As Egyptians return to Tahrir Square to protest against their president’s attempt to hijack their revolution, which had originally swept him into power, Iraqi civilian activist circles are all asking the same question: What is preventing similar civilian activism from taking place in Iraq?

The answers are varied and conflicting when attempting to explain the differences between the environments in Baghdad and Cairo. However the debate inevitably leads to a review of the Iraqi civilian movement’s activities since 2003.

In 2004, the scene was more optimistic. Widespread announcements were declaring the establishment of trade unions, professional associations and small groupings of civilian associations. This represented a new chapter for civilian movements, compared to the days of Saddam Hussein when they were nothing but hollow fronts. Iraqis soon became accustomed to the sight of activist groups taking to the streets for spontaneous demonstrations and civilian causes. They had never witnessed such things previously, unless of course state powers were behind them.

Yet, the relative rise of the civilian movement in Iraq was not to last long. Islamist parties were taking preparatory measures to dominate the street, and suddenly the tack of events took a qualitative shift. The civilian movement suffered its first setback of many when in July 2005, a spree of assassinations suggested a pattern of targeted killings, despite the fact that the assassins were locked in a sectarian battle. In the city of Hiit, located in the Anbar province in western Iraq, residents found the stab-wound-riddled body of an Anbar University student who had been an activist in the student union in Baghdad. His family said that an armed group of Sunnis had previously threatened him and demanded that he stop his activities and promote their group in the city's mosques.