Secularism in Egypt were banned including the Wafd Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. The government of Gamal Abdel Nasser was secularist-nationalist in nature which at the time gathers a great deal of support both in Egypt and other Arab states. Key elements of Nasserism: Following the death of Nasser, President Anwar Sadat (1970–1981) continued economic liberalization and maintained the government's secularist policy, even going as far as signing peace agreements with Israel which was a first for any Middle Eastern country. However, following further intensive clampdowns on political opposition, Sadat was assassinated and replaced by Hosni Mubarak who again faces the issue of
Anwar Sadat the Egyptian Army and involved in anti-British revolutionary activities, is presented quite sympathetically; his willingness to cooperate with German spies is clearly shown to derive from his wish to find allies against British domination of his country, rather than from support of Nazi ideology. Some of the scenes in the book, such as Sadat's arrest by the British, closely follow the information provided in Sadat's own autobiography. Sadat was a recurring character on "Saturday Night Live", played by Garrett Morris, who bore a resemblance to Sadat. Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat (; "", ]; 25 December 1918 – 6 October