Egyptian Reinforcements in Sinai
Between Coordination with Jews and the Duty to Liberate the Blessed Land
The past few days have witnessed extensive movements of the Egyptian army in northern Sinai, described by media reports as the largest military deployment since the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1979. Sources spoke of about 40,000 soldiers and hundreds of armored vehicles and military equipment, in a move said to prevent any scenario of mass displacement of Palestinians to Sinai. In contrast, Hebrew sources confirmed that this deployment came in full coordination with the usurping entity, within the framework of security understandings stemming from the ominous treaty.
Here, the question arises: What is the Sharia ruling on this deployment if it is under the umbrella of Camp David and under the eyes of the Jews? And what is the Sharia duty on these military crowds?
The treaty stipulated that Sinai be made a demilitarized zone except for limited forces, the presence of international monitoring forces, and security arrangements that restrict the movement of the Egyptian army on its land. More seriously, it recognized the Jewish entity and obligated Egypt to a lasting peace with it. This alone is enough to make it a Sharia-invalid treaty, as how is it permissible under Sharia to give the occupying enemy legitimacy over the land of Muslims, and Allah Almighty says: ﴿And never will Allah give the disbelievers over the believers a way [to overcome them]﴾?! Al-Qurtubi said: "This verse is a basis for prohibiting empowering the disbelievers over anything of the Muslims' authority," and the Camp David Accords gave them authority, recognition, and a claimed right in the land of Palestine.
The current military deployment did not take place outside the treaty or within the framework of an independent sovereign decision, but was carried out in coordination with the Jewish entity, as acknowledged by the Hebrew media. This exposes the truth of the matter: that these forces are not directed towards liberating the blessed land or fighting the Jews, but rather to control the borders and protect the security of the Jewish entity from any potential influx of Mujahideen or weapons, and to prevent the displacement of Palestinians to Egypt in a way that threatens the security of the regime, not in support of them or to work for the liberation of the land of Islam. These crowds, in reality, are part of the security system associated with the treaty, not an army prepared for Jihad in the cause of Allah.
The armies in the Muslim countries, especially the army of Al-Kinana (Egypt), are the people of strength and invulnerability whom Allah has obligated to support the religion and defend the sanctuary of the Muslims. Allah Almighty said: ﴿And what is [the matter] with you that you do not fight in the cause of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people?"﴾ Ibn Kathir says that this verse is "an argument for the obligation of fighting the disbelievers to rescue the oppressed from their hands." The people of Palestine today are the truest example of the oppressed whose support is required by Sharia, but for the Egyptian army to move and gather under the umbrella of Camp David and in coordination with the occupier, this is nothing more than tightening the restrictions with which America has shackled Egypt and its army since the seventies, and turning its power into a tool to protect the security of the Jews instead of threatening them.
The duty upon these masses of soldiers and tanks is to move not only east of Sinai, but to cross the borders towards Gaza and the entire blessed land, to remove the usurping Jewish entity from its roots. The blessed land is an Islamic land that has been usurped, and its liberation is an individual obligation upon Muslims. Imam Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Sahih Muslim: "If the disbelievers enter a country of the Muslims, Jihad becomes an individual obligation on the people of that country, and on those adjacent to them until it encompasses all Muslims," and here the enemy has occupied all of Palestine, and is persisting in killing its people and starving them in Gaza. So what obligation is greater than this? Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "If the enemy enters the lands of Islam, there is no doubt that it is obligatory to repel him on the closest, then the closest." Egypt, by virtue of its proximity to Palestine, is the most deserving of bearing this duty.
The goal of these movements is not to support the people of Gaza or liberate Palestine, but rather to protect the regime from potential public anger if displacement occurs, and at the same time reassure the Jews that the borders are secured and that no door for Jihad or weapons will be opened to them from Egypt. Thus, the function of the Egyptian army continues, as drawn by America in Camp David, as a striking force to protect the security of the Jewish entity, not to uproot it.
