“I would be more inclined to be optimistic if it weren’t for the data shown in the Zogby poll of Egyptian views on the role of sharia law and islam in their government.”
How does one go about getting a valid public opinion poll about politics in a dictatorship? I have serious doubts about the validity of polls taken anywhere in the Middle East...
There was no reason for the people being polled to hold back on their views...It is basically an Islamic dominated country so these views would not be in contradiction to the Mubarak administration.
Actually, the Egyptians are very Proud of their Sharia viewpoint! the demonstrators were myabe 200,000 or 250,000 people..most of whom were college students, middle class, many have been outside of the country..they are NOT representative of all Egypt, hardly.
When you have a government that is viewed as secular running the show and the general opinion in the poll is the opposite, I think it says quite a lot.