Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second president of Egypt from 1956 to 1970 (and Syria ), generally considered the man who modernized Egypt. The Suez Crisis occurred during his terms in office. He established friendly relations with the Soviet Union, but he was an opponent of communism. Despite his socialist economic policies, he persecuted atheist Marxists.

Nasserism
Nasser was a believer in pan-Arabism and his political ideology is known as Nasserism. Nasserism was a mixture of Arab nationalism and socialism, but it was different from Soviet and Western concept of socialism. The fundamental characteristics of Nasserism are:


 * Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism
 * Opposition to Western imperialism
 * Opposition to atheism and Marxism
 * Secularism
 * Socialist economics
 * Modernization
 * Industrialization
 * A belief that Zionism is an extension of European colonialism