American Justice for Religion
Sorry for the lack of Mideast content but this is important.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (an agency of the Justice Department) is limiting the number of and what books in US Prisons. The New York Times Reports that “chaplains have been quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries.”
Why you ask? It is because the BOP doesn’t want American prisons to become breading grounds for radical religious extremists (read Muslims). Now I am not an expert but I can safely say that prisons are violent places and most religious texts (at some point) advocate for peace and learning. To pose a question to the BOP, if you take out the actual books and replace them with very upset violent criminals who will continue to seek religion and preach it to others, won’t you just get radical religious extremists with nothing read?
But outside of this particular question, we must ask ourselves what is the point of prison? I feel and have since I got involved in the political world, that jail should be used for three things: rehabilitation, punishment and isolation. This is a very difficult triangle of issues but without the rehabilitation, prisons become a revolving door. Religion is a powerful tool to change a life. President Bush is a prime example of this and says so all the time. So why take out the learning?
Judaism teaches us that we are never done learning. I can only assume that other religions have similar kinds of teachings about Bible study etc. Why would society take away books from people who want to learn about ways to change their life if society has deemed their lives unacceptable? There shouldn’t be violent teachings in these books, but over all religious books should be made available to people in jail.
Religion isn’t something to be feared. It should be embraced and understood in the appropriate location; a prison chapel library is a prime example of an appropriate place to learn about faith. Just like any other ideology, making it illegal only makes it more radical. As people of faith we must do our work to insure that those seeking out holiness in the darkest places in society can find the light they need.
Call your member of congress to let them know that people of faith come in all different shapes, sizes and ideologies. Some are wealthy, some poor. Some in power and some in prison. We all are Americans and we all are responsible for the maintenance of the Constitution. We are strong for our liberties, especially those liberties in a places without freedom.
Please call the Bureau of Prisons at (202) 307-3198 or e-mail infor@bop.gov. Or send an old fashion note, feel free to quote your favorite book of faith: Federal Bureau of Prisons, 320 First St., NW, Washington, DC 20534
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You haven’t done your homework.
The texts they are removing, that were never screened prior, are donated by Wahabi SA ians and had non Qur’anic ‘flyers’ included that underwrote religious sanctioned violence against ‘oppressive racist Governments’ like the US of A.
Muslim Qur’ans, Bibles etc. are still available.
Patb, you may want to read this article.
patb-
They are taking out Jewish, Christian and other non-Wahabist religious text as well.
FYI the article in Esra’a's post is the same as the NYTs article posted in the main post.
Either way the article did a mistake – it’s “Baha’i Faith” and not “Bahaism” which is a name that many Baha’is are not comfortable in using.
(Minor and irrelevant but it had to be said.)
I wonder if the intention is to really remove Muslim books (to eliminate all sources of “extremism”) but then felt the need to be all “fair” and remove other religious books as well. In any case it is indeed a deprivation of certain rights which should be protested.
I remember when I was in basic training and we went on a tour of the bases chapel and religion facilities. I was deeply impressed with how far the military goes to provide religious services for all. We watched a slide show about all the different religions and just when I thought, “yep they forgot to mention the Baha’i Faith”, BAM! A huge panoramic view of the shrines in Haifa.
Anyway, I think it is safe to say that the US Government does not try to curb Islam officially. There is a huge Nation of Islam population among US prisoners and they usually convert while inside Prison.
I think it is only playing it safe by removing inciting material or stuff that would enrage the reader–as such the material of Seyyid Qutb–widley available on the streets of London.
One of the most informative and un-biased lessons I had on Islam was an elective course I had in college. I think just for the sake of understanding and promoting tolerance and mutual respect, that religious history should be taught in the schools. They do it in Canada. No problems there! (not sure on that)
One of the most informative and un-biased lessons I had on Islam was an elective course I had in college.
Indeed, Comparative Religion courses are usually mandatory for anyone interested in Religious Studies in US liberal arts colleges. It would be worthwhile if such courses were more prevalent in Muslim universities.
As to Peter’s post, the main point to keep in mind is that once prisoners are condemned to prison, they lose many basic rights as free citizens (duh!).
The prison library is usually under the governance of the particular prison warden, and the Justice Department. It is up to them (and the elected Administration) to decide the particular policies applied to felons.
Personally, I think radical Islamic literature has no place in US prisons.
Islam itself shouldn’t have to depend on that kind of an audience.
Not everyone in there deserves to be deprived of absolutely everything. I tend to agree with Peter’s call for justice. No one has the right to keep someone else from practicing their faith, prisoner or not.
Finnpundit – make no mistake. Bible studies and Judaism are discussed