In what looks like a move straight out of George Orwell's recently resurgent novel “1984,” Egyptian authorities appear to be rewriting history to suit their political agenda.

Documentation of Egypt's sovereignty over two controversial Red Sea islands has been disappearing from history books in the school system.

Egypt has been trying for months to cede control of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia. The islands are uninhabited. They are located at the mouth of Aqaba Gulf, whose shipping lanes provide access to ports in Jordan and Israel. Israel has long sought control of the islands.

The government's proposal is opposed by some members of parliament and Egyptian citizens. The entire controversy started April 8 when Saudi and Egyptian officials announced they had signed a maritime border demarcation agreement transferring ownership of the islands. Several lawyers filed suit April 11 against the Egyptian government, demanding the agreement be annulled. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of central Cairo on April 15 to protest the plan, which was indeed annulled June 21. The government appealed the ruling in November, but it was upheld Jan. 16 by the Supreme Administrative Court.