Good Article: Cairo Is not Tehran of 1979

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/01/cairo_is_not_tehran_of_1979

The voices making comparisons with 1979 have failed to understand the seeds of the Islamic revolution, nor do they seem to recognize that today's Egyptian uprising is a non-ideological movement. As someone who conducted research on the Brotherhood in Egypt for many years, I predicted 10 years ago that the only alternative to Mubarak would be a more democratic state run by the Brotherhood; I have been surprised at just how minimal a role the Brotherhood has played so far -- not only in the street movement, but in the consciousness of the young people in Tahrir Square.

Their grievances are aimed squarely at the repression, cronyism, and stagnation that have smothered the Egyptian people for decades under Mubarak and his regime. Both the weakness and strength of their protest movement lies in the fact that they have no prescribed path forward. Of all the slogans chanted in the streets of Egypt over the last week, the Brotherhood's decades-old cry -- "Islam is the solution" -- has been noticeable mostly for its absence. There are several reasons the Brotherhood has found itself in the background, even though it has stated that the movement supports Mohamed ElBaradei as a symbolic leader of the opposition, and it is steadily becoming more visible in the protests.

Very different situation in Tehran in 1979, when the US-trained SAVAK secret police were roundly hated by all the opposition elements, and for good reason.

If we don't make the same mistakes we did in Iran, we won't get the same results anyway.
Good piece.