Every soldier and every commander in the Egyptian army must know that the Camp David Accords are Sharia-invalid, and it is not permissible to adhere to them, because they obstruct the obligation of Jihad and give legitimacy to a usurped entity. Every security coordination with the Jews is Sharia-forbidden and a betrayal of Allah, His Messenger, and the believers. Allah Almighty said: ﴿And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them﴾. Al-Tabari said: "Meaning whoever helps them and supports them against the Muslims, then he is one of them in ruling and allegiance". So how about those who cooperate with them security-wise and make the borders of Egypt a fortress for them?!
These reinforcements, as long as they are under the umbrella of Camp David and in coordination with the Jewish entity, are of no value under Sharia and the nation will not be excused by them before its Lord. Rather, they are a confirmation of the continued dependence on an invalid agreement and a missed opportunity to fulfill the Sharia duty.
O people of Al-Kinana: Your guarding in the cause of Allah is not by guarding the borders of the Jews or securing their existence, but your true guarding is to be on the fronts of Islam to liberate all of Palestine and cleanse it of their filth. Your guarding is to be in the squares demanding your sons in the armies to support the people of the blessed land and liberate the land of Islam and refuse to comply with the rulers of humiliation and shame, the slaves of colonialism, but rather to uproot them and establish the state of Islam; the Rightly Guided Caliphate on the method of Prophethood.
O soldiers and officers: You are the strength and invulnerability of the nation, and Allah will ask you tomorrow about the blood of the people of Gaza, and about the land of Israa (the Night Journey) that is being defiled by the most vile of Allah's creation. Either you will be soldiers of Allah, or history will write you in the column of those who were restricted by the enemy with an invalid treaty and squandered opportunities for victory.
O soldiers of Al-Kinana: You are not just individuals in a military formation, you are part of the nation of Muhammad ﷺ, and you are a vanguard that must move, a sword that must be drawn, and a support that must rise to support the oppressed in Gaza and in all of Palestine. Your brothers there are being slaughtered, besieged, and exterminated, and you are closer to them than any army, and more capable of breaking the chains, if you want. Do not be deceived by the orders that restrict your hands, and do not be tempted by the doctrine of fighting that is devoid of its spirit, for the true fighting doctrine is that which stems from the Quran, and these armies in Islam were not created to protect the regimes, or to guard the agreements of humiliation, but were formed to protect the nation, and carry the message of Islam to the world, and defend the lands of the Muslims, and terrify their enemy.
O soldiers of Al-Kinana: Is it not time for you to stand up for your religion, for your people, for your brothers who are being exterminated before your eyes?
Is it not time for your hearts to be filled with zeal for Al-Aqsa Mosque as it is being defiled, and for the children of Gaza as they are being cut into pieces by missiles? Is it not time for your souls to be freed from the captivity of the instructions issued by treacherous regimes that represent only the interests of the colonizer?
We are not addressing you as individuals, but as potential heroes, each of whom carries in his heart the seed of change.
Open your eyes to the truth, who is using you to guard a usurping entity that occupies the land of Islam? Who is making you secure its borders? Who is preventing you from supporting Gaza? Who is ordering you to remain silent about the massacres? Who is depriving you of fulfilling an obligation that Allah has imposed upon you? It is the regime that coordinates with the enemy, and remains silent about the killing, and even participates in the siege of your people in Palestine.
You are capable of breaking this equation, of turning the table, and of supporting your brothers.
It is enough for you to move, to go out for the sake of Allah, to make the pleasure of Allah the highest command, not the pleasure of America or the alliance of the Zionists.
It is enough for you to say: We will not betray, we will not remain silent, we will not remain guards of the crossings of humiliation and the treaty of shame and the borders of colonialism.
Let Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, and Khalid ibn al-Walid, the Sword of Allah Unsheathed, be your example, not the leaders of coups and the Camp David agreements. And let your weapons be a trust in your necks that is not raised except in the face of the enemy of Allah and the enemy of the nation.
Gaza is calling you today... Is there anyone who will respond?
Jerusalem is crying out to you today... Is there anyone who will help?
The nation awaits from you a position that history will record with pride, not with shame.
O soldiers of Al-Kinana, your time has come; either you will be men of change, makers of victory, and bearers of the banner of Islam, or history will record you in the pages of betrayal.
O Allah, convey [this message]... O Allah, bear witness.
﴿Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people﴾
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir
Mahmoud Al-Laithi
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the Wilayah of Egypt