the Shahada

Translation: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger" (la ilaha illallah Muhammad rasulu illah).

This stencil of the Shahada is now very common in Midan Tahrir.

After someone dies, a Muslim says "We are for Allah and we are returning to him" (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon). When in a state of disbelief or shock, a Muslim may instinctively say the Shahada- "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger" (la ilaha illallah Muhammad rasulu illah). The Shahada is the Muslim testimony of belief.

Throughout the past week, I have heard shouts of "Allahu Akbar" in Midan Tahrir. I have seen men stop chanting against military rule in order to pray. I have watched as ambulances drive the injured from the site of the clashes to the large field hospital in Omar Makram Mosque on the other side of the Midan while men and women hold hands to make sure there is a clear path. I pushed my way through a crowd with the help of a woman wearing the niqab. And I have heard people muttering "la ilaha illallah Muhammad rasulu illah" when they see a bloody picture from Al Jazeera on their smart phone or learn than yet another person has died in the clashes.

Yes Islam is present in the Midan, but Islam is present in Egypt. This is not an Islamic Revolution, this is an Egyptian Revolution.