There are plenty of issues these days that expose how deeply flawed the U.S.-dominated Western media are. But few do it better than Egypt’s ongoing revolution and the dramatic rise of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ever since it began in January 2011, Egypt’s revolution has been widely reported in the West as a splendid new epoch in Egypt’s history, an invigorating time in which democracy is taking root and creating a new, freedom- and justice-loving, pro-Western, moderate nation. Now, this dream is clearly being punctured by reality—most notably the systematic rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood—yet remarkably, most Western leaders and the media still continue to believe it!

When the revolution first began, Western leaders and “experts” downplayed the possibility that the Brotherhood might gain decisive power in Egypt. Most agreed with Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who stated that the MB threat was often exaggerated. “For years the West has bought Mr. Mubarak’s demonization of the Muslim Brotherhood lock, stock and barrel, the idea that the only alternative here are these demons called the Muslim Brotherhood who are the equivalent of al Qaeda,” ElBaradei told the New York Times. “I am pretty sure that any freely and fairly elected government in Egypt will be a moderate one.”

In a Feb. 2, 2011, editorial titled “Egypt’s Bumbling Brotherhood,” the New York Times assured readers that the Egyptian “street … manifests little support for the Brotherhood,” and therefore there is “little reason for the United States to fear a takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood” (emphasis added throughout). A week later, the Times continued to lull readers by running an op-ed from a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s guidance council, Essam El-Errian, who wrote that the MB did “not intend to take a dominant role in the forthcoming political transition.” In the months leading up to the parliamentary elections, America and the West’s brightest minds played down the importance of the Muslim Brotherhood, regularly reporting that it would be a minor factor in the elections.

Then the elections came, and Islamist parties won a stunning 72 percent of seats in parliament!

When the Brotherhood then announced it would not have a candidate in presidential elections, media gurus in the West sighed relief and went back to sleep. They were awakened a few weeks later when the MB suddenly reneged on its promise and announced that it was joining the fray.

When Islamists (including the MB) gained a strong majority in the council selected to construct Egypt’s constitution, few in the West batted an eye. After being duped three times, you’d think Western leaders and the media would have taken the Brotherhood’s quest for the Egyptian presidency a little more seriously.

Not so.

In the lead-up to the May 21-22 presidential election, Western leaders and journalists continued to soft-pedal the chances of the MB’s candidate. Most touted the polls, which suggested the MB would get as little as 8 percent of the vote, and forecast it would come in fourth or fifth behind the more secular, moderate candidates. “The runaway victory that Egyptian voters handed to Islamist parties in recent parliamentary elections is looking increasingly Pyrrhic,” reported the Wall Street Journal April 26. We were told by countless smart people—conservative and liberal columnists, news anchors and politicians—that the election was certain to give rise to a secular, freedom-loving leadership that would keep the MB in check. We were repeatedly informed that the race was between Amr Moussa, a former diplomat, and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former MB member and self-described liberal Islamist. The Muslim Brotherhood was a D-list celebrity, a non-factor.

There was only one problem: A large percentage of the Egyptian people disagreed.

On Election Day, Mohammed Morsi, the MB’s anti-Israel, anti-Christian, sharia-loving candidate, won first place with 25.3 percent of the vote.

Second place went to Ahmed Shafiq, the former prime minister and a carryover from the Mubarak regime. He received 24.9 percent. Once again, many in the West were shocked and dismayed by the MB’s success. As Foreign Policy’s Marc Lynch wrote on Monday, “[L]ast week’s first round of the presidential election managed to produce the worst of all the possible run-off combinations: the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed al-Morsi vs. the scaf’s Ahmed Shafik. It’s fair to say that the sky appears to many people, once again, to be falling. That tantalizing glimpse of a successful transition to a civilian president who could represent the revolution and challenge the scaf seems to once again be dancing from view.”

Both candidates will now participate in a run-off election on June 16-17. The next two weeks are expected to get ugly as both men reach out to the 50 percent of the population that must now choose between Islamist fascism or military authoritarianism. “Morsi’s strength is that he has the support of both the Islamist elements and those who fear a Shafiq presidency and possible return to the old regime. Shafiq’s strength is that he speaks for those who fear an Islamist regime,” explained Stratfor ceo George Friedman (May 29).

What a tragic series of events. Here we are, less than 18 months after Mubarak was ousted, facing not a pro-Western, moderate, liberal, democratic government, but a state in which Islamists have an absolute majority in parliament, an absolutely majority in the council tasked with creating Egypt’s new constitution, and a virtual lock on gaining the presidency.

But what’s most tragic is the way America and the West have consistently downplayed the significance of the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood!

Did you know the Bible prophesied this exact scenario? In Isaiah 56, God likens the leaders of America and Britain—including the “experts” in news analysis and media—to lazy, useless watchdogs who sleep as dangers encroach. “For the leaders of my people,” God says, “are all blind to every danger. They are featherbrained and give no warning when danger comes” (verse 10; Living Bible). Is there a more apt description of the West’s habit of underestimating the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? The prophecy continues: “they love to lie there, love to sleep, to dream. And they are as greedy dogs, never satisfied; they are stupid shepherds who only look after their own interest, each trying to get as much as he can for himself from every possible source” (verse 11).

Ever since the revolution began, experts in the West have been dreaming about what they want to happen in Egypt, and have failed to contemplate seriously—then bark about—the reality of what is actually happening!

You need to make sure you aren’t making the same mistake. Democracy is not giving rise to a liberal, moderate, pro-West, pro-Israel regime in Cairo. Truth is, radical Islam has an enormous presence. Islamists dominate Egypt’s streets, Egypt’s parliament and the body constructing Egypt’s new constitution. And by the end of this month, Islamists will likely inhabit the highest office in the nation. Few others will put it like this, but we are watching Egypt transform into a radical Islamist state!

If you don’t know who Mohammed Morsi is and what motivates him, then read this article. This man seeks to create a nation governed by sharia law that will destroy Israel, extinguish Jews, capture Jerusalem and help establish a global caliphate. Just this week, in the wake of his successful election, Morsi declared that he is determined to “achieve the Islamic conquest (fath) of Egypt for the second time, and make all Christians convert to Islam, or else pay the jizya,” the additional Islamic tax, or financial tribute. That remarkable statement is essentially a declaration of war on Egypt’s Christians!

What’s most sad, though, is the fact that we’re not going to see Morsi’s statement—and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in general—seriously discussed on Fox News, in the New York Times or by the White House. Why? Because as the Prophet Isaiah warned, America’s featherbrained leaders are sleeping watchdogs.