The Arab world has not been as stagnant nor as apathetic as is widely claimed. This week’s events in Egypt, while unusual in their scale, are a continuation of a movement that can be traced back through my whole lifetime: from anti-Gulf war protests in the early 90s to protests against IMF structural adjustments in the late 90s, to second intifada solidarity in 2001, massive anti-war protests in 2003, the pro-democracy Kefaya movement of 2004-06, wildcat strikes nationwide in 2006-08, the struggle for a minimum wage in 2008-09 and the anti-torture protests of 2010. The organisers and leaders have been active and involved for at least five to 10 years now.

However, the events in Tunisia not only injected a new hope and inspired tens of thousands of new protesters to participate, they spread the word “revolution”. Since the decline of the Kefaya movement – the unofficial name for the Egyptian Movement for Change – common wisdom dictated that activists should focus on economic issues, such as the minimum wage, and the daily humiliations faced by ordinary Egyptians, or on justice for victims of torture such as Khaled Said. So the organisers of the 25 January protest, while inspired by Tunisia, stuck to this formula, only to be overwhelmed by tens of thousands of previously unpoliticised people spontaneously chanting, “The people want the regime to go down” (or rather the people will bring down the regime) – a crude, very rhythmic and totally new slogan that emerged from the ranks of the uninitiated, not the experienced activists.

On Twitter Tunisians responded to news that Egyptian protesters had borrowed two lines from their national anthem by telling us how they sang revolutionary songs by the Egyptian leftist duo Sheikh Imam and Ahmad Fouad Negm. From the internet and satellite TV a new pan-Arabism is born: my generation was not brought up on Arabist propaganda as past generations were, yet in our attempts to revolt we automatically find solidarity. Gazans have been watching the events with even more enthusiasm than Egyptians, for our victory will have a big impact on them.

This is a reality born out of technology, geopolitics and shared circumstances, but it is also fragile. The internet also encourages sectarianism and consumerism; other identities are competing, such as the recent football wars between Egypt and Algeria. But thanks to Bouazizi, Sidi Bouzid and the Tunisian revolution, a pan-Arabism rooted in a quest for dignity and justice is now likely to dominate.

Alaa Abd El Fatah is a prominent Egyptian blogger.