CAIRO - "Come on! Buy the photo of the hero! Buy the photo of the leader!" cried one of the hawkers in Tahrir Square during last Friday's protests. He was selling photos of Army Chief General and Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who has recently become a key figure in Egypt. Street vendors in Tahrir Square and other squares in the country are doing great business, selling pictures of all sizes of a youngish looking el-Sissi, who has become the face of Egypt's second wave of the Revolution, which ousted Muslim Brotherhood linked president Mohamed Morsi. El-Sissi posters were being distributed at the squares during the recent protests together with posters of late leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was a symbol of Arab nationalism half a century ago. Also, posters were parcelled around Tahrir Square that showed el-Sissi pictured with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, and the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb. "I bought about five photos; some I will hang on the walls at home and others I will take with me in protests," said Randa Ahmed, a freelance photographer. As a response to the Defence Minister's call for Egyptians to mandate the armed forces to confront violence and terrorism, people from all governorates gathered in squares last Friday holding el-Sissi photos as well as large banners which read ‘Ya Sisi amrak, amrak ya Sisi' "at your command, Sisi". The phrase is actually taken from a verse from a famous song by iconic singer Abdel-Halim Hafez which said "Ya sidi amrak, amrak ya sidi", but they changed ‘ya sidi' (meaning sir) to Sisi, referring to the Defence Minister. Since el-Sissi came to service on 12 August 2012 there were concerns in the Egyptian street regarding rumours that General el-Sissi is the hand of the Muslim Brotherhood in the army though el-Sissi has always declared that the Egyptian army stands in the Egyptian people side. On 25 April 2013 during the celebrations marking Sinai Liberation Day el-Sissi made his famous statement saying "the hand that harms any Egyptian must be cut.'" This was explained by the anti-Morsi side as a clarification that the Army is in the people's side while was explained by the pro-Morsi supporters that el-Sissi is warning the anti-Morsi side that he will not allow them to overthrow legitimacy. During the second wave of the revolution of June 30, the will of the people represented in more than 30 million Egyptians rallied in the squares against ex-president Morsi's regime and the Muslim Brotherhood rule. The armed forces, then, sided with the Egyptian people in their bid to oust Morsi. The anti-Morsi demonstrators in the streets celebrated el-Sissi's decision of overthrowing Morsi with raising posters for the General el-Sissi and chanting "The Army and the People are one hand". People also announced their support to General el-Sissi through social networks as thousands of Egyptians changed their profile pictures to the picture of el-Sissi while others started campaigns requesting el-Sissi to be given the rank of field marshal. A large number of Egyptians are now looking to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Commander of the Egyptian Armed Forces General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as a "national hero" was credited largely in standing by the people and removing the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood. "Since many years ago, Egyptians have missed the idea of the leader. Gamal Abdel-Nasser was the only one whose photo people were keen to put on the walls at their homes. Now el-Sissi has restored the image of the leader," said activist Rafiq Radwan, who was keen on buying some photos for el-Sissi from a street vendor. El-Sissi's photos made a massive profit for printers' owners and street vendors, as thousands of his photos were sold during the recent protest held last Friday to mandate the armed forces to fight terrorism. "I've sold nearly ten thousand photos of el-Sissi. No one in the square comes to the protest without holding a photo for el-Sissi. Every one wants to have photos of the hero," said Hussein Mohamed, a street seller, who sells different sizes of photos each is for 1 LE or 5 LE according to size. Born in Cairo in 19 November 1954, el-Sissi graduated from an Egyptian military academy in 1977 with a diploma in military sciences. He continued to train in the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College in 1992, and received a master's degree at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania in 2006. El-Sissi, who was sworn-in as Defence Minister on 12 August 2012, has held various leading posts in the army including commander of Egypt's Mechanised Infantry Battalion and the head of information and security at the General Secretariat of the Defence Ministry. He has also served as the Egyptian military attaché in Saudi Arabia. Among other notable appointments, el-Sissi was made chief of staff of the Northern Military Zone (located in Alexandria) and then commander of the Northern Military Zone before being promoted to head of military intelligence. "He is our leader, we should honour him," said Rabe'e, a street vendor in el-Ethadia place. "I sell his photos not just for the sake of profit, but also because I like him. I believe that he is a credible man and will bring security to the country," Rabe'e added. El-Sissi has brought to Egyptians' minds the image of the late leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser. For most Egyptians, he seems to be the answer to the history of beautiful memories experienced by some of the generations that are contemporary to the era of Nasser who made them felt pride, dignity and patriotism. "El-Sissi listened to us when we demonstrated in the streets to demand the ousting of Morsi's regime. So, when he asks us to gather in streets to give him permission to fight terrorism, we would do this immediately," said Hanan el-Masry, a young magazine journalist.
