Press Release
Al-Arish Mina District, A New Warraq
Displacing its Residents: A Forced Investment or a Crime of Displacement?

These days, the city of Al-Arish is witnessing a new chapter in the suffering endured by the people of Egypt at the hands of a regime that sees the people only as an obstacle to its investment plans and profitable projects. After years of silence and false promises that the residents of the Mina district would not be harmed, people were surprised to find the regime's bulldozers returning to demolish homes and uproot their residents, with no regard for the sanctity of homes, human dignity, or the rights of the people, that Allah (swt) has stipulated for them in their land and property.

Since July 2025, the regime has been implementing the fourth and fifth phases of El Arish Port expansion plan. It targeted approximately 180 homes, out of more than 1,000 residential and commercial facilities that fall within the scope of the "public benefit" declared by the regime. The demolitions were accompanied by widespread protests from residents, who chanted against forced displacement. Police forces responded with arrests and psychological pressure, a scene that has become common whenever the regime decides to evacuate an area in favour of investors or projects that do not benefit the residents.

Although the governorate announced alternatives and compensation, such as small plots of land or apartments in other areas, residents considered these offers unfair and unequal to the value of the land, which is strategically located. This opens the door wide to massive future investments in the port and surrounding areas, with profits pouring into the pockets of a few linked to the regime, while the indigenous population is left exposed to the elements.

It's well known that the port of Arish has become a focus of interest to the regime since it was annexed to the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Talk has begun of billions of pounds of investment to expand it and transform it into a gateway for exporting raw mineral materials and other goods. This project is no different in nature from the displacement of the residents of the Maspero Triangle in the heart of Cairo, where the area was transformed into a promising investment destination for major real estate companies after the expulsion of its impoverished residents. It is also no different from the tragedy of Warraq Island, where residents have been living for years amid constant threats and forced eviction attempts aimed at handing the island over to Emirati and foreign investors and companies under the pretext of "development”.

What all these cases have in common is that every spot where the state sees an investment opportunity turns into threatened land, its residents become victims of forced eviction. The state no longer sees itself as a guardian of the people's affairs or a trustee of their interests. Instead, it has become a broker, selling land and treating its owners as if they were surplus human beings to be disposed of for the benefit of market schemes and the whims of capitalists.

What is happening is a blatant assault on people's rights and a clear violation of the rules of Islam. Allah (swt) divided ownership into three types: private, public, and state; each with its own rules and limits. The lands inhabited by people and inherited from generation to generation are private properties, the state may not take them away from them except for a legitimate reason, such as if the land has been left untended or used to cause real harm to others. However, if it is forcibly taken under the pretext of "development" or "public benefit" and then handed over to investors and merchants, this is consuming people's money unjustly. Allah (swt) says:

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا أَن تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ]

“O believers! Do not devour one another’s wealth illegally, but rather trade by mutual consent” [An-Nisa: 29].

Moreover, displacing people from their homes and forcibly demolishing their dwellings constitutes an act of injustice, which Allah (swt) has categorically forbidden. How grave is the injustice committed by a ruler who is supposed to be the protector of his subjects!

Furthermore, the "public benefit" that the regime cites has no basis in Shariah in this vague sense. Rather, it is a concept imported from the capitalist systems to justify the denial of rights under the pretext of a higher interest determined by the ruler according to his own interests. In Islam, the criteria for actions is the Shariah, not mere self-interest or investment. While establishing a port or expanding a project benefits Muslims, that never justifies oppressing people or unjustly confiscating their property.

In Islam, if the land is a public property, such as rivers, minerals, and major facilities, it belongs to all citizens, and the state is responsible for managing it and distributing its benefits equally. However, for the state to become a tool for evacuating people and handing over their land to companies, it is an unjust act that should not be done, accepted, or tolerated.

What is happening in Al-Arish, Warraq, and Maspero is merely one link in a long chain of regime policies aimed at tying Egypt to international investment projects and turning land and people into tools in the service of the schemes of local and foreign capitalists. This explains why the scene is repeated everywhere there is a looming economic value: homes are demolished, people are displaced, deals are struck, and meager "compensation" is offered as bribes to cover up the crime.

The solution to this issue can only be achieved by rejecting these policies at their root, uprooting the regime that implements them and forces people to submit to them, and establishing a Khilafah (Caliphate) that governs according to what Allah has revealed, protects people's property, prevents injustice, and manages public facilities in a manner that serves the interests of the people, not corporations.

What is happening to the people of Al-Arish today should be a warning bell for all the people in Egypt. Anyone who thinks that displacement will be limited to a specific area is mistaken. Every piece of land considered a lucrative bargain by the regime is under threat, and every family living on a beach, island, or in the heart of a city promised for "development" is threatened with eviction. Just as the people of Maspero were evicted from their homes, and just as the people of Warraq have been subjected to oppression for years, the people of Al-Arish are facing the same fate.

O People of Kinanah (Egypt):The regime's hand, which did not stop at Warraq Island, will not be satisfied with Al-Arish neighborhood only, but will extend to every piece of land where there is even a hint of distinction and investment potential, and will seize it by force and coercion. Your standing up to the regime now and preventing it from encroaching upon and assaulting the people of Al-Arish and seizing their land is a Shariah duty. If you abandon them today, the regime will single you out one by one, and you will say that day, "I was eaten the day the white bull was eaten". We were raided the day we left the people of Al-Arish alone to confront the regime. So, declare a unified position against a regime that respects neither kinship nor covenant with you, that squanders your rights and wealth, fights you on your land and your livelihood, and declares war on your Deen.

O sincere ones in the army of Kinanah (Egypt): When Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, was in his prison in Damascus, the executioner came to him and said, "Forgive me, our sheikh, for I am under orders." Ibn Taymiyyah replied, "By Allah, were it not for you, they would not have oppressed!" By Allah, if it weren’t for you, the regime would not have oppressed Egypt and its people, nor would it have been able to tyrannize them, nor would it have been able to enslave them as it is doing now. By Allah, you will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment, the day when Allah (swt) will call upon you.

[وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَسْئُولُونَ * مَا لَكُمْ لا تَنَاصَرُونَ]

“And detain them, for they must be questioned” [As-Saffat: 24]

Neither it, nor its money, nor its positions and privileges, with which it tempts you and with which it buys your Deen, your honour and your integrity, will benefit you. So, prepare for the day when you will meet Allah (swt) while people will cling to your necks saying, “O Lord, they have abandoned us and empowered your enemy and our enemy over us!” And know, O soldiers of Kinanah (Egypt), that your duty is to protect the people from the brutality of this regime. Your primary duty that guarantees the rights and dignity of the people is to uproot this regime from its roots with all its tools, symbols and executors, and to support those working to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly-Guided Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood; which will protect the people from the brutality of every oppressor and restore their dignity and pride. This is your role and this is your duty for which you will be asked before Allah (swt). So hasten, may Allah accept you and forgive you for what has passed and open up ways through you so that we may see it a reality that pleases Allah (swt) with us all, and through you Egypt will shine, Allah willing.

[وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا فَرِيقاً مِّنْ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ بِالْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ]

“Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, nor deliberately bribe authorities in order to devour a portion of others’ property, knowing that it is a sin” [Al-Baqarah: 188]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Egypt