Friday seems to be the preferred day for protests in the Arab world. You've got a captive audience at the mosque so why not mix in a little politics and get people to demonstrate in the streets?

Unfortunately, the thuggish governments of the Middle East have no respect for the Islamic day of prayer. YNet news:

At least 30 people were killed when Yemeni security men and pro-government gunmen opened fire at an anti-government protest in Sanaa after Muslim prayers on Friday, a doctor said.

 

Gunfire broke out when security forces tried to prevent anti-government worshippers from marching after prayers near the protest base at Sanaa University, and plumes of smoke from burning tires filled the air.

 

Tens of thousands of Yemenis had gathered in Sanaa for competing prayers and protests as businessmen floated a proposal to end a standoff between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and protesters demanding he step down immediately.

 

Yemen, next door to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, has been rocked by weeks of demonstrations that have undermined Saleh's grip on power. Tens of thousands of protesters were also gathered in cities across Yemen, from the southern port city of Aden to Hodeida in the west.

 

The United States, which has long seen Saleh as a bulwark against a dynamic al Qaeda wing based in Yemen, has condemned the bloodshed and backed the right for peaceful protest, but has insisted only dialogue can end the political crisis.

This is a situation tailor-made for al-Qaeda. They can add to the chaos by setting off a few bombs while sowing even more confusion and lawlessness. Who knows? Another week of this and the terrorists may be running the country.

Admittedly, that's an unlikely scenario, but al-Qaeda is very strong in parts of Yemen and they may become the de facto government as their soulmates became in parts of Afghanistan in the 1990's.

Just what we need; another safe zone for terrorists bent on killing Americans.