In Al-Sisi’s defence

Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi took over the political authority in Egypt, seized religious authority for himself, and has dominated the judicial authority. All that is left for him to do is to gain possession of fate.

Al-Sisi is neither Egypt’s destiny nor fate; he is part of a very precisely planned operation, created by those who later became his victims. He is “Frankenstein’s monster” put together by the political, judicial and intellectual elites in the country. They praised him and let his head get big, applauding him every time he eliminated their rivals or opponents. They then rekindled his mad appetite for prey and the elimination of others, and when he had nobody left in front of him to get rid of, he turned on his creators and crushed them; they had no way left to repel him or retaliate.

In the story of Victor Frankenstein, the main character in the eponymous novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818, the young doctor’s obsession drives him to create a human being from dead body parts. He couldn’t control his “Monster”, which escaped and created mayhem, killing and destroying those in its way. The story ends with the monster and Frankenstein fighting each other, and both die. As the well-known saying tells us, “The magic turned against the magician.”

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One of Egypt’s most famous writers and journalists, the late Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, said that Al-Sisi was “the leader out of necessity”; his insult caught up with him in his final days, when his statements were banned from the airwaves. This even followed him after his death, as his funeral did not befit who he was or reflect the extent of the services that he had provided in the creation of the Frankenstein general.

Writer and politician Alaa Al-Aswani described Al-Sisi as “the greatest in military history after Eisenhower”, while shaikhs and priests competed to raise his status to that of a prophet and saint. They suffered and were oppressed when the General became full of himself and began to conduct himself as the embodiment of one who is chosen by his Creator from amongst all of creation.

Al-Sisi killed Egyptian politics, ironically at the request of the politicians, and he burned minds and thoughts, at the will of the thinkers. He also killed justice at the demand of all those who are supposed to be the protectors of justice and the judiciary, destroying rights and freedoms in response to the advice of those supposedly concerned with human values and respect for dignity. Together with psychiatrist Ahmed Okasha and political science Professor Moataz Bilallah Abdel Fattah, he eliminated freedom and democracy from the lives of the Egyptian people; “Giving freedom and democracy to the ignorant,” they announced live on air, “is like giving weapons to a madman.”

All these, and others, have pushed Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, by all means possible, into playing the role of Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, of whom it was said, “Ultimately, both views of him, the mad and despotic tyrant irrationally given to killing those around him on a whim, and the ideal supreme ruler, divinely ordained and chosen, whose every action was just and righteous, were to persist, the one among his enemies and those who rebelled against him, and the other in the hearts of true believers, who, while perhaps perplexed by events, nonetheless remained avidly loyal to him to the end.” Al-Sisi is also fond of dominating all religious and secular authorities, and has also made too many decisions and decrees without referring to anyone.

In this sense, the irrational and inhumane situation Egypt is witnessing under Al-Sisi is no different from the experience of the people under Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The irrationality often starts small, and then grows slowly and turns into an ocean of madness.

I remember when Al-Sisi’s goons arrested a university student for possessing a copy of the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Many considered this irrational, but I had predicted something similar. Furthermore, when will Al-Sisi ban eating the traditional Egyptian moloukhiya, like Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah did before him, considering himself to be a wise philosopher? He ended up claiming prophethood and divinity, remember.

It is not too far-fetched to imagine Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi standing before a real court and the judge asking him, “Why did you defy the divine being and misconstrue religion?”

Al-Sisi will no doubt reply, “There are clerics who considered me a prophet and a divine miracle. They said everything I do is absolute good, so I used my powers.”

Why did you kill those who protested against you, displaced others, and violated the rights and liberty of the people?

“I did all of this based on the desires of many scientists, thinkers and politicians,” the General will answer. “Even when I’d slow down, they’d accuse me of favouring the terrorists and urge me to eliminate them and disperse their sit-ins.”

Why did you seize all authority, and make yourself judge and jury?

“They said to me, ‘Oppress, Sisi’; so I did.”

That will be his defence: “The others told me I could do it, and should do it, so I did do it.”

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.