A Modern Revolution: Egypt's Ousting of Mubarak Quiz

Answer: Tunisia

Bouazizi eventually died from his self-immolation, though not before President Ben Ali visited him in the hospital. The visit was considered to be a public relations spectacle and a slap in the face to those who used Bouazizi's example as a rallying cry. Copycats emerged and soon the people of Tunisia took to the streets, eventually gaining popular support within the army.

Ben Ali was forced to flee the nation in humiliation on January 14, 2011. Events in this small African country set off a shockwave in the region which would eventually make its way to the Arab world's most populous and influential nation, Egypt.

Answer: #jan25

While "green" might have been a good hashtag for Iran's 2009 Green Revolution and "jasmine" could have been used for Tunisia's 2010-2011 Jasmine Revolution, "jan25" was one of the rallying cries for Egyptian Internet enthusiasts. The hashtag was a simple means to an end (that is to get Egyptians to the streets on January 25, the start of the revolution), but the tag remained as a Twitter mantra over the nearly three weeks that Egyptian protesters struggled.

Answer: "Made in U.S.A."

The images were uncomfortable (to say the least) to U.S. authorities and offered a reminder as to why the country was unpopular in the region. The U.S. had provided several billion dollars in military aid to Egypt for three decades, mainly in accordance with keeping the peace with Egypt's neighbor, Israel. This military assistance was apparently also provided in the form of riot control equipment.

The U.S. position on the events during the Egyptian revolution was crafted with great care not to give the appearance of meddling in foreign affairs. President Obama and other world leaders often called for progress in instituting democratic reform and pleaded for all parties to refrain from violence.

Answer: Tahrir Square

Officially named following the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, Tahrir Square swarmed with Egyptian protesters in 2011, all hoping to live up to the square's name. It was here that thousands would gather day after day, or perhaps would even set up camp in order to avoid traveling from the square and back home each night. Makeshift checkpoints were set up to limit weapons brought into the square, a task which the military later commandeered.

In the end, when Mubarak finally gave up the presidency, the protesters in Tahrir Square rejoiced and the mass protests became mass celebrations.

Answer: Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera played a large role in broadcasting the Egyptian revolution to the world. Many of its reporters were harassed and interrogated by Mubarak's forces, and the station was banned from further transmitting, having to close its offices in Cairo.

The network continued to broadcast to the rest of the world, however, and there were several calls in the U.S. and other countries for their television providers to carry the network or its English counterpart. Many believe that Al Jazeera's reporting helped expose the brutality of the Mubarak regime during the protests, throwing the public support of many nations behind the people in the streets.

Answer: Fire on the protesters

It became clear that the Egyptian military was not an entity one hundred percent loyal to the Mubarak regime. Even though the military profited greatly over the years he was president, the military stated clearly that it would not open fire on the protesters in the streets, giving Mubarak one less tool in his strategic arsenal of quelling the rebellion.

The military by no means promised not to take control of the government, and in fact they did just that after Mubarak's retirement, the president having relinquished his power to them. During the protests, the military also tended to play the role of the nation's police force, incarcerating looters, and trying to maintain order, though without forcing protesters from the streets.

Answer: Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood endorsed the protests soon after they began when the organization realized it was possible that the demonstrations could have some effect. It gave the movement some legitimacy amongst the Egyptian people, though the group was careful to declare its intentions to be secular and not religious. Nonetheless, concern over a theocratic takeover expressed by some Western nations led the Muslim Brotherhood to proclaim that they would not field a candidate in the much-anticipated upcoming elections.

Answer: Omar Suleiman, Chief of Intelligence

The measure of appointing a vice president hardly convinced the demonstrators that Mubarak was doing little other than shuffling his current administration in an attempt to appear as though he was putting forward reform. Indeed, the majority of the protests demanded that only Mubarak's resignation would be sufficient.

Omar Suleiman appeared on state television several times to address the Egyptian people and ask them to cease assembling. His pleas were felt by many to be patronizing, and the protesters continued to gather in the streets in ever stronger numbers.

Answer: Egyptian National Museum

Of the choices, only the Egyptian National Museum would have been worth protecting to the protesters, and by touchingly forming a human chain, they demonstrated that they wanted a peaceful transition to democracy, not anarchical chaos. Even with the protesters' efforts, the museum was looted and lost some irreplaceable relics, though much less than could have been stolen.

Answer: Replace the top military commanders

Though the Egyptian military and its government did much business, the two entities were relatively independent from one another. Mubarak would have very little authority to replace any military figure, especially top commanders.

It was likely that with Mubarak's waning control over the country, the military to which he relinquished his powers had asked him (ever so sternly) to offer his resignation. Indeed, it was a surprise to some of the military leaders in Egypt when the day before Mubarak resigned fully, he insisted he would never leave the post. The next day, the former president had resigned and was on a plane to the resort town of Sharm el-Sheik where his villa was located.