Egypt’s Al Sisi Reinvents Himself as Bulwark Against Terrorism

Abdel Fatah Al Sisi, criticized for cracking down on his Islamist opponents, is embraced for his stand against Islamic State

The specter of an expanding Islamic State has alarmed leaders across the Middle East. But for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, that threat has become an opportunity to transform himself from an international outcast to an ally in the regional war against terrorism.

President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi attends the opening of an 
armed forces factory in Cairo last week. 
Photo: Egyptian Presidency/Zuma Press

Since Mr. Sisi came to power in a coup two years ago, his government has criminalized street protests, sentenced hundreds to death in mass trials and, according to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, imprisoned some 40,000 political opponents and their supporters, drawing widespread international criticism.

He also has declared his main political opponent, the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization, despite its explicit denunciation of violence, putting the popular Islamist organization in the same category as avowedly militant groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Egypt's deposed President Mohammed Morsi in a defendant's 
cage as a judge sentences him and more than 100 others to 
death on Saturday. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

On Saturday, a special court set up in the police academy in Cairo sentenced to death ousted President Mohammed Morsi, the former Muslim Brotherhood leader, and more than 100 other leaders and members of the organization, underscoring the breadth of Mr. Sisi’s crackdown.

The Egyptian leader’s tough response to the emergence of Islamic State coupled with Iran’s expanding sway in traditionally Sunni Muslim spheres of influence have boosted the 60-year-old retired army general’s stock in the region as a bulwark against extremism.

Al Sisi: We Must Revolutionize Our Religion

At the same time, his declarations about the need to “revolutionize” Islam to increase tolerance in the Arab and Islamic world have helped his image in Washington, opening the way for the Obama administration’s cautious embrace of the Egyptian leader.

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