Revolutionary Justice

Special Courts and the Formation of Republican Egypt

Yoram Meital

The first comprehensive study on the role of special tribunals and the justice system in the making of republican Egypt
Sheds light on the political crisis between the new Egyptian regime and the the Muslim Brothers in the aftermath of the 1952 revolution
Highlights the dialogue on democracy and social justice in Egyptian courtrooms, contrasting the widespread conception that the Muslim world is inherently undemocratic and its religions and cultures inimical to liberal values

Revolutionary Justice

Special Courts and the Formation of Republican Egypt

Yoram Meital

Description

Revolutionary Justice narrates the power struggle between the Free Officers and their adversaries in the aftermath of Egypt's July Revolution of 1952 by studying trials held at the Revolution's Court and the People's Court. The establishment of these tribunals coincided with the most serious political crisis between the new regime and the opposition-primarily the Muslim Brothers and the Wafd party, but also senior officials in the previous government. By this point, the initial euphoria and the unbridled adoration for the Free Officers had worn off, and the focus of the public debate shifted to the legitimacy of the army's continued rule.

Yoram Meital charts the crucial events of Egyptian Revolution both within and outside the courtroom. The tribunals' transcripts, which constitute the prime source of his study, offer a rare glimpse of the dialogue between parties that held conflicting views. While "show trials" against political dissidents are generally considered of little historical value, Revolutionary Justice lucidly shows that the rhetoric generated by Egypt's special courts played a crucial role in the denouement of political struggles, the creation of new historical trends, and the shaping of both the regime and the opposition's public image. The deliberations at the courtroom reinforced the prevailing emergency atmosphere, helping the junta advance its plans for a new dispensation. On the other hand, the responses of defendants and witnesses during the trial exposed weaknesses in the official hegemonic narrative. Paradoxically, oppositional views that the regime tirelessly endeavored to silence were tolerated and recorded in the courtroom.

Revolutionary Justice

Special Courts and the Formation of Republican Egypt

Yoram Meital

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction

PART I - THE LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF A COUP

1. Extraordinary Tribunals in Modern Egypt: A Genealogy
2. Whitewashing a Coup

PART II - JUDGES AS HISTORIANS

3. The Revolution's Court
4. Who was Responsible for the 1948 Debacle?
5. Rhetoric and Historical Polemics

PART III - TURNING FRIENDS INTO FOES
6. The Advent of the People's Court
7. Officers-Brothers Relations: What Went Wrong?
8. The Trial of the Murshid
9. Trapped between Two Revolutions

Appendix I: Decree on the Crime of Treason - Law No. 344 of 1952
Appendix II: Decree on the Establishment of the Revolution's Court (1953)
Appendix III: Decree on the Establishment of the People's Court (1954)
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Revolutionary Justice

Special Courts and the Formation of Republican Egypt

Yoram Meital

Author Information

Yoram Meital is Professor of Middle East Studies and Head of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. His research focuses on the political, social, cultural, and economic developments in republican Egypt. He has published three books, including Peace in Tatters: Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East.

Revolutionary Justice

Special Courts and the Formation of Republican Egypt

Yoram Meital

Reviews and Awards

"Revolutionary Justice provides an insightful historical context that explains why Egyptians were denied meaningful self-governance after their two populist revolutions." -- Sahar F. Aziz, Review of Middle East Studies

"Revolutionary Justice: Special courts and the formation of republican Egypt makes one of the most significant incursions into this field for a generation...Meital's narrative is worth reading for its drama alone..."--Times Literary Supplement

"First-rate....This is essential reading for students of modern Egypt and will prove valuable to historians and social scientists with broad, comparative concerns that include (inter alia) revolution, politicized judiciaries, and ways regimes and nationalist movements develop narratives to legitimize themselves and delegitimize others....Essential."--G. E. Perry, CHOICE

"This is essential reading for students of modem Egypt and will prove valuable to historians and social scientists with broad, comparative concerns that include (inter alia) revolution, politicized judiciaries, and ways regimes and nationalist movements develop narratives to legitimize themselves and delegitimize others."--CHOICE

Revolutionary Justice

Special Courts and the Formation of Republican Egypt

Yoram Meital

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