The heavily-Westernised mix-gender scenes of activists out demonstrating, sometimes in very close quarters like the back of a pickup truck, may not sit well with Arab time-honoured tradition of the separation of the sexes.

The flashy hip way of dress and behaviour of the opposition demonstrators could very well stigmatise them as American sold-outs in the eyes of conservative Arab viewers, which could in turn impact their movement...

Arab society remains overwhelmingly conservative, more so, perhaps than any time in its history, a fact that should not be confused with its thirst for democracy and reform as the Iraq elections proved. But ironically, the liberal-conservative scene here is not much different from the same scene across the Atlantic.