Egypt FAQ: Answers to basic questions about a revolution

Who is Mubarak? What do the protesters want? When will it end? Why protest now? How will this affect the region?

Published February 1, 2011 2:54AM (EST)

Egyptian Army soldiers are seen on top of an APC vehicle near the pyramids, in Giza, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 31, 2011. The pyramids are closed to tourists.  A coalition of opposition groups called for a million people to take to Cairo's streets Tuesday to demand the removal of President Hosni Mubarak (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (AP)
Egyptian Army soldiers are seen on top of an APC vehicle near the pyramids, in Giza, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 31, 2011. The pyramids are closed to tourists. A coalition of opposition groups called for a million people to take to Cairo's streets Tuesday to demand the removal of President Hosni Mubarak (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (AP)

Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East. Egypt is the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the region after Israel and Iraq. Egypt is culturally, religiously, and politically complicated to a degree that makes American intervention particularly challenging. Even with six of their journalists in Cairo in custody -- Al Jazeera continues to be one hell of a T.V. station.

As protests in Egypt enter their ninth day and the situation becomes increasingly complicated, some basic questions need basic answers. We'll be updating this post over the coming days with dead simple information about the burgeoning revolution in Egypt and aggregated links to deeper coverage.

We're using an F.A.Q. model and will stick to the classic "Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?" format to make it easy to wade through the information. (Click through on each category for details.) You can also visit our Egyptian Protests topic page for the latest updates.

 


By Adam Clark Estes

Adam Clark Estes blogs the news for Salon. Email him at ace@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @adamclarkestes

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Africa Egyptian Protests Middle East