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Gamal Abdel Nasser was one of the most transformative and influential leaders in the modern Middle East. As president of Egypt from 1956-1970, he helped transform his country from a proud but backwater state to the leading nation-state in the Arab and Islamic worlds. Nasser introduced the concept of Arab Socialism, which besides being a new economic idea helped to unify much of the Arab world under his leadership, briefly joining with Syria as a single state. To the Arab street, as well as the political leaders in the region, Nasser was an unwavering bulwark against the West and Israel, which was partially made possible by his close relations with the Soviet Union. Nasser’s alliance with the Soviets not only helped to modernize the Egyptian military, but also served to improve the country’s ancient infrastructure through projects such as the Aswan Dam. But as much as Nasser is remembered as a source of strength for modern Egypt, his domestic policies on religion were complicated and sometimes contradictory.