A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Four Years Since the "Battle of the Camel"

One of the most dramatic moments in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 occurred four years ago yesterday, when pro-Mubarak thugs attacked the demonstrators in Tahrir Square on February 2, 2011. Bizarrely, some of the baltagiyya or thugs attacking were on horseback and camelback.  It was one of the first really violent incidents of the uprising, soon nicknamed "the Battle of the Camel" after a famous battle in the civil wars of early Islam.

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