Abdul Monem Mahmud, 28, is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group that is officially banned in Egypt but tolerated. He works as a journalist for al-Dustour and writes the blog Ana Ikhwan (I'm a part of the Muslim Brotherhood).

"The people are rebelling. People who are hungry and demand that someone take interest in them. The parties and unions are involved in the demonstrations, but they are not controlling them. It's not a political movement.

I talk with a lot of people, especially at the market. They tell me that they're not against Mubarak. They're not demanding democracy; but just to eat. Most people don't have more than 150 Egyptian pounds a month (18 euros) to keep their families alive. That's not enough. People are hungry, so they're rebelling. And it's this kind of revolt that can turn into a revolution.

We at the Muslim Brotherhood don't trust the elections organised by those in power. And the people don't either. We tried to get our candidates into the local elections, but the government disqualified almost all of them. They only validated 21, when there are 50,000 seats to be filled in the election. The ruling party controls everything. Citizens vote, but it's the chief of police who puts the ballot slips in the box."