ABSTRACT
When Abdel Nasser made himself leader of the pan-Arab movement success seemed to be in store everywhere. In Iraq, Kassem, with the aid of Nasser’s followers, overthrew the Hashemites and their majordomo, Nuri Said. While formerly the unification of the Arab people stood in the fore-front, Nasser is putting more emphasis on the development of a socialist society in his country and in the Arab world as a whole. The absence of any social reforms affecting the roots of the social system in the countryside made Nasser’s régime appear unstable. Nine years after assuming power, therefore, Nasser decided to change his course and to provide the revolution with a social basis. According to Nasser the surrender of property to the poor, prescribed by the Koran, deserves high praise and should serve as an example. In August 1963 Nasser decided to nationalize all trade and to regroup the small outlets into greater units, controlled by the state.
