Will Egypt Remain Stable Enough to Become a Democratic Nation

Things were not good in Egypt this weekend.
Christian Copts demonstrated to oppose what they see as unfair rules about building churches as opposed to building mosques. Twenty-five people were killed, some by the Egyptian military, which intervened to try to stop fights that broke out between Copts and Moslems. In the melee, the military tanks rolled over protesters, crushing at least one person's skull in the process. Copt spokesmen asked why this never happens when Muslim groups demonstrate.
Fires broke out in the Tahrir Square area of Cairo and the military enforced a curfew to try to get the situation under control. Today, Cairo is quiet but tense.
The Egyptian interim prime minister asked for calm, reminding the Egyptian people that their time would be better spent building their new government and country instead of engaging in sectarian fighting. But, the Copts believe they are being targeted and say they will continue to demonstrate. Militant Moslems are becoming more aggressive in their attacks on Christian Copts, who make up 10% of the Egyptian population. 
All this is happening at a sensitive time for Egypt. Parliamentary elections will begin in November and continue until March under a staggered schedule. Then, a new constitution will be drafted and a president elected, possibly as late as early 2013. Some Egyptians, both Moslem and Christian, want the presidential election moved up so that the military relinquishes power as soon as possible. The feeling is that the longer the military governs, the more likely it is that they will never give real power to civilians, staying in the background to pull the important strings. The military leadership denies this vociferously.
As long as Egypt stays in the current no-mans-land of military control, with the only outlet for civil grievances and anger being street marches, the more dangerous the situation will become. For example, the Copts' anger relates to churches in the south of Egypt  
but today there have been Copt demonstrations in Alexandria in the far north of the country.
It is in the best interests of the world to help Egypt get its house in order and move on to an elected constitutional civilian government with a popularly elected president. This is a delicate matter, for if Egyptians see the help as "meddling," it would not be acceptable, and, as one can imagine, almost any help could be read as meddling. 
The United States has today stated its support for the military's actions, but not the deaths, and says it believes the military leadership when it says that movement toward civilian government is advancing as fast as possible. More countries should continue to take an active interest, through their diplomatic relationships and to speak out in support of the effort everyone in Egypt is making to put their country back into working order.