Many Egyptians laud Sisi for rescuing the country from ex-president Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist whose opponents felt was trying to rob Egypt of its moderate character. After nearly three years of post-revolutionary chaos, they also see Sisi as the restorer of stability – despite a rise in state-sponsored killing since Morsi's ousting.
"There's this feeling that the country was a little bit lost. There haven't been any stable institutions for quite a while – and the military was seen as the last bastion of stability and recourse," said Bassem Sabry, a prominent Egyptian columnist.
"So when Sisi stepped forward and did what he did, it was seen as a heroic act, taking a last-step measure to save the country from an ailing economy and a religious autocracy."
