EGYPT'S popular democracy movement, the latest in a string of similar protests across Arab societies, represents a spectacular rejection of the old pro-Western dictatorships and the political violence of al-Qa'ida.

The protests that have unseated dictator Hosni Mubarak from Egypt after 30 years in power coming on the back of similar protests that unseated Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali from Tunisia after 23 years in power are the biggest uprising in modern Arab history. Yet in a region more usually portrayed in the West through images of terrorism and war, it is remarkable how peaceful the transition away from dictatorship has been.

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