The 44th anniversary of the liberation of Sinai arrives as Egypt stands at a historic crossroads, not only due to crippling economic crises, but also because it is at the heart of a geopolitical storm reshaping the region with blood and fire. President El-Sisi's recent speech represents the culmination of the contradiction between the language of independence and the reality of subservience. This necessitates an analytical reading that reconnects the present with the past to expose the falsehood of the path the state has followed since signing the peace agreements with the occupying Jewish entity.

Over four decades, Egyptian presidential discourse has evolved from the language of diplomatic victory to that of existential anxiety. During Mubarak's era, the rhetoric was celebratory, focusing on the return of Taba and legal autonomy, as if reclaiming a piece of sand were the ultimate goal. Meanwhile, Sinai was effectively being transformed into a demilitarized buffer zone in large parts, making it hostage to security arrangements that served the occupation’s security more than Egypt’s sovereignty! With the transfer of power, the core of the discourse remained constant: clinging to “peace” as the sole strategic option. This has gradually eroded Egypt’s power and transformed the state from a regional leader into a mediator seeking appeasement at any cost!

When we reach the final part of the speech, we find a pivotal passage that should give pause to any discerning observer. El-Sisi indicated that the Middle East is going through a delicate and fateful period, witnessing deliberate attempts to redraw its map under the guise of extremist ideologies. This acknowledgment of a plan to redraw the map is a clear admission of the failure of the national security regimen, which was based on the premise that peace would protect the borders. The astonishing paradox here is that the speech, despite analyzing the processes of occupation, destruction, and bloodshed, did not dare to mention the Jewish entity by name, contenting itself with alluding to it through vague descriptions! This verbal inadequacy is not merely diplomatic caution; it is an admission of the limits of power and an indication that the independence being celebrated is an independence of compromised will, unable even to openly name its existential enemy that threatens its eastern borders!

The conclusions we draw from tracing this trajectory confirm that the geographical return of Sinai was nothing more than a smokescreen to conceal the reality of political and economic surrender. Land has been traded for independence, and Egypt, which once boasted of its regional ambitions and Arab nationalism, has become a hostage to aid, debt, and crippling agreements. True independence is not merely raising a flag over a piece of land; it is possessing the power to decide on war and peace, and developing the deterrent force that prevents others from even contemplating redrawing the map of the Muslim World. What is happening today in Gaza, and the direct threat to Egyptian national security along the Philadelphi Corridor, is the natural consequence of the policy of subservience and appeasement that the state has pursued for decades, under the illusion that adhering to treaties would bring stability. Meanwhile, the Jewish entity has been using this time to consolidate its settlement project and dismantle the surrounding states one by one.

Herein lies the fundamental question: What is the way out of this dark tunnel? The radical solution does not lie in improving the terms of dependency or changing the tone of the rhetoric, but instead in changing the very foundation upon which the state and the entire region are built. The crisis is not a lack of resources or a geographical advantage, but instead the absence of a civilizational project that draws its strength from the Ummah’s Aqeedah (creed) and its Islamic identity. The solution begins with acknowledging that the treacherous path that began with Camp David has led to a dead end, and that the only remedy is a radical change of course.

This solution entails abrogating all treaties that shackle the Ummah’s decision-making authority, breaking free from dependency on the international order led by imperialist America, and unifying the Ummah's energies under a Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood. This Khilafah possesses the strategic depth, human resources, and capabilities that make it an equal to, and even surpass, the major powers. Only within this framework will Sinai be transformed from a hostage into a launching pad, and nuclear and technological power become an imperative of independence that no one dares to deny, because the Khilafah will then derive its legitimacy and strength from the authority of the Ummah, not from the international order.

Protecting Sinai and Gaza and preventing the redrawing of maps will not be achieved through political solutions and negotiations, which have proven ineffective over the past 44 years. Instead, it requires possessing genuine power that does not surrender its decision-making to foreign powers. Furthermore, the discourse that calls for cooperation and reconstruction with an occupier who is destroying the country and shedding blood is the discourse of someone trying to swim against the overwhelming current of the Ummah, hoping that the West will shield them from it!

Liberating the land without liberating the decision-making will is a larger prison with invisible walls. Sinai today stands as a testament to the impotence of a nation-state bound by humiliating agreements, incapable of protecting its security or supporting its people. Continuing down this path is not merely a political failure, but a gamble with the fate of an entire Ummah before an enemy that has no regard for any covenant or obligation.

Therefore, the burden today does not fall on the shoulders of the shackled preachers and politicians, but instead on the shoulders of the sincere members of the army of Egypt, Al-Kinanah. O descendants of Salahidin and Baybars, the remedy for this failed path lies in your hands, and changing course begins with your courageous decision. We call upon you sincerely, not to seek fleeting power, but to give nussrah (military support) to Hizb ut Tahrir so that it may establish the Khilafah, which will uproot the roots of subservience from our land, put an end to this humiliating subjugation, and lead the Ummah towards true liberation (tahrir), a liberation that will break the chains of Camp David, dismantle the Sykes-Picot borders, and unify the scattered armies under one banner, so that Egypt, and with it the entire Islamic Ummah, may begin its journey in the right direction towards glory and empowerment (tamkeen). History does not forgive the hesitant, and Allah (swt) supports those who support Him. So, show Allah (swt) the best of yourselves, and be the Ansaar (supporters) in a time when supporters are scarce.

* Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Egypt