SCRIPT: “The Man With The Iron Fist”
Runtime: 9:46
Abdelhamid Mahmoud
December 2015
(LEAD IN) This audio documentary is about Mohamed Pasha Mahmoud, who was the Prime
Minister of Egypt, under the rule of kings’ Fouad and Farouk. Abdelhamid Mahmoud takes the
listeners on a journey that explores Mahmoud’s character, political achievements, influence and
personality through the eyes of his grandchildren, and people who wrote Egyptian history.
Music: Fade In: Hello Psychaleppo - Tarab Dub
As time erodes our memory and thoughts, you sometimes seize to stop and think how it all
started.
You seek to relate to people who constructed history and shaped our today. While various
memories relate to my long journey at the American University in Cairo,
SFX: Nat sound Mohamed Mahmoud Street.
One of the first was located here, on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, where I attended the Junior
Summer Program in 2001, and started to reminisce of how it all began. The origin, the legacy
and the people it took, to orchestrate such magnificence altogether.
I was too young to realize many things in life, but old enough to notice my great grandfather’s
name on a main street. Those were the car rides during which I showered my dad with questions
about Mohamed Pasha Mahmoud.
Years later, a much more grown up me asked my father to join me on a walk and tell me about
the street and the man behind it.
Mohamed Mahmoud (MM) “Mohamed Pasha Mahmoud was raised in Upper
Egypt.”(:05)
SFX: Orchard Birds by Herbert Boland
Mahmoud AbdelRehim, grandson of Mohamed Mahmoud described that the story began in
greenery, peace and nature, Upper Egypt in 1880, when Mohamed Mahmoud was born.
Mahmoud AbdelRehim (MA) “Most of that was in Sahel Selim,” (:03)
I was amazed to know that,
(MM) “Mohamed Mahmoud was educated in Egyptian Schools, then he joined Oxford
University and he was the First Egyptian to graduate from there.” (:11)
In the first decade of the 20th century, and after Mahmoud Pasha Soliman sent his son Mohamed
Mahmoud to return from London, Mahmoud assumed multiple political seats. He served as a
deputy inspector in the Ministry of Finance under the rule of Khedive Abbas Helmy II.
Mahmoud was known for his patriotic actions, as while being the governor of Fayoum, he took
massive strides in terms of developing people’s lives, especially women, by establishing the first
girls’ school in 1908.
SFX: Children in School
while in his next position was the governor of the Canal, known as Suez now, he equalized the
status of Egyptian workers to foreigners. Later and during his rule over Beheira, he refused to
accept an increase in taxes on Egyptian families.
Mahmoud proved himself in the managerial positions he assumed. He was awarded the
Commandos excellence order in Agriculture from the French government in 1914, and in the
next year, he was awarded the Pasha rank.
AbdelRehim told me that the self-esteem that Mahmoud had was transmitted to him from his
father, as after the death of Egyptian Sultan, Hussein Kamel,
(MA) “My great grandfather, ahh, Mahmoud Pasha Soliman, was offered by the British,
you know, the Kingdom of Egypt, and he refused off course.” (:11)
(MM) “Mohamed Mahmoud had a high self esteem which made him say ‘I am a farmer,
my father is a farmer, and this is Egypt, to its farmers, and whoever doesn’t want to live
in Egypt with its farmers, leave whenever you want’.” (:20)
My father and I took a right of Mohamed Mahmoud’s street to visit their residence, which now
became AUC Falaki campus. We went inside the campus for my father to tell me more about
what used to happen in this place.
(MM) “In this villa, Mohamed Mahmoud was gathering all the intellectuals, and ahh,
and ahh revolutionary people. Saad Zaghloul was one among them. And Mohamed
Mahmoud, and Saad Zaghloul ahh, gave the electric beginning of the 19 ahh 19
revolution, it started from this villa.” (:45)
SFX: 1919 revolution.
Can you assume the chanting of the 1919 revolution that filled the streets of Egypt was because
of the futuristic outlook that Mahmoud had for the political scene in Egypt? In December 1917
he spoke with Saad Zaghloul about the idea of having a delegation to represent Egypt after the
end of World War I.
Meeting former Egyptian Minister of Culture, Emad AbouGhazi added to my understanding
about the political life of my grandfather.
SFX: Interview – Emad AbouGhazi (:20)
Mohamed Mahmoud joined Al Wafd party since its start, which led to the spark of the 1919
revolution after his exile to Malta, with Saad Zaghloul and others.
After Mahmoud splitting from Al Wafd,
(MM) “He founded the Liberal Constitutional Party, who became very powerful
politically.” (:07)
Mahmoud was elected to be the vice president of the party, while Adly Pasha Yakan was the
president of the party.
SFX: Interview – Lamis Gaber (:10)
When I met Lamis Gaber, political writer and known for writing the script to El Malek Farouk
TV series, she told me that Mahmoud was the only member of the liberal constitutional party
who got elected in the 1924 parliamentary elections.
Mahmoud’s first minister position was later in the 20’s, when he was appointed as the minister
of Transportation in Yakan’s Cabinet, where adjusted the ministry’s budget, reduced a lot of
costs, and prepared the budget plan for the Cairo and Alexandria airports.
SFX: Airplane sound
(MM) “When Mahmoud was the Minister of Finance in 1928, he sent delegations to
foreign countries to specialized in Economical and financial developments. He looked
after junior employees and made sure they were better appreciated in terms of salaries
compared to the senior ones.”
Mahmoud had gained the confidence of King Fouad, as in the same year, Fouad issued a royal
decree allowing Mahmoud the management of individually owned lands to the benefit of the
ministry and the public.
Fouad commissioned Mohamed Mahmoud to form his first cabinet in July 1928. His agenda
included the independence of the country, the constitution to remain under the protection of his
Majesty the King, to propagate justice, and ensure freedom.
SFX: Interview – Emad AbouGhazi (:05)
AbouGhazi told me that Mahmoud used to say, “I will lead the country with an iron hand.”
SFX: Interview – Lamis Gaber (:10)
Gaber surprised me when she said that the only prime minister who shut down around 100
newspapers was Mohamed Mahmoud.
Mahmoud called himself a “righteous dictator” not an “Unjust tyrant”. During his rule, he was
concerned with providing a better quality of living, constructing homes, improving the irrigation
systems, and decentralizing the government for better efficiency. In November 1929,
Mahmoud’s cabinet agreed with the British Government to settle the Othman loan to Egypt. He
resigned later in the same year, after not reaching common grounds between Egyptians and the
British.
(MM) “When Mahmoud resigned, he resumed his position as the head of the party, and
continued working on defending liberal politics in Egypt, and promoting liberal culture,
freedom of ideology and expression.” (:14)
In December 1937, King Farouk assigned Mohamed Mahmoud the formation of Mahmoud’s
second cabinet, and he was awarded the Fouad order, which lead to raising his status from state
to a dignitary rank.
SFX: Interview – Lamis Gaber (:20)
Gaber told me that Mohamed Mahmoud was a man of courage. Once King Fouad asked him
about his take on a person in the government, and he bluntly told him that this person is an
asshole, leaving Fouad at shock. Mahmoud replied to the shock by saying that there is no other
expression to describe this person!
In 1938, Mohamed Mahmoud formed two cabinets, where he established connections and
treaties, and endorsed Egypt’s role on an international level.
Mohamed Mahmoud started fading out from the political scene after his resignation,
(MM) “And he was ill for a year before his death, and ahh, I know that he was a very
heavy smoker.” (:10)
When it came to smoking, AbdelRehim told me more how the family dealt with Mahmoud,
(MA) “Off course my grandmother and my uncles, and all that used to fight with him to
keep the cigarettes you know, hidden somewhere.” (:08)
Before Mohamed Mahmoud’s death both,
(MM) “His two sons were, were called from the, the from Britain, to come and sit by his,
by him.” (:09)
And as a tribute,
(MM) “The street was named after the death of Mohamed Mahmoud, Mohamed
Mahmoud died on the 31st of January 1941.” (:10)
You now get a glimpse of the story,
The story of the Man with the iron fist.
This audio documentary was produced by Abdelhamid Mahmoud for the Audio Production
Course at the American University in Cairo, taught by Professor Kim Fox in Fall 2015. I would
like to thank Mahmoud Abdel Rehim, Mohamed Mahmoud, Lamis Gaber and Emad AbouGhazi
for the interviews. Music credits are, Tarab Dub by Hello Psychaleppo. Nat sounds were
collected by me, from Youtube.com and Freesound.org. Further research was conducted using
Alexandria’s Library book about the family of Mohamed Pasha Mahmoud.
SFX: Interview – Emad AbouGhazi (:10)
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