It has been over four years since the start of the Egyptian revolution. For much of that time, the country felt as though it would overflow with hope in spite of obvious problems. The citizens overthrew Hosni Mubarak and voted in their first democratically elected leader. The election felt like progress, even though elected President Mohamed Morsi governed undemocratically. When Morsi was overthrown and Abdul Fattah el-Sisi took over, it was clear that the people were in control of the future for once. But now, almost one year into el-Sisi’s presidency, Egypt is in worse shape.

El-Sisi has not met expectations. Hunger is widespread, electricity is unreliable, Christians feel unsafe and public opposition is silenced. Last week, his military executed 183 dissidents. While these problems were never going to be easily fixed, citizens are now growing frustrated at his administration’s apparent unwillingness to find a solution.

An article by Thanassis Cambanis in The Atlantic outlined the tensions between members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Morsi is politically affiliated with, and most everyone else. “Right now we’re caught up in a momentary conflict between the military complex and its reactionary supporters on one side, and the Muslim Brotherhood and some religious extremists on the other,” he wrote. It is these reactionary el-Sisi supporters that are most interesting and vital to continued freedom. Non-secular, moderate el-Sisi supporters make up a majority of the Egyptian public — instead of backing a tyrant simply to oppose the Muslim Brotherhood, they must come together to leverage their potential for influence. If the disapproval of el-Sisi continues to be conflated with approval of the Muslim Brotherhood, the moderates will be trapped within over-politicized polarities that only benefit extremists.

I am not sure what is going to push el-Sisi toward reform, but the outcome of another revolution might be too much for the already unstable Egypt to handle. Unless the ordinary citizens act, the country’s Muslim Brotherhood faction — officially banned but louder than ever — will dictate the direction of an inevitable revolution. It seems now that the choice is not between revolution and peace, but rather who will decide the revolution’s aim. The cost of moderates’ continued silence will be high.

My grandmother assures me her apartment in Cairo is safe, but after months of prodding, she now grudgingly admits that el-Sisi governs like Mubarak — even though she and seemingly everyone else voted for him less than a year ago. This is the problem moderate Egyptians face: they align themselves with el-Sisi because he separates himself from the Muslim Brotherhood, which hinders their ability to effectively critique his obviously flawed leadership. Having seen the alternative, moderates have largely chosen to stay quiet, allowing their party to run wild and the opposition to rise.

A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Feb. 4 print edition. Email Omar Etman at oetman@nyunews.com.