I'll get this out of the way right up front:  I know very little about modern Egypt.  I know that their "president", Hosni Mubarak, is really just a dictator with a thin veneer of democracy.  I know that the U.S. has been in bed with Egypt pretty much since they threw out the monarchy back in the 50s.  I know the Nile goes through it.  I know Cairo is a huge city, one of the biggest (and most densely-populated) in the world.  I know that Alexandria is ancient beyond belief, at least by American standards (where Boston counts as "old").

And that's about it, really.  Anwar Sadat came from there.  It borders Israel.  And the Med. That's it.

But here's the funny thing:  when I've watched protests in (nominally) Islamic countries in the past, I kept thinking, "Uh oh; is this going to be the nutty Muslims or the non-nutty Muslims who take over?"  But when I watch Egyptians protesting, I think, "Wow; Egyptians!"

Yes, there are lots of Muslims in Egypt.  But there are also Christians of many stripes.  And Egypt isn't some flybown dust-speck covered with mountains in Central Asia; Egypt is home to one of the most ancient cultures, and one of the most ancient recorded civilizations, in the world.  These people were building pyramids and canals and doing complex irrigation back when my ancestors were a bunch of barbarians roaming around Germania and Briton, building houses out of rocks or whatnot.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I dunno; you just don't get the feeling that people who have been civilized since before Moses started herding goats will put the whack-a-doo branch of Islam in charge.  You don't get the sense that this is a Muslim revolution, or this is another branch in the worldwide growth of dar-al-Islam; this is Egyptians revolting against a corrupt Egyptian government.

I don't know how this is all going to end, but I have a strong feeling it's not going to be with an Ayatollah in charge.  What do you think?