One Year Later, the Revolution is Not Complete in Tahrir Square

January 25, 2012 — They are gathering in Tahrir Square today.

Egyptians, journalists, and others gathered and marched and protested, one year ago today, in an epic citizen-driven Egyptian revolution that ended in the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

But really, it didn’t end there. In the year since, revolutions have engulfed nearly the entire Arab world, starting in Tunisia, grabbing the world stage in Egypt and Tahrir, and continuing on to Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and others. The mass protests and harnessing of people power through social networks that played out in Tahrir Square proved, perhaps in the most emphatic, dramatic and peaceful (for the most part) way that “massive peaceful resistance was sufficient to topple the paper tigers that had ruled with an iron fist for decades,” as expressed in our “Best Good News Muslim Stories of 2011.”

Things are far from resolved in Egypt, and protests have continued since January 25^th and the subsequent resignation of Mubarak in clashes against the military, who is in power now. In this light, thousands gathered today again in Tahrir Square to emphasize the need for democracy and further political reforms.

As reported by the BBC, several thousand people gathered Tuesday night to camp out in Tahrir Square, joined by thousands more in the morning “representing the liberal and Islamist ends of the new political spectrum. … At the moment, Tahrir Square feels more like a victory party for them than a celebration for all people. The Facebook generation is simply lost in the crowd. … Various groups are all competing to claim ownership of the revolution, from the youth movement … to the Muslim Brotherhood, which now dominates parliament, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took power last February after Mubarak stepped down.”

What is to follow from this day forward is a story the world is watching, something I cannot comment on nor predict, only to pray that the will of the people carries Egypt through its transition.

From the Social Networks:

As the revolution grew from the youth movement and social networks, I’d like to share with you some the updates on Facebook in regards to the one-year anniversary of the “Day of Rage”:

Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

“We are not for anybody, we are not against anybody.
We stand up for justice, and against injustice.
We stand up for mercy and love, and against indifference and hatred–wherever and everywhere that these qualities manifest themselves.
To the extent that anyone lives justly and acts in love, we are together. And whoever (Muslim, not, etc.) oppresses and spreads hatred, we rise up against not …the person but the quality, the action.
That’s why the ultimate opposition is not, was not, to Mubarak, to SCAF, to Israeli occupation, to Saudi and Syrian brutality, or to Neo-cons.
It is simply to injustice.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…. One Pharaoh is gone in Egypt, but Pharaoh-hood remains in our own hearts and in our own communities. May we rise above replacing one Pharaoh with other Pharaohs. We still need each of us to find the Moses of our own soul to lead our own people into the Promised Land–that Promised Land that is not a place, but a state of living in harmony with one another, with our selves, with God, and with the natural cosmos. May all the uprisings and all the revolutions lead to this promised land, and may we be participants in making it so, Insha’Allah.”the person but the quality, the action.
That’s why the ultimate opposition is not, was not, to Mubarak, to SCAF, to Israeli occupation, to Saudi and Syrian brutality, or to Neo-cons.
It is simply to injustice.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere….
One Pharaoh is gone in Egypt, but Pharaoh-hood remains in our own hearts and in our own communities. May we rise above replacing one Pharaoh with other Pharaohs. We still need each of us to find the Moses of our own soul to lead our own people into the promised land–that promised land that is not a place, but a state of living in harmony with one another, with our selves, with God, and with the natural cosmos. May all the uprisings and all the revolutions lead to this promised land, and may we be participants in making it so, insha’allah.
 

We are all Khaled Said Facebook Page:

“(Jan. 24) Tomorrow 25th January 2012 is the anniversary of the Egyptian revolution… Protests are planned all over Egypt calling for presidential elections soon after the “Shura” Advisory Council elections. We do not want the constitution to be written under the military rule. Quick presidential elections are the main demand of tomorrow’s protests.”

And:

“(Jan 25) Rasmus Bogeskov, reporter for the Danish daily newspaper, Politiken, in Cairo is saying: I’ve been standing in the same place for more than 15 minutes and marches from Giza is still passing by. Incredible. #Jan25

Photo of Tahrir square moments ago. It’s packed.

Our demand is simple: End of transitional period and presidential elections.”

Author and activist Mona Eltahawy:

“I am marching to Tahrir today to say the revolution continues and to honour the martyrs who gave their lives for Egypt’s freedom. Long live Egypt! Ta7ya Masr!”