Deck 15: The Middle East in the Age of Nasser: the Egyptian Base

Question 1

The leader that embodied progressive reformism and a new Arab order in the 1950s and 1960s was _____________.

A) al-Nahhas Pasha
B) Gamal Abd al-Nasser
C) Muhammad Naguib
D) Anwar Sadat

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which group overthrew the Egyptian regime of King Faruq on July 23, 1952?

A) the Wafd Party
B) the British military
C) the Muslim Brotherhood
D) the Free Officers

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Envisioned as a step along the road to Arab unity, the creation of the United Arab Republic in 1958 was a total union between which two countries?

A) Egypt and Sudan
B) Egypt and Syria
C) Egypt and Saudi Arabia
D) Egypt and Palestine

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of these was NOT a result of the Suez Crisis?

A) Nasser became the recognized hero of the Arab nationalist cause.
B) British influence in the Middle East all but ended.
C) The United Arab Republic was formed.
D) Israel annexed territory in Egypt.

Question 5

Which global powers condemned the retaliatory military action against Egypt, after Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal?

A) Britain and France
B) United States and Soviet Union
C) United States and Britain
D) Britain, Israel and France

Question 6

How did Nasser's Egypt assert its leadership of the Pan-Arab movement?

A) Nasser intervened in the affairs of other Arab states.
B) Nasser established the short-lived United Arab Republic.
C) Cairo aired propaganda throughout the Arab world on radio broadcasts.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

What subject of new legislation became a hallmark of the Nasser era?

A) land reform
B) shari‛ah law
C) religious freedom
D) freedom of press

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the Nasser regime's approach to education reform?

A) The state abolished tuition fees at universities.
B) A 1962 proclamation guaranteed a job for every university graduate.
C) Women faculty and students were not permitted within universities.
D) The educational system was vastly overcrowded.

Question 9

Which of the following was a result of Nasser's Agrarian Reform Law of 1952?

A) The amount of land any one individual could own was limited.
B) Land surpluses were redistributed to peasants and land tenants.
C) The law reduced the political and economic power of the landholding elite.
D) All of these were a result of Nasser's Agrarian Reform Law.

Question 10

What major achievement transformed Nasser into a heroic national figure?

A) His response during the 1948 war
B) Nationalizing the Suez Canal
C) The 1967 War
D) The demonstrations held on Black Saturday

Question 11

Which of the following most accurately describes Hasan al-Banna?

A) The leader of the Free Officers during the 1952 coup d'état
B) The chief ideologue of the Wafd Party
C) The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood
D) A key figure in the development of Arab socialism

Question 12

Which of the following accurately describes the Egypt-Soviet relationship post-Suez crisis?

A) The Soviet Union agreed to finance the Aswan Dam
B) The Soviet-Egyptian relationship had difficult patches, mostly brought on by ideological differences
C) The Soviets kept Egypt happy so that Egypt could be its center of influence in the Middle East
D) All of these answers are correct

Question 13

Which of the following statements does NOT accurately describe the United Arab Republic (UAR)?

A) The impetus for the union came from members of the Ba'th Party in Syria who feared the growing strength of the communists
B) Most Syrians opposed the union and consequently came out to protest Nasser's arrival in Syria
C) It only lasted for 3 years (1958-1961)
D) Syrian political parties were abolished during the union

Question 14

What event led to Anthony Eden's being described as "the last British Prime Minister to believe that Britain was a Great Power and the first to confront a crisis which proved beyond doubt that she was not"?

A) The 1967 Arab-Israeli War
B) The 1956 Suez War
C) The 1952 Free Officers' coup d'état
D) The 1953 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement

Question 15

Who did the Free Officers choose to serve as the movement's figurehead leader and, subsequently, as both prime minister and president after the coup?

A) Gamal Abd al-Nasser
B) Hasan al-Banna
C) Muhammad Naguib
D) Umm Kalthum

Question 16

What was the state of political parties in Egypt after the 1952 revolution?

