The presidents of Egypt and the United States are a match made in the hell of activists’ nightmares—thin-skinned, authoritarian populists who gain political traction from a “war on terrorism” that, to their followers, justifies a myriad of abuses.

Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, a general turned president, is a reminder that the military has ruled Egypt in one form or another for over six decades. As for Donald Trump, three generals—the defense secretary, the White House chief of staff, and the national security adviser—are effectively babysitting the commander in chief, in an unprecedented display of military power over the executive in modern U.S. presidential history. Moreover, my fellow compatriots—both Egyptian and American—are alarmingly enamored of their armed forces…