Britain Welcomes the Dictator

On Thursday 5th November, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in London to hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss issues surrounding the Middle East. Their discussions included the strategy against ISIS, the current unrest in Libya and the alleged bombing of a Russian carrier which killed 224 people. The British public were mixed regarding Sisi’s visit, some questioned why the UK prime minister is meeting a dictator who has murdered thousands of his opponents. Whilst others have argued the UK needs to maintain relations with arguably the most important nation in the Middle East.

It is clear that al-Sisi along with all the other dictators present within the Arab world exist only to maintain the status quo and ensure the continuity of western interests within the region. Contrary to popular belief, the removal of Mohammed Morsi was not due to his “Islamic” roots. It was clear from the onset that he ensured the protection of the status quo as he started his tenure by renewing peace agreements with the Jewish entity. Rather, the removal of Morsi and the installation of al-Sisi was aimed at bringing stability through fear. The West are ready and willing to contradict their values wherever they see fit in order to maintain their interests. Rather, they will change the very meanings of their ideas to fit the reality in front of them as Obama described Sisi’s coup as “restoring democracy.” The Ummah has suffered greatly under Sisi with the killing of 1,400 demonstrators, the detaining of 16,000 people and the sentencing of 1,163 people to life in prison. However, we must not forget the reason why our brothers and sisters were killed in the first place. This was not a matter of political difference, but was instead a call for Islam and the establishment of Islam. This is the true reason why the West side-lined their values of democracy and human rights, as they feared the resurgence of the Khilafah "Caliphate" state which once made the Muslims so great. They will compromise all their values to suppress this call, as seen by the actions of the US and Russia, two competitors on the world stage, unite to eliminate the revolutionaries in Syria. Indeed, this is part of their creed, and using dictators such as Sisi, they will continue to suppress the call for Islam in order to force the Ummah to give it up and accept their creed of secularism.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Muhammed Ubaid