The Ramses Central Fire is Another Image of the Collapse of the Civil State
(Translated)

Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 558 - 30/07/2025 CE

By: Ustadh Saeed Fadl *

Communications were cut off, the internet network went down, and the lives of millions of Egyptians were disrupted. Then, hidden truths buried behind the walls of Ramses Central were exposed before the eyes of the people. The incident was not just a fire. It was irrefutable evidence of the corruption of an entire system, the failure of the current state, and the deep-rooted negligence within the institutions. The fire clearly demonstrated, beyond any doubt, that the current regime is not a guardian of people’s affairs. Instead, it is a fertile ground for corruption, negligence, and repeated collapse.

What happened at Ramses Central confirms what reality has repeatedly proven: the Egyptian regime is not a system of guardianship. It is only a system of crisis management. The Ramses Central fire was not a sudden accident. It was the result of accumulated corruption, poor management, and the neglect of technical reports and repeated warnings.

Journalistic reports revealed that the infrastructure inside the central facility had been deteriorating for years, with no effective automated fire suppression system, or preventive maintenance in place. A former technical source at Telecom Egypt stated, “We submitted more than one official report between 2022 and 2024 about the deterioration of the old cables inside the central facility, and the lack of an automated fire-sprinkler system on the upper floors, but the company’s management took no meaningful action.” (Al-Manassa, July 11, 2025).

This documented negligence was not incidental. Instead, it reflects a system built on disregard and neglect. It highlights how critical facilities are sacrificed for bureaucratic or financial considerations, making the regime itself a source of danger to the vital interests of the people.

People bitterly asked: how could a building of such importance be devoid of an integrated protection system?! Where were the oversight bodies? And why were the equipment and systems not renewed, despite everyone knowing they were outdated? The real answer does not lie in a technical investigation or an administrative report, but in the very nature of the regime itself. It is regime that sees no value in the human being, no sense of responsibility in guardianship. Instead, it views everything as a tool for profit, exploitation, or security control.

The absence of serious and consistent accountability is one of the most prominent signs of the regime’s corruption. Officials are not held accountable for failure or negligence. Instead, those who dare to question or protest are the ones who face prosecution! This is the inverted justice produced by the capitalist civil state, which knows no concept of care, except what aligns with the interests of the regime and its security apparatus.

The Central Office fire was not merely a technical incident. It struck at the heart of the economy and essential services. Internet and banking communications were disrupted, leading to halted electronic transfers, impeded commercial operations, and delayed salary disbursements. Hospitals, banks, and service centers were affected, exposing the fragility of centralized reliance on a single facility, without backup plans. Despite the availability of alternatives, it is the regime’s security-focused, and capitalist utilitarian, mindset that dictates how it plans and manages such a facility, especially given the sensitive information that flows through it.

The current regime in Egypt, like other regimes in the Muslim World adopts, the capitalist system based on self-interest and profit. This system does not recognize the Shariah responsibility of guardianship for the people. Instead, it turns every public facility into a source of revenue, or an opportunity for bribery and corruption. Therefore, one is not surprised to hear that oversight reports warning of the fire hazard were ignored, because fixing malfunctions is not a priority in a capitalist budget, especially when it doesn’t generate direct income.

A quick look at how the regime handled the disaster is enough to reveal the depth of its deviation: instead of focusing on reviewing the infrastructure and holding those responsible accountable, the state busied itself with sending symbolic compensations as if it were buying the silence of the victims with “internet bundles” and “free gigabytes,” ignoring the fact that the problem is far greater than that!

From the Ramses Central fire to collapsing bridges, from train accidents to road disasters, from sinking ferries to hospital fires, catastrophes keep occurring in an alarming pattern, as if they are all episodes in a single series of systematic collapse! Every time, the truth is buried, mistakes are justified, and the same faces are brought back to manage the failure!

The repeated occurrence of these disasters, without any fundamental reform, means that the civil state promoted as “modern and developmental” is in reality superficial, hollow in substance, lacking in ethics, and devoid of a system that obliges it to care for the people’s interests.

The Islamic Ummah today must realize that the regime in Egypt, just like the regimes in the rest of the Muslim World, is part of a corrupt international order that seeks to keep the Ummah backward, weak, and degraded. These are agent regimes that do not care for the well-being of the people. Instead, they are used to protect Western interests, even if it means ruling over the ruins of their own people.

It is time for the Islamic Ummah to reject these regimes and to work earnestly to establish a state that upholds the Deen, cares for the people’s affairs, prevents corruption, and turns every public facility into a service, not a commodity, and an entrusted responsibility, not a tool of authority.

It is only the Second Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly-Guided Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood, that would never leave a vital facility in such a state, without protection or oversight. True caring guardianship mandates that public facilities be built on solid foundations, constantly monitored and maintained, for they hold the people's interests, livelihoods, and security. So, hasten to work with us to establish the Khilafah, O Muslims. Allah (swt) said,

[إِنَّ اللهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ]

“Indeed, Allah will not change the situation of a people until they change what is in themselves.” [TMQ Surah Ar-Ra'd: 11].

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