Gallery: Prayers, Protest, Police Brutality: Raw Videos From Egypt's Uprising
01youthquake
When hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators poured out onto the streets of Egypt in late January, dictator Hosni Mubarak responded by [shutting off internet and cellphone access](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/01/egypt-internet-down/) to keep the activists from organizing. Suddenly, a protest movement that used [Facebook pages](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/trolls-pounce-on-facebooks-tahrir-square/) and [Twitter hashtags](http://howto.wired.comwikiFollow_the_Arab_World_Protests_Online) to coordinate and push its message out was back to the old-fashioned methods of street politicking. But Mubarak miscalculated. The protesters didn't disperse, giving the lie to the idea that what was happening in Egypt was a flash mob playacting at revolution. Satellite news networks like Al Jazeera kept the eyes of the world focused on dissidents' demands -- a focus that became all the more dramatic when [Mubarak began a brutal crackdown](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/horses-camels-rocks-molotovs-egypts-thug-tech/), with regime loyalists targeting dissidents and foreign journalists alike. When the internet and cellphone blackout lifted on Wednesday, the world still had viral-ready video footage of the truth of Egypt's precarious uprising. Here are some of the most dramatic images that even a dictator willing to unplug his whole country couldn't suppress. __Above:__ Youthquake ---------- Young Egyptians have been the most-articulate spokespeople for the leaderless demonstrations, co-opting the security-heavy rationales that the regime uses to stay in power. "We want to keep this country safe," this young woman says. "They want to destroy it." *Video courtesy YouGertTube*
02call-and-response-in-tahrir-square
Call and Response in Tahrir Square ---------------------------------- Cairo's Tahrir Square is the epicenter of the protests, playing host to hundreds of thousands of people denouncing Mubarak in call-and-response chants. Some even set up soccer games to keep morale high. *Video courtesy justimage*
03thousands-clash-with-riot-police-in-cairo
Thousands Clash With Riot Police in Cairo ----------------------------------------- Violence during the protests has largely been one-sided, with the police instigating confrontation before they gave way to plainclothes provocateurs this week. Protesters who asked why the cops wanted to defend a dictator got truncheons to the head. *Video courtesy RussiaToday*
04new-spirit-of-national-pride
New Spirit of National Pride ---------------------------- For all the West's fears about Islamic radicals hijacking the uprisings, there was only one flag on display at Tahrir Square: the Egyptian colors. As if it were a festival, protesters even organized cleanup squads, symbolizing the need for better national hygiene. *Video courtesy TheDailyNewsEgypt*
05new-technology-vs-old-fashioned-thuggery
New Technology vs. Old-Fashioned Thuggery ----------------------------------------- The internet may have been down, but tech-savvy demonstrators in Tahrir Square used their time off-line to compile video and still images of the police repression. [Danger Room correspondent Mike Elkin was on the scene](”http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/cairos-band-of-geeks-survives-tahrir-square-assault/”) to cover their efforts for Wired.com. *Video: Mikel Ayestaran and Mike Elkin*
06tiananmen-square-courage-in-cairo
Tiananmen Square Courage in Cairo --------------------------------- Perhaps the most iconic viral footage from Cairo showed a single demonstrator standing in the way of a police personnel carrier in an attempt to draw its water cannon off his comrades. Whether he meant it or not, he stirred up the memory of the man in [Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989](http://www.realcourage.org/2010/06/tiananmen/), showing that the will to be free is an indomitable weapon. *Video courtesy TelLieVision1*
07military-prevents-confrontation-between-protesters-and-police-in-cairo
Military Prevents Confrontation between Protesters and Police in Cairo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In contrast to the police, the Army actively refused to defend the Mubarak regime, even acting as a buffer between cops and protesters. Chants among the patriotic protesters included, “The Army and the People are one hand!” and soldiers got kisses on the cheek from grateful demonstrators. *Video courtesy TheDailyNewsEgypt*
08tear-down-a-dictator-literally
Tear Down a Dictator, Literally ------------------------------- Mubarak isn't used to desecration of his image. Protesters in Tahrir Square introduced him to a new sensation. *Video courtesy MrPeopleNews*
09police-beat-demonstrators-in-cairos-tahrir-square
Police Beat Demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square -------------------------------------------------- After decades of repression, Egyptians understand what happens when the police arrest you for your politics: You're going home in an ambulance, if at all. Before mysteriously melting away last weekend, the police tried to round up protesters to break the uprising's back, and didn't shy away from getting physical. *Video courtesy TelLieVision1*
10in-a-tense-moment-a-peaceful-prayer
In a Tense Moment, a Peaceful Prayer ------------------------------------ The mosques are Egypt's old-school social networks: a place to gather, strategize and deploy. They also made the protesters' display of faith -- and implicit condemnation of tyranny as sacrilege -- all the more striking. *Video courtesy mubbarak*
