The El-Sisi Regime in Egypt and the Policy of Silencing Dissent
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 603 - 10/06/2026
By: Ustadh Saeed Fadl*

The chapters of repression practiced by the Egyptian regime against the people of Egypt have not ended. Due to the deep attachment of the Egyptian people to their belief and their Ummah, the repression has been severe. One can hardly distinguish between the tyranny of Egypt’s rulers; Nasser was no more merciful to the Egyptian people than Sadat, Mubarak, or El-Sisi. All of them had a hand in oppressing the Egyptian people, and they are truly rabid dogs unleashed by America to harm the Egyptian people.

For Pharaoh El-Sisi, repression is not an individual matter or a security overreach, but instead a continuation of a systematic policy implemented through various means: arrest, prolonged pretrial detention, enforced disappearance, travel bans, asset freezes, and media defamation. An example of this is the regime's recent persecution of the members of Hizb ut Tahrir, after the Hizb in Wilayah Egypt called upon the Ummah to support their people in the Blessed Land of Palestine. Washington and Tel Aviv grew weary of this blessed campaign, so they ordered the Pharaoh of Egypt to crack down on the members of the Hizb. Many were arrested and forcibly disappeared, and none of them brought before any court. Even worse, they were accused of pronouncing kufr (تكفير tafkeer) despite being people of Deen and Iman who advocate for and strive to implement the Shariah Law of Allah (swt) in its entirety on Earth.

To enable the regime to violate all laws, norms, and human values, including its own laws, the repressive regime also arrested three leaders of the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience in the early hours of Monday, May 25, 2026, on the grounds of a peaceful solidarity activity. This scene appeared to be a condensed summary of the nature of the Pharaonic state, which not only imprisons those calling for the implementation of the Shariah Law of Allah (swt), or even its opponents, but also persecutes those who defend them. This arrest is not an isolated incident, but instead part of a long history documented by the international press and human rights organizations. These organizations only mention a fraction of the crimes committed by repressive regimes, presenting these violations to the public as a smokescreen. Within this awful record is what Human Rights Watch confirmed in its 2016 report on Egypt, stating that the authorities continued to punish dissenting voices and targeted journalists, human rights defenders, and political opponents. The report also documented years ago that Egypt blocked dozens of news and human rights websites as part of a broader campaign to control the public sphere. This is not merely censorship. It is an attempt to completely engineer the information that reaches the people.

One of the most dangerous aspects of El-Sisi’s rule is that he not only seeks to suppress Islam and intimidate Muslims, but also to silence dissenting voices and monopolize the narrative. Therefore, the conflict with the regime is no longer about the system of government, public policies, elections, or the peaceful transfer of power, but instead about who has the right to define reality itself. Press and human rights reports have documented that Egypt uses vague charges such as takfeer, spreading false news, and joining a terrorist or illegal group to criminalize any call or speech that does not praise the regime and its symbols, regardless of whether it comes from a Dawah carrier, journalist, activist, lawyer, or researcher.

When a regime goes so far as to arrest a committee concerned with prisoners of conscience after a solidarity event, the political message is clear. It is the same message Pharaoh conveyed when he declared, “I am your supreme lord”. The message is not only directed at the committee members but at anyone who considers working to change the regime, documenting its crimes, protesting against them, or showing solidarity with its victims. This makes repression more vicious than direct arrest alone, because it instills fear in all segments of society and transforms solidarity itself into a dangerous territory. To the point that in a corrupt state based on favoritism and nepotism, no mediation or favoritism can defend its opponents. No influential person or person of standing dares to mediate for the release of any opponent as mediating in favor of someone with a right or who has been wronged is one of the red lines that El-Sisi’s law does not allow anyone to cross for anyone.

The crimes of the El-Sisi regime are no longer a secret. Remarkably, despite the fact that local and international media outlets are linked to the international order that is the main backer of the El-Sisi regime, they have reached a point of embarrassment regarding what is happening in Egypt. They have been forced to cover some of the regime's violations, after ensuring that its violations against the Dawah carriers and Islamists would not be covered. In numerous reports, international organizations and agencies have described Egypt as one of the most repressive environments for press freedom in the region. Amnesty International's report on World Press Freedom Day 2020 indicated the arrest of 37 journalists as part of an escalating crackdown on press freedoms, linking this to a general climate of information control. Reporters Without Borders also maintained Egypt’s very low ranking globally in press freedom indices due to restrictions, arrests, and censorship. In 2017, Human Rights Watch reported that Egyptian authorities arrested dozens of peaceful activists and blocked media websites, confirming that the repression of fundamental freedoms had reached a severe level. Later reports documented the use of travel bans and asset freezes as repressive tools to suppress any advocate or opponent.

A state built on instilling fear and terror among its people is a failed state by all measures and metrics. When an authority continues arrests, censorship, and persecution for years and decades, it not only silences voices but also reshapes the entire society. A Muslim who sees a Dawah carrier of truth and enlightenment, a journalist imprisoned for a report, an activist prevented from traveling because of an opinion, or a lawyer summoned for a human rights activity, will quickly learn that silence is their only option for survival. Here, censorship transforms from a security measure into a daily practice, from a political decision into a societal norm and a pervasive atmosphere.

The most dangerous aspect of El-Sisi’s policies is not only the expansion of the circle of repression but also the support and cover-up provided by the international order, just as it covered up for Bashar al-Assad and the other tyrants imposed upon the Ummah. The situation in Egypt will not change except by sending a man like Al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam, who will sell El-Sisi and his men in the slave market, through the military support (نصرة nussrah) of the sincere members of the Egyptian army for Hizb ut Tahrir to establish the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood.

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