What Egypt's President Sisi Really Thinks

In: Middle East Quarterly, Band 21, Heft 4, S. A1

Abstract

The pre-political brigadier-general of 2006 anticipated the somewhat contradictory chief of staff; defense minister, and president. Retired field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is a pious Muslim ambivalent about Islamists; a fan of the caliphate in theory who rejects it in practice; a critic of Mubarak's who permitted the revival of his political party; a fan of democracy who wins 97% of the vote; a military officer theorizing on forms of democracy; a fan of independent media who allows journalists to be convicted of terrorism charges; a critic of tyranny who encourages adulation of himself. Sisi, clearly, remains a work in progress, a 59-year-old still trying to discover who he is and what he thinks even as he rules a country of eighty-six million. Outside powers can help by cooperating with Sisi on immediate concerns -- arms, counterterrorism, and intelligence -- and pressuring him on longer-term issues -- military business operations, the rule of law, and human rights. Adapted from the source document.