The acquiescence of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak heralds a new era in Middle East politics, inspiring some commentators, including Rachel Maddow, to compare the popular protests that brought down Mubarak’s regime to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Indeed, the similarities are striking: a nation’s people celebrating jubilantly at the overthrow of a dictatorship, the military indifferent at the people’s opposition to their political masters, and the sense that the geo-politics of an entire region have just broken in favor of democracy.

In fact, just as Egypt fell after popular protests had swept the government out of power in Tunisia, so too did the East German regime after the Iron Curtain had been breached in other countries like Hungary (and of course, the Soviet Union).  Could this be the onset of collapse of a theological iron curtain?  As enticing as the comparison may be, there are many differences between the fall of the Mubarak’s regime and the collapse of communism. Perhaps the most striking of these differences is that the fall of the Berlin Wall was a spontaneous revolution that occurred when both border guards and political leaders got caught up in confusion about their border policy, and before you knew it, East and West Berliners alike were dancing atop the Wall, drinking champagne with East German police officers and celebrating their liberation.  But there was nothing spontaneous about the Egyptian revolution, which was the result of a sustained effort by the Egyptian people in the face of brutal violence.  This makes the Egyptian revolution even more admirable and unexpected–this was “revolution” in the French tradition, brought on by peaceful protests like those pioneered by Mahatmas Gandhi.  And all this in an Arab country?

Still, the prospect of democracy in Egypt poses its own problems, and if the new Egypt is to succeed, it will have to shake the shadow of Islamic radicalism.  It should not be forgotten that Mubarak was a bulwark against Islamic extremism, and while he may have lined his pockets during the process (to the tune of $70 billion, making him one of the richest men on the planet), he ushered in the era of economic and political stability.  In fact, Mubarak is one of few political leaders in the Middle East who has steadfastly resisted the forces of hate that plague Muslim countries.  And for good reason.

Mubarak is a military man, tracing his roots back to the Egyptian Air Force, which launched his political career when he avoided an Israeli trap (and let the Soviets fly into it) during the Yom Kippur War.  During the 1970s, Egypt, like many other nations, was vehemently anti-Israel, especially since Israel had refused to vacate the Sinai Peninsula, which it had conquered during the 1967 Six-Day War.  Egypt would not regain the Sinai until 1978, when Anwar El Sadat, then President of Egypt (Mubarak was Vice President), signed the Camp David Accords with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.  This made Egypt the first Arab state to formally recognize the State of Israel, and it enraged Islamic fundamentalists and Arab leaders, causing Egypt’s membership in the Arab League to be suspended.  Three years later, Sadat was assassinated by a military squad led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli in a hail of gunfire during a military parade marking the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.  Hosni Mubarak was injured in the hand during the attack.

Among those implicated in the Sadat assassination were Omar Abdel Rahman (aka “The Blind Sheik”), a Muslim extremist who had issued a fatwa calling for Sadat’s death. Rahman later became a high-level al-Qaeda operative and was implicated in the first World Trade Center bombing.  He is currently serving a life sentence in the U.S. on sedition charges stemming from the bombing conspiracy.

Following Sadat’s death, Mubarak succeeded to the Presidency, where he would remain for nearly 30 years.  During his rule, Mubarak would be a steadfast ally against Islamic extremism, using the powers of his police state to hunt down his radical Islamists ruthlessly.  This has included a protracted struggle against the Muslim Brotherhood–an organization founded in 1928 and dedicated to the establishment of Islamic regimes. The Brotherhood has been implicated historically in several assassination plots, and according to the BBC, Mubarak would go on to survive no less than six assassination attempts himself, although not necessarily at the hands of the Brotherhood, which split into violent and non-violent factions.

Wael Ghonim

With Mubarak now gone, Egypt is subject to a great deal of political uncertainty, and the specter of Islamic radicalism looms.  Nonetheless, the political figures that have come to the forefront of the Egyptian revolution give much to be optimistic about.  Wael Ghonim, the Google manager who was arrested for using social networking to help organize the protesters, put a face on the revolution that clearly reflects the role that globalization has had in forming popular perceptions.  With Ghonim, we saw something very rare indeed: a Muslim mother expressing her pride for a son who had served the cause of democracy, and not terrorism.

Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s Vice President and the harbinger of Mubarak’s resignation, was a close ally of Mubarak and united in Egypt’s struggle against Islamic radicalism.  And the man who would like to lead the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed El Baradei, studied law in Geneva and at New York University and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his work on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.  If this is the new face of the Muslim Brotherhood that Glenn Beck is screaming about, well then I’d say we are in good stead.  There are, of course, more controversial Arab politicians who would happily take Mubarak’s spot, including Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary-General, who unlike Mubarak, has not hesitated to place himself in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This brings us full circle to our “Berlin Wall” moment.  Tunisia has fallen, Egypt has fallen, and now Algeria is facing similar unrest, with unrest spreading to Jordan, Yemen and other parts of the Middle East.  Could Egypt have been the linchpin to an entire region?  If the region is North Africa, then it certainly looks like it.  But as its history reveals, Egypt’s politics were always a step ahead of other Arab nations.  And it is really in Iran and Saudi Arabia where the iron fist of Islam has rooted itself (albeit in diametrically opposed traditions).  Iran has suffered from protests for years, and these protests have not brought victory to the forces of democracy.  It is likewise unlikely that we would see Saudi Arabia loosen its iron grip (and that U.S. would demonstrate the same level of restraint that we saw with Egypt).  So it might not be the fall of an iron curtain, but with the dawn of democracy in Egypt, there is a whole lot to be hopeful for.