The Second Wave?

by Patrick Appel

Al Jazerra gets a quote from historian Basheer Nafi:

My feeling is that we are witnessing a second wave of the Arab liberation movement ... In the first wave, the Arabs liberated themselves from colonial powers and foreign domiantion. I think now, the very heart of the Arab world, the backbone of the Arab world, is leading the move towards freedom and democracy and human rights.

(Photo: Buildings are silhouetted at dusk along the Nile River which runs through the city of Cairo on January 31, 2011, as the nation gears up for strikes and a million-strong march expected in the capital and Alexandria, marking the eighth day of protests by Egyptians calling for the end of President Hosni Mubaraks regime. By Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)