Yesterday, January 25th, marked the Egyptian revolution’s first anniversary. To celebrate this, millions of Egyptians went to Tahrir to protest the current situation in their country:

The protest in Tahrir on Jan 25, 2012.

Yes, the Egyptians are protesting after a parliamentary elections that birthed a parliament with people like these in power. Thinking about it, though, if one wanted to give an overall description to the “Arab Spring,” the most accurate expression would be: rise of the fundamentalists.

It serves as a catchy Hollywood title, no? Arab Spring: The Rise of the Fundamentalists. I should trademark this. And nothing describes the way it is in Egypt, Tunisia and other countries that protested better than this picture:

A caricature circulating currently in Tunisia

Who cares that Egypt has a soaring poverty rate or that Tunisia has a ridiculously high unemployment average. The first thing the new Egyptian parliament did was not to start serious discussions about the country’s future but to refuse to commit to women rights. Again, who cares about women rights, men rights, children rights, animal rights. Who cares about the Copts getting killed on daily basis because of their faith? What matters is saying no to overly revealing clothing and taking extended naps during parliamentary sessions.

Just some food for thought but perhaps one of the few things keeping the society in Lebanon from absolutely crumbling is the fact that fundamentalism cannot and will not get to power.