Cairo, Egypt--One of the funny stories of the Arabs before Islam goes along the lines that they were making an idol of “dates” and worshipping them... then when they felt hungry they would simply eat them.
When you read ancient Egyptian history, you’ll find that Egyptians used to worship The Pharaoh, ascribing to him greater Holiness than all the other gods and with absolute power and complete submission to the “human” pharaoh, this manner remained with Egyptians for thousands of years until the coming of Islam to Egypt and the forbidding of worship to humans and idols. But it seems that this practice still lives in the genes of the Egyptians, as an inheritance passed down from their ancestors.
Egyptians now are making a new idol of Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. There is a mania, a flood of love to the man the Egyptians never ascribed to any living political or military person since President Nasser, who ruled Egypt in the sixties.
Latter day Egyptians have bypassed the Cult of Obama with al-Sisi. Their hero doesn’t coddle or suck up to the Muslim Brotherhood, but fights it.
In the past many Egyptians could be characterized by their fawning flattery to those with power and influence, ranging from policemen through to managers at work, wealthy people, rulers and authorities. Whether this hypocrisy comes out of fear and trying to avoid harm, or just from greed, this trait is spread widely leaving out some intellectuals and big families who can protect themselves with enough money to avoid having to wait for government grants and donations from others.
Egyptians who see Sisi as a man considered to be the strongest one in Egypt today, view him as the de facto ruler and decision maker, and not as simply a defense minister who must follow the orders of the prime minister and president. To them, Sisis is “the man”, a symbol of an independent Egypt that he rescued from extremists after ousting the leadership of the deadly Muslim Brotherhood. They also see Sisi as freeing the people from the 31-year-long dependence on America.
Egyptians now proudly and openly compare Sisi and former President Gamal Abdl Nasser, who freed Egypt from British occupation and helped many Arabic and African countries gain liberation from colonialism. Nasser had great compassion for the poor. ‘Naserism’ became a popular political trend with some parties using the title as a sign of their desire to revive the same methods that Nasser followed.
If you walk in the streets of Cairo, you'll find photos of Sisi on the sidewalks and on public transportation. Just like a 2008 America and the everywhere pictures of Barack Obama; wherever you look here, you'll find someone has put a photo of Sisi on his house, shop or car. And that’s not even mentioning the media. In everyday conversations in cafes, restaurants and even inside houses of worship, the revered name Sisi is always accompanied with praise from moderate people, or with curses and indignation if from the Muslim Brotherhood and hard-liners. Sometimes young men keep singing songs of praise to Sisi--if only to tease the followers and members of the Brotherhood!
A number of activists are urging Sisi to be the next president of Egypt, and some of them have already begun collecting signatures from Egyptians to give action to their desire, despite Sisi’s repeated assertions that he doesn’t want to run for the presidency and that he only prefers to continue his task of protecting Egypt. The grassroots support for Sisi continues even though we have had two massive revolutions in order to get rid of the of the military rule and to elect a civilian president, a president, who comes from among them, who better understands their hardships, sufferings and one who is aware of their dreams and desires. Those pushing Sisi For President seem unaware they may be paving the road toward dictatorship--a road well traveled in Egypt.
Ironically, what is happening now with Sisi looks exactly like what happened to former President Mubarak and his son Gamal. The same rumors and deeds spread by some people began collecting signatures "to force" Gamal Mubarak to nominate himself in elections to replace his father. They said that no one could lead Egypt at that ‘critical time’ but Mubarak the son! That is exactly what the supporters of Sisi are saying now, without the slightest difference of words, just different faces in the crowd.
Just Like Sisi, Gamal Mubarak was always saying that he was unwilling to run for the presidency and that he preferred to serve Egypt in his position. To the wary, this sounds like just an echo of the same words and lies. After the revolution and exposure of behind-the-scenes secrets at the presidential palaces, Egyptians now know that Gamal Mubarak was going to kill himself with his own pistol when the revolution begun shattering his dream of being the next president of Egypt.
The truth is that Sisi does not have trouble finding hypocrites to polish his image. They find them among journalists, broadcasters (anchors) and even party leaders and former presidential candidates--especially when able to declare their allegiance to Sisi in the hopes they might become a minister or an adviser and gain power and wealth, or at least to enjoy the protection of Sisi were he to remain as defense minister and the strongest man in Egypt.
To be fair, it is clear that Egyptians need a leader to rally around and a leader that can face the enormous challenges that exist today. Egyptians have been waiting for decades. They even revolted without a leader and this was one of the reasons for its success. People did not find the inspirational, strong leader in the presidential candidates in the first elections after the revolution. Egyptians really need the presence of a leader who will motivate them to work hard, face, head on, the failure of the economy and the accumulated debts after the collapse of the manufacturing and tourism industries. Egyptian reality includes the spread of terrorism, a weapon of chaos which stalks all walks of life now. People feel that without a strong leader to impose his vision and his will strongly and passionately, things will not get better and this confusion and random chaos will continue for a long time.
On the other hand, even if Sisi is the national savior, people love him for his humility and simplicity. We can only hope that continuing veneration of him, will not change him from turning into another dictator who sees himself as a leader who never makes a mistake.
This is how Egyptians treated Mubarak and all dictators before him, even though Egypt, one of the first human civilizations born on the banks of the Nile, is also the first factory churning out pharaoh-like gods.
