Tiran and Sanafir handover betrayed the sanctity of land in Egyptian nationalism: The handover of the Tiran and Sanafir islands has been opposed so fiercely by Egyptians due to the fact that land and sovereignty are part and parcel of Egyptian national pride, Steven A. Cook and Amr Leheta write for Salon. This “central axiom” of Egyptian nationalism dates back to the Nasser era, which cemented the idea of territorial sovereignty as an indicator of national pride. By failing to acknowledge the importance of land to Egyptian national pride, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has put himself in a position where two previously unheard-of islands “are now a potent symbol of Egypt’s terminal weakness.”