I am in Cairo at the moment and first of all I must say that everyone I have met and/or worked with so far over here have been friendly and non threatening. At first I was a little intimidated when I would meet people with calluses on their forehead (see Prayer bump) from praying, but really if you are willing to give someone looking at you a smile, 99% of them will respond with a smile back at you.
Remember that in a city like Cairo that has at least half, or more of the population of Canada you are bound to get a higher number of crazies in one place. I read in a story that a protester in Cairo said him and fellow protesters were directed earlier in the day during prayers at the mosque. They have been been characterized as ultra conservative followers of Islam or Salafists. It is my understanding that they want a return to pre medieval ways and a rejection of all things non-Islam.
Most of the newspapers over here characterize the Muslim Brotherhood as the best organized group in the country but not nessisarily the most popular. There appears to be a resistance to turning Egypt into an Islamic Republic, infact I think the constitution prohibits political parties from forming on religious grounds.
One thing I don't understand is the characterization that the group was organized by ultras (supporters of the al Ahly football team). They are described as the second best organized group in Egypt, but I don't understand them also being Islamic fundamentalists. They get lots of credit for the revolution here last year. I think that the media is confused because they have been in the news recently (see Egyptian Football League) and have the word ultra in their title. Edit: but I may be wrong about this.
Anyway, I think everyone is in the wrong here (typical of this part of the world). Don't judge the whole by the actions of the few and don't accept people who willingly take actions that they know will incite violence. There are better ways to attempt to prove your point and the laws that protect him in America (which maybe they shouldn't) don't protect the people living outside of the states.
For those wondering about the timing of this, I though this commentary from an Al Jazera article sums it up:
Quote:
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Egyptian activist Wael Ghoneim wrote on his Facebook page that "attacking the US embassy on September 11 and raising flags linked to al-Qaeda will not be understood by the American public as a protest over the film about the prophet.
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Anyway, those are my scattered thoughts on this. Don't really have much to say about Libya other than it is a tragedy and seems much more organized and violent than what is happening in Egypt.