A Leaderless Revolution

The revolution against Mubarak did not have a figurehead; that was said to be key to its success. However, this strength has become a weakness in Egypt’s transition to democracy, writes Omar Ashour

A protester wearing a gas mask waves a national flag at Tahrir Square. Riot police have used tear gas in an effort to quell the protests. Picture: AP/Amr Nabil

THE man who taught me to sacrifice my heart for Egypt is dead,” said Vivian Magdi, mourning her fiancé. Michael Mosad was killed in the Maspiro area on October 9, when an armoured vehicle hit him during a protest called to condemn an attack on an Egyptian Church in the southern Aswan region. The protest left at least 29 dead and more than 200 injured — a higher toll than that of the so-called Battle of the Camels, when former president Hosni Mubarak’s security forces and armed thugs attacked pro-democracy protestors in Tahrir Square at the height of the revolution.