Widespread international condemnation has followed the perfunctory trial and sentencing of three Al Jazeera journalists in Cairo on Monday. They were arrested in January and charged with spying and aiding the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Popular sentiment among struggle-weary Egyptians is not in solidarity with the international outcry.

From a Western perspective, it is easy to see this as another chilling development in a series of dramatic changes imposed since the inauguration of former military chief Abdul Fattah El Sisi as President of Egypt. These include the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood party, the arrest and sentencing of the former president Mohamed Morsi and hundreds of his supporters.

However, the three Al Jazeera  journalists are only momentarily at the epicenter of a much larger, high-stakes struggle. The furor over what appears to be an assault on the very concept of democracy and free speech, obscures a necessary and deeper look into the the titanic forces at play in Egypt and the region. 

Since the popular revolt and ouster of Morsi's predecessor Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt has been in a precipitous decline into political, social and economic chaos. Reacting to decades of political corruption and abuse of power, citizens of this 90% Muslim country freely elected Mubarak's opposite, a man who ran essentially without credible opposition promising a return to integrity and stability. What they got instead was a leader determined to impose radical Muslim governance and ideals. Instead of progress and prosperity, the country found itself in an undesired takeover by a newly-empowered radical faction. Law and order and proper governance, already in short supply, essentially evaporated as the Brotherhood labored to consolidate its power on many fronts.

Support for this radical development came from wealthy and powerful regional nations with a vested interest in highly centralized Islamic leadership, including Saudi Arabia and upstart nation Qatar. Previously a minor player, Qatar has recently gained international status and voice through its popular news media organization, Al Jazeera. (As a sign of it's growing influence, Al Jazeera launched Al Jazeera America in 2013.)  The Qatar-based organization was less than an unbiased reporter of events in Egypt during and after the 2011 uprising, strongly supported the Muslim Brotherhood, earning the mistrust and enmity of those opposed to the chilling turn of events as Morsi and the Brotherhood began to impose Sharia law in Egypt.

Egyptians, more hungry for stability and economic progress than for fundamentalist Islam, again took to the streets, a development which promised yet another period of chaos and divide. Into the breach stepped El Sisi, who as military leader reestablished order via marshall law and became the obvious candidate for a democratically-elected new government.

Al Jazeera never failed to take the side of the Muslim Brotherhood and capitalized on El Sisi's strong arm clampdown to discredit his approach and leadership. 

El Sisi's calculation is that in order for Egypt to regain its status as a global economic player, order and a nonsecular leadership is imperative. Hence, his resort what is seen outside of Egypt as 'draconian' measures. The strength of his resolved was confirmed Tuesday when he declared, "We will not interfere in judicial rulings"  in a televised speech at a military graduation ceremony in Cairo. "We must respect judicial rulings and not criticize them even if others do not understand this."

Whether the journalists will actually languish in imprisonment in Egypt is yet to be seen, as an appeal is still possible. What is clear is that President El Sisi currently enjoys strong support among Egyptians against growing militancy by radical Islamic forces represented by the Muslim Brotherhood and the insurgent ISIL, both of which are supported by Qatar and its media voice Al Jazeera.