problems.[9]

References
  1. James P. Jankowski (1975). Egypt's young rebels: "Young Egypt": 1933–1952. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. pp. 9, 11–13. ISBN 978-0-8179-1451-6.
  2. "British Documents" (PDF). Nasser Library. 3 February 1950. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  3. Cynthia Farahat (Summer 2011). "The Arab Upheaval: Egypt's Islamist Shadow". Middle East Quarterly. 18 (3).
  4. Fouad Fahmy Shafik (1981). The Press and Politics of Modern Egypt: 1798-1970. A Comparative Analysis of Causal Relationships (PhD thesis). New York University. p. 187. ISBN 9798661819062. ProQuest 303021068.
  5. Josep Puig Montana (2013). "Oppositional movements in Egypt, from 1952 to Mubarak's downfall". Nómadas. Revista Crítica de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas. 39 (3): 39. doi:10.5209/rev_NOMA.2013.v39.n3.48329.
  6. Patricia Peghini Ryan (1972). The Arab Socialist Union of Egypt (PhD thesis). West Virginia University. p. 17. ISBN 9798659245712. ProQuest 302593067.
  7. Henry C. Atyeo (November 1952). "Egyptian Nationalism". Current History. 23 (135): 314. JSTOR 45308290.
  8. Tareq Y. Ismael; Rifaat El Said (1990). The Communist Movement in Egypt, 1920-1988. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-8156-2497-4.
  9. "Ahmed Hussein". The New York Times. 27 September 1982. p. 9. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
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