Resources
In a brief speech today, Barak Obama attributed the success of the revolution in Egypt to "the moral force of nonviolence." But the story of how nonviolence was used to organize the movement over the past three weeks is little known.
These two photos posted on Twitter by Nevine Zaki, for example, illustrate one of the innovative nonviolent tactics used in the field. They show Christians holding hands (see the Coptic cross wrist tatoo in the second photo) in a demonstration of protection during Muslim prayers in Tahrir Square.
This took place one week ago, after protesters had been attacked by Mubarak supporters. Furthermore, it was only a month after the bombing of a church in Alexandria where many Christians died. "Yet," Zaki writes, "we all stood by each other." Last Sunday the roles were reversed, with Muslim protesters providing a nonviolent barrier around a Christian worship service in Tahrir Square.
The CCP circle of truths exercise is a transforming experience that engenders surprising respect and understanding toward opponents. It also is an effective tool for planning nonviolent actions. We know that a growing child eventually develops the cognitive and emotional maturity to conceptually "put herself in someone else's shoes." It is this ability to role-take that is practiced and refined in the circle of truths exercise. 
