Johnson
Hist289A
Section0101
Prof. Bertinus Landau
15 May 2012
Final Paper
Tahrir Square vs. Occupy Wall Street
With the course coming to an end, our last assigned topic was focused on Arab
history, in particular Egypt. Even though lecture was short, Prof. Landau brought my
attention to the issue of Tahrir Square, an event I previously never even heard about.
After doing some research, I learned that it was in a sense an occupy movement and after
recalling what was talked about during class about possible final paper questions it all
seemed to make sense. With that being said, I will take Prof. Landaus advice and pose
my final question to the historical context of how Tahrir Square compares to the Occupy
Movement, in particular who was being protested against and why? I find this a great
way to end the semester because it includes two topics examined throughout the
semester, they are similar in so many ways, and lastly theres just an abundance of
information on both topics so it shouldnt be too difficult to make an in depth analysis of
the two to answer my question.
First off, lets look at how Tahrir Square and the Occupy Movement are similar.
The Occupy Movement, which we spoke about in class previously that occurred very
recently in 2011, was basically a mass protest against higher power officials. Even though
this was a direct effect of the rapidly diminishing economy, protesters came together
through social networks not to only protest the current financial state, but the upper class
as a whole. They did this through occupying Wall Street, the location of New Yorks
financial district. In short, the movement was indirect action to make the economic
structure of society fairer for all. The Occupy Movement is seems to be very familiar to
historians seeing as though it is practically identical to the occupy of Tahrir Square in
Egypt. Tahrir Square, which is a very populated town square in Downtown Cairo, Egypt,
was the site of protest for thousands of Islamists and liberals fighting against the
countrys military rule. [News Middle East] But as seen in the events in New York, there
wasnt one uniform argument of protest. Some people were even celebrating the success
of Islamic parties, but for the most part they were calling for more political reforms and
more equal distributions of power. Muslims had been frustrated that the military
prevented their domination of parliament from transforming into a real political power.
Giant banners were even made stating rejection of military rule [Mail Online] that is
similar but not quite as powerful as one of my favorite signs from Occupy Wall Street
reading When power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
This quote from the Buzz Feed for the 50 best signs form Occupy Wall Street,
exemplifies both historic events because they both originated from a overrule of power
and disregarding the extreme poverty and amount of deaths caused by the lack of
inequality of power distribution.
During lectures the week of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, I recall watching
a short film entitled Fault Lines. Within this film, there were clips showing violent action
being taken by authority officials, in particular police (riot control). Unnecessary violent
action I must add, in my opinion it was no need to physically abuse innocent civilians no
matter what the case may be. Someone in lecture whos name I cannot recall mentioned
that they cant be gentle and get the same desired results, but it would be absurd to
actually allow the police to take such precautions seeing as though they already abuse
their authority more than enough. For them not to take advantage of this opportunity
would be shocking to me. I mention this display of violence to intensify the similar
characteristics of the two historical events. In a blog I read on Tahrir Square, there was a
lot of violence taking place at the time of the protest. There had been a number of vicious
attacks on the protesters by thugs and the square began to look like a battlefield. An
interesting excerpt from my blog source reads, Violence on peaceful protestors-like at
the height of the uprising that toppled last Mubarak year-has again made people forget
their ideological differences. [The Guardian] This just goes to show that there is an
extensive history of violence making its way into protests that are seemingly harmless.
One other slight similarity is that there was somewhat a sign of hope brought
upon the people that could alleviate the issues previously protested on Wall Street.
President Obama was seen as the savior of the economy because of his many
proclamations to reduce taxes for lower-mid class and raise the taxes for the people who
had the money to spare (upper class), also being the targeted group in the first place.
Though, Tahrir Square didnt necessarily have a particular government official or
presidential candidate in mind, they did have powerful inspiration from speakers like the
Muslim cleric Muzhar Shahine that reassured the crowd of what they were fighting for.
He proclaims, Today we came to demand that presidential elections take place on time,
without delay even for a single day. [Mail Online] This gave a sign of relief since unlike
the unsuccessful efforts of Occupy Wall Street; the protest of Tahrir Square resulted in the
council concluding that they will no longer postpone elections nor favor a particular
candidate. They also promised liberals to transfer power to a new elected civilian
administration, so there efforts did not go in vein.
To conclude, I am able to answer my historical question by saying that Tahrir
Square and the Occupy Wall Street Movement share a number of similarities in how the
two were formulated and protested. Meaning, they were both protested through a concept
of indirect action, by simply gathering to show unity and rebellion against people of
higher standing or better financial stability. Though, in one case the main target is
military rule and delayed elections, and the other is broader focus including mortgage
loaners, bankers, and even government (Republican Party who was believed my many to
have led to this financial downfall). It was very interesting and enlightening for me to see
how two events of completely different eras can be so similar to each other, which just
goes to show that when there is a universal issue people will join forces to stand up for
what they believe in despite how much disparity is present. During lecture I recall
mention of we are the 99% that was said during the Occupy Movement. This quote
could be applied to both historical events since majority of the population was being
treated in an unfair manner by what was seen as the upper class in their respective
settings. Its amazing to me how cultures and countries that are polar opposites in a
number of ways could show such unity and determination to uphold their beliefs and
morals even if that means taking risky actions such as protesting.
Dorrian, Gareth. Down With Military Rule: Tens of thousands pack Tahrir Square to
protest against army generals and pro-Mubarak election candidates Mail Online. 20
April, 2012. Web. 13 May 2012
1. This source is reliable because it is an up-to-date online news sources that provides
information on international events including on site pictures and detailed but concise
accounts of the events.
Murrays, Alex. Egypts Tahrir Square Protestors Tell Their Stories BBC News Middle
East. 26 January 2012. Web. 13 May 2012.
2. This site is reliable because its a well-known and trusted news source. In particular, it
includes a brief description of the event to begin with followed by first-hand accounts of
what people experienced during their involvement in the protest.
Fjelstad, Josh. The 50 Best Signs From #OccupyWallStreet Politics Buzz Feed. 7
October 2011. Web. 13 May 2012.
3. This would be a reliable source simply because it features real life photos from the
Occupy Wall Street Movement without any editing so you can really see what people
were protesting against.
Abdelhadi, Magdi. Egyptians take Tahrir Square to the juntas doorstep The Guardian.
3 May 2012. Web. 14 May 2012.
4. Even though this source is a blog it is reliable because it has been reviewed and
commented on by a number of historians and is featured on a reliable news website.