In Matrouh Governorate, a double crime occurred that embodies the reality of the coercive nation-state ruling Muslims today, and clearly shows the extent of the contradiction between the existing regimes and the rulings and standards of Islam. In a painful incident, two young men from Matrouh were killed after they had surrendered themselves under tribal guarantees, following intense tension in the region after the killing of three police officers, and the subsequent raids and arrests that even targeted women — a dangerous precedent that shows state apparatuses see people only as enemies to be subdued through coercion and humiliation.

Detaining Women… An Unforgivable Crime, Even Abu Jahl Would Not Have Done It

What shocked society most in this crisis was the security forces’ arrest of about 23 women who were relatives of the wanted men, in order to pressure them to surrender. This is a crime that contradicts human nature, tramples on tribal customs, and openly challenges the rulings of Islam — which prohibits harming women and considers their protection one of the state's foremost duties. The Messenger of Allah (saw) laid siege to the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa and expelled them from Medina for the sake of a Muslim woman whose modesty had been violated. The Khalifah (Caliph) al-Mu'tasim led a massive army to aid a captive woman in Roman lands who cried out, “Wa Mu’tasimaah!”

So what kind of state is this that uses women as hostages?! Is this not a sign of the moral, legal, and political bankruptcy of security agencies that recognize neither sanctity nor the weight of Sharia rulings?

The Sharia ruling on this is clear: it is not permissible to detain anyone without clear evidence of a crime, let alone arresting them merely for kinship — this is blatant injustice. And the Messenger (saw) said: «اتَّقُوا الظُّلْمَ فَإِنَّ الظُّلْمَ ظُلُمَاتٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ»“Beware of oppression, for oppressionwill turn into excessive darkness on the Day of Resurrection.”

The two young men who were killed — Youssef al-Sarhani and Faraj al-Fazari — had surrendered themselves through tribal mediators, in a scene reflecting the people’s trust in peaceful solutions and self-restraint. Yet the state did not honor what honesty and the covenant required. Instead, it later announced that the two young men “were killed in an exchange of gunfire,” a story that convinced no one and outraged the locals, who considered what happened a blatant betrayal of the agreement.

As for the Sharia, killing someone who has surrendered is one of the major sins and heinous crimes. The Messenger (saw) said: «الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَلَى شُرُوطِهِمْ إِلَّا شَرْطاً أَحَلَّ حَرَاماً أَوْ حَرَّمَ حَلَالاً» “and Muslims must keep to the conditions they have made, except for a condition which makes unlawful something which is lawful, or makes lawful something which is unlawful” If someone is given safety — even implicitly — it is forbidden to attack him. Rather, he must be investigated in accordance with Sharia, not assassinated in treachery.

And if the state does not honor its promises and does not abide by its agreements with its own people, what meaning remains for trust?

In Islam, the state is neither coercive nor a police state. These tragic events reveal the deep chasm between the nation-state in Egypt — which rules with a repressive security grip — and the state that Islam establishes. The state in Islam is not a repression apparatus; rather, it is a caretaker of affairs, preserving the people’s security, not threatening it, respecting their honor, not violating it, sparing their blood, not shedding it. The Prophet (saw) said:«الْإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَهُوَ مَسْؤُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ»“The Imam is a shepherd and he is responsible for his flock,” indicating that the function of the state is to care for people in accordance with Sharia, not to subjugate them in the name of security or the dominance of man-made law.

As for the current regimes, they have abandoned Islam as a system and rule, replacing it with man-made constitutions, making oppression systematic, killing permissible, sanctity violated, women taken as hostages, and covenants broken in broad daylight.

The stance of the tribes of Matrouh — especially after holding tribal councils and refusing to cooperate with the state — expresses an innate awareness that dignity comes above all, and that turning away from the truth is unacceptable. However, this awareness, though stemming from honor and pride, must be linked to the Sharia vision so that it does not become merely a seasonal reaction. Whoever wishes to defend honor, prevent injustice, protect women, and deter crime must know that there is no way to achieve this except in a state that truly implements Islam and subjects every apparatus to its rulings, and does not leave weapons in the hands of those who do not fear Allah in their responsibility. That is the Khilafah (Caliphate) State, which ends the police state, holds the security apparatus accountable, and establishes justice on earth.

Calling for Investigation Is Not Enough… No Justice Under Systems of Tyranny

Some people demand an investigation into the killing of the two young men, but what justice can be hoped for from an authority that itself committed the crime? What fairness can be expected from a state that does not even respect its own tribal mediators? He who is part of the problem cannot be part of the solution. Sharia mandates radical change, not patchwork reform, because this corrupt system reforms nothing — rather, it entrenches injustice under the guise of law.

It is time for the people of Matrouh, the people of Egypt, and the entire Ummah to realize that the real reason for this repeated injustice, unlawful killing, and violation of honor is the absence of rule by what Allah revealed, and the subjugation to secular man-made systems that consider nothing but the interests of rulers and their apparatuses.

There is no path to dignity, no protection of honor, no just retribution, except through establishing the Khilafah on the method of the Prophethood — a state that preserves the people’s religion, lives, honor, and wealth, and grants authority to the Ummah, not to a security apparatus that governs the country with an occupation mindset, not a caretaking one.

Let the stance of Matrouh, and this tragedy, be a motive for the Ummah to move toward real change and earnest work to establish the Khilafah that restores Islam’s status, the dignity of Muslims, the sanctity of women, and the sacredness of covenants.

And as we hold this coercive regime responsible for the consequences of this heinous crime, we remind the Ummah that no justice can be hoped for, no sanctity can be preserved, and no blood can be spared except under the shade of the Islamic State — the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) on the method of the Prophethood — which rules by what Allah has revealed, protects the honor and blood of Muslims, and strikes fear into their enemies.

[وَمَن يَقْتُلُ مُؤْمِناً مُتَعَمِّداً فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِداً فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَاباً عَظِيماً]

“But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.” [An-Nisa:93].

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Egypt