Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is a Muslim and the president of Egypt. He grew up in the midst of the Muslim world and in the world’s center of Sharia scholarship. So when he called for a religious revolution within Islam, his words had great significance.

In his speech in Cairo’s premier center of religious learning, he called for a change and revolution. He argued that Islam is in “need of a religious revolution. You imams are responsible before Allah. The entire world is waiting on you. The entire world is waiting for your word … because the Islamic world is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost.” He went on to add that, “We need a revolution of the self, a revolution of consciousness and ethics to rebuild the Egyptian person — a person that our country will need in the near future.”

Columnist George Will lauded al-Sisi for his bravery. He said that, “as head of the Egyptian state, al-Sisi occupies an office once occupied by Anwar Sadat who was murdered by Islamic extremists for his opening to Israel. This was an act of tremendous bravery by al-Sisi, and if the Nobel Peace Prize committee is looking for someone who plausibly deserves it, they could start there.”

President al-Sisi is right that Islam is in need of a religious revolution, but it is hard to see how that will happen in the Muslim world where more and more Arab countries are run by or else threatened by radical elements within Islam. And it is hard to see how Europe and America will help when the leaders of most of these countries are afraid to even talk about radical Muslim terrorism.

President al-Sisi is now calling for other Arab countries to join forces to battle ISIS. On a recent televised speech he said, “The need for a unified Arab force is growing and becoming more pressing every day.” He is one Arab leader who understands the problem within Islam and is calling for other Muslims to join together and fight ISIS. He deserves our support.