Egypt won its sixth Africa Cup of Nations title, beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final.

Within seconds of the final whistle being blown, the Egyptian capital erupted into a cacophony of noise and a blur of light. Streets in Cairo were packed after news of the win came through. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian football fans had taken to the streets after Egypt's victory in the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.

Egypt has a long history where for centuries it was the leading civilisation in the world, today it is a mere tourist location, and any discussion on Egypt regaining its legacy would render an individual a lunatic. A mere cup victory is now celebrated by a nation which was once a global superpower.

The current cup victory also conveniently deflects attention away from the real problems of the nation.

According to the World Bank and Ministry of Economic Development about 40% of the Egyptian population, some 30.8 million people, live in poverty. 19.6% of the Egyptian population are poor, meaning that about 13.6 million Egyptians (one out of every five) have consumption expenditure below the poverty line and therefore could not obtain their basic food and non-food needs. 3.8% of the Egyptian population are considered extreme poor, meaning that about 2.6 million of the Egyptian poor could not obtain their basic food requirements even if they spent all their expenditure on food.

Egypt is a prime example of an economy ruined largely by its own self-destructive policies. Egypt's economy under Mubarak remains perpetually in ruins. Attempts to industrialise are a shambles, government bureaucracy is legendary for its inefficiency. Schools churn out poorly educated youth, into a non-existent job market.

This is the reality of Egypt, a reality that will remain after the euphoria of the football cup victory subsides.

This Ummah, which was a leading Ummah, witnesses a situation where her deen has been attacked, her people divided and made homeless and her very basis of life, her Aqeeda (belief), stripped of the quality of being a political Aqeeda that deals with life’s affairs.

In such circumstances she is constantly being thrown into the frivolous pursuits that occupy her time, distracting her from the serious task of rebuilding this Ummah and taking her rightful position above the nations. Hence we witness, with sadness, the multiplicity of football teams, cricket games, national and international tournaments, and how the Muslims throw themselves at these events, taking pride in their nations and their trophies, whilst the Kafir colonialists steal her resources from underneath her feet. We have witnessed the Olympic Games, which have supposedly brought "all the nations together in harmony", along with their detrimental effect upon this Ummah of Muhammad (saw). Not one Muslim country has failed to be affected by them – seeking to mingle with her imperialist masters who subdue them with the glitter of the gold medals and the flutter of their national flags, even though they were commanded to leave nationalism by the Prophet (saw) and stay away from the trivial pursuits of this world.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) brought the message of Islam to the backward Arabs of Quraish. This message contained within it a system of life that would soon give its adherents the leadership over the Romans and the Persians.

It was narrated that when the Messenger of Allah (saw) first received revelation he came to Khadija (ra) and proclaimed, "From this day there will be no rest!"

The first Ayaat that commanded the Prophet (saw) to, "Read in the Name of your Lord." [Al-Alaq: 1] brought with them a great burden. It was a weighty message, which required an Ummah who were characterised with thinking and seriousness, to carry its burden. For this Ummah is described by Allah (swt) as the "best Ummah brought forward to mankind" [Al-Imran: 110].

So let us not be distracted by something of play lest that it may take us away from the obligation of carrying the da’wah and re-establishing the Islamic State.