October 14, 2011.

This famous photo by Nevin Zaki shows unity of religions during the Friday Prayers in
Egypt’s Tahrir Square. It shows Christian revolutionaries forming a human chain to protect Muslims.

In 2010, a wave of popular protests, called the Arab Spring erupted in several Arab countries. The
uprisings of the people were against tyrannical and corrupt rulers who had been in power for many
years. As a result of the protests, the rulers of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen were overthrown. Also,
the monarchs in Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia faced serious problems.

The Arab Spring began with the self-immolation of a young Tunisian named Mohammed Bouazizi, which
soon led to a popular uprising. The young Tunisian man set himself on fire after police had prevented
him from selling fruits and vegetables in the street without permission. He later died in the hospital from
his wounds. The incident triggered weeks of violent street protests across Tunisia. People were angry
over unemployment, corruption and rising food prices. The rallies finally led to regime change. The
country’s president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali also fled Tunisia.

After the victory of the Tunisians, the Egyptians started their protests against the government of Hosni
Mubarak in January 2011. The first sparks of the revolution came with the rally of Egyptians in front of
the Tunisian Embassy in Cairo in support of the Tunisian popular revolution. Two days later, an Egyptian
man named Abdeh Abdul Mone’m Hamadeh set himself on fire in front of the regional parliament
building in protest at the closure of his restaurant and local officials’ ignorance of his complaints. The
Egyptian youngster before killing himself chanted slogans such as “Security forces, my rights in the
country have been trampled.”

Hosni Mubarak ordered the shooting of demonstrators and scores of people were killed. But the popular
forces eventually won and Mubarak officially resigned on February 11, 2011.

October 14, 2011: Nearly three million people in Tahrir Square in Cairo hold Friday prayers. In his
sermons, Sheikh al-Qarzawi said, "Egypt taught the world an important lesson. Almost everyone who
was attending the protests took part in the prayers and afterwards, they chanted the slogan God is
great, that shook Tahrir square.

The al-Alam correspondent who was there said: "There is a strange unity between the demonstrators,
both Muslims, Christians and supporters of different parties and groups, and there is no sign of religious
or party disagreement."

But the most beautiful move that showed the unity and solidarity of the people was when a group of
Egyptian Christians joined hands with each other and formed a human chain around Muslims who were
holding Friday prayers to protect them from possible attacks of security forces. Two days later, on
Sunday, Egyptian Muslims protected their Christian compatriots during their service.

The impressive photos of the unity of religions in Egypt were released and shook the world. Among
them, the most moving photo was the one showing Christians revolutionaries protecting Muslims during
Friday prayers. This photo was taken in Cairo by Nevin Zaki.

Who is Nevin Zaki?

He shared the images on Twitter and wrote: "Remember that the photo was taken a month after the
bombing of Alexandria, where many Christians lost their lives. However, we are all standing together. "

These photos show that when people stand together, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or race, they can
prevail over any oppression. Photos that show a political and social solidarity free from any sectarianism.
Perhaps the moment that Zaki had taken these photos, he did not know that his photographs would be
recorded in history as evidence of human solidarity and affect the world, and that is the magic of
photography.