Eltahawy exclaimed the nationwide protest in Egypt was the happiest moment of her life, arguing “President Mubarak is our Berlin Wall . . . if we can get our Berlin Wall to fall – and we will, I’m confident we will – you imagine the freedom fever that will spread across the region.” What Egyptians with “freedom fever” might do next was Maher’s concern, and the interview got a little testy when Maher brought up some facts. According to a Pew study Maher cited, a majority of Egyptians support stoning as punishment for adultery, the death penalty for Muslims leaving the religion, and were in favor of Sharia Law, and Maher wondered if this might pose a problem in the future.

When Eltahawy clearly did not want to discuss those issues and kept repeating that Egyptians just want freedom, Maher insisted she address the reality of his question…