A) Political parties multiplied with the overthrow of the monarchy
B) The Free Officers party supported the Wafd as the preeminent political party
C) Islamist parties rose to positions of power
D) All political parties were banned

Question 17

Which of the following best describes the Baghdad Pact?

A) An alliance among Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan that was the first concrete political manifestation of Arab nationalism
B) An alliance among Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Iraq that set an institutional groundwork for Islamic-based political unity
C) A British attempt to reinstate the mandate system in Iraq and Egypt
D) An attempt to extend the policy of containment to the Arab states through the use of British influence

Question 18

Which of the following was NOT a result of the Egyptian role in Yemen's civil war?

A) Division among Arabs, particularly Saudi Arabia versus Egypt
B) Egyptian military defeats
C) Egypt's turn to more subtle forms of Arab leadership, through cultural outlets in the film and radio industries
D) Nasser relinquished his position as leader of the reformist bloc of Arab states

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the Arab Socialist Union?

A) A unification of Syria and Egypt into a single state from 1958-1961
B) Nasser's second attempt at a pan-Arab nationalist union of all Arabs throughout the Middle East
C) The Soviet Union's attempt to install their own form of socialism through the Arab world
D) An arm of the Egyptian government, created through the Charter for National Action in 1962

Question 20

Which of the following is TRUE regarding Nasser's societal reforms of the 1960s?

A) Adult illiteracy was nearly abolished
B) Nationalization of the economy amounted to women entering the public workforce in ever-greater numbers
C) With the regime's encouragement, the majority of students entered into scientific and technical fields
D) The abolishment of shari‛ah law included progressive family law reforms

Question 21

Nasser's foreign policy was a self-interested and strategic manipulation of both Soviet and US financial and military support.

Question 22

Members of the Free Officers all came from families within the indigenous ruling class, including the landed and professional elite.

Question 23

After the Soviet Union decided to fund the Aswan Dam project in 1958, the US ended all financial support of Nasser's regime.

Question 24

The Suez crisis of 1956 was an incredible failure and source of embarrassment for Nasser.

Question 25

When the West rebuffed his request for weaponry in the 1950s, Nasser ended his search in a deal made with Nicaragua for $200 million worth of advanced military equipment.

Question 26

The core group of ________________ were nationalists and were motivated by a patriotic desire to end the British occupation in Egypt.

Question 27

In response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal, Britain, France, and __________________ initiated joint military action against Egypt.

Question 28

In Egypt, the __________________ was Nasser's and the Revolutionary Command Council's main political rival.

Question 29

The 1957 __________________ Doctrine was meant to provide economic and military assistance as an incentive/reward for countries resisting Soviet influence and communism.

Question 30

In the 1960s, Nasser's economic policy was called "Arab __________________," and through its subsequent decrees, foreign-owned companies and domestic enterprises, such as banks, hotels, and import agencies, were all nationalized.

Question 31

Describe the two-pronged political campaign of the Revolutionary Command Council, the organization led by Nasser.

Question 32

What factors led to the breakup of the United Arab Republic?

Question 33

What did the Suez crisis highlight in Egyptian society? What were the broader implications?

Question 34

Compare and contrast Nasser and Ataturk as reformist leaders.

Question 35

Describe some of the domestic and foreign policy misjudgments during Nasser's reign.

Question 36

Briefly explain the significance of what came to be known as the Czech arms deal (1955).

Question 37

How did Gamal Abd al-Nasser contend with the religious establishment in Egypt?

Question 38

Briefly explain the events and significance of Black Saturday (1952).

Question 39

Nasser famously proclaimed in 1962 that every university graduate would be guaranteed a government job. What were the repercussions of this promise?

Question 40

To what extent did the systems of governance under Gamal Abd al-Nasser reflect his democratic rhetoric? Explain.

Question 41

The period between 1952 and 1967 has been referred to as "the age of Nasser". To what extent do you think this is an accurate way of describing regional developments during those years?

Question 42

Explain the strategies that the Free Officers employed to consolidate control of Egypt in the wake of the 1952 coup d'état.