Most assuredly, when the founders of the U.S. Constitution wrote the first amendment, they either didn’t understand or didn’t sufficiently acknowledge the future threat of Islam. The closest they came to doing so was the Barbary Wars of 1801 and 1815. Today, when Islamists attempt to seize the mantle of a free press, they have ulterior motives; they seek to use that free press to eliminate it. This is a conundrum that the west has had difficulty grasping for years.

El-Sisi: Sought to shutdown Egyptian media.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. – First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 1791

“…the petty bourgeoisie (middle class / property owners), to a man, will hesitate as long as possible and remain fearful, irresolute and inactive; but when victory is certain it will claim it for itself and will call upon the workers to behave in an orderly fashion, to return to work and to prevent so-called excesses, and it will exclude the proletariat (laborers) from the fruits of victory. It does not lie within the power of the workers to prevent the petty-bourgeois democrats from doing this; but it does lie within their power to make it as difficult as possible for the petty bourgeoisie to use its power against the armed proletariat, and to dictate such conditions to them that the rule of the bourgeois democrats, from the very first, will carry within it the seeds of its own destruction, and its subsequent displacement by the proletariat will be made considerably easier.” {emphasis ours} – Karl Marx, 1850

The U.S. Constitution was penned by men who were exposed to a new frontier and had been excessively over-taxed by an old one. Propaganda from Great Britain was in abundance. When a free press was established, it was done so based on a disagreement between western forces – the British and the Colonists. When Thomas Jefferson wrote of the separation of church and state, Islam was not part of the equation. In fact, Islam insists on not separating the two. If westerners are not careful, they may not realize that the Constitution may contain the seeds of its own destruction.

Setting aside the battle for independence in the days of the early colonists for a moment, let’s take a look at a modern day battle in Egypt. Like the colonists in the 1700’s, Egypt’s people found themselves under an increasingly oppressive tyranny, courtesy of the Muslim Brotherhood. It was a government that didn’t welcome dissent. It used deceit to get elected; it also used the media (press).

This leads us to the man who has become the face of the revolution in that country – General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi. A video has surfaced – shot months before the ouster of Mohammed Mursi – which shows el-Sisi and Egypt’s generals brainstorming ways to deal with Egypt’s media.

Via Al-Jazeera:

A new video has emerged which appears to show Egypt’s military generals deciding how to deal with the country’s media.

The footage, released by activists on Wednesday, shows army chief General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi addressing senior officers of the army in the months before Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power.

Once a minister of defence in Morsi’s government, Sisi played a leading role in the July 2013 military coup against the Muslim Brotherhood-backed president.

The new recording starts with an officer urging Sisi to find a way to frighten journalists from criticising the army.

Here is a corresponding video report for this story:

Americans are conflicted – or even put off – by this way of thinking because it seemingly runs counter to the first amendment; the truth is that it does not. The truth is that it is Muslim Brotherhood front groups who are running counter to a free press, simply because of their agenda, which includes watering the seeds of the first amendment’s own destruction. While hiding behind the first amendment for protection, Muslim Brotherhood apparatchiks – the same folks who Sisi is fighting – are working to subvert it.

Look at the mainstream media in the U.S. This is not a free press; it is an arm of the government. Therefore, its right to exist as such is not protected by the first amendment. In fact, by operating under the guise of being free, the mainstream media is compounding its crime. Not only is it not free but it’s misleading people into thinking it is.

A free press should not be granted to those who seek to sow the seeds of a free press’s destruction. This is a primary objective of Islam in the west.

Western leaders must find the courage and willingness to both admit and accentuate this reality.

So too, should the people.