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As the crowds of protesters waited outside Mustafa Mahmoud mosque in western Cairo last week, the face of a famous terrorist could be seen lurking amid the throng.
Guy Fawkes; the most notorious of subversives. And not just one. There were at least three Guidos lurking in the street, ready to march on the first anniversary of Egypt’s landmark uprising.
There was no dynamite to be seen – kegs of gunpowder can be bad PR these days – but as Egyptians proved last year, incendiary spirit can still be enough to topple tyrants.
The Guy Fawkes masks came from V for Vendetta, the famous graphic novel where a mysterious revolutionary works to topple a post-apocalyptic fascist government.
In the week when mass demonstrations returned to the streets of Cairo, many activists suspected the ruling Military Council – in the eyes of some, Egypt’s very own quasi-totalitarian regime - was guilty of trying to hijack their revolution.
The generals had promised to help the people of Egypt “celebrate” the first anniversary of their uprising with fly-pasts and boat shows. Yet one hopes they paid attention to what their people were chanting last week.
As tens of thousands of protesters marched through central Cairo, chants of “the people want the regime to fall” rang out along the boulevards.
Activists at the front of the rally from Mustafa Mahmoud mosque carried a banner with photos depicting soldiers attacking civilians, while others yelled up at onlookers to join in the demonstration.
And there were enough ghosts at the feast to remind the military that not everybody shared its sense of bonhomie.
Aside from the nod to Guy Fawkes, numerous activists wore masks of famous martyrs, including Khaled Said, the young man whose death at the hands of police in 2010 eventually helped kick-start the revolution.
There was also Sheikh Emad Effat, a cleric killed during the fierce rioting in December; Ahmed Harara, the protester who lost one eye during the initial protests one year ago, then his other after being shot again in November; Mina Daniel, a young man killed when the military attacked Christian protesters in October.
It is food for thought for any generals hoping all this bothersome marching will just melt away.
During the recent elections to Egypt’s lower house of parliament, it seemed the public appetite for protests had diminished as voters took to the ballot box in droves. Last week was a reminder that the Arab street is never far from boiling point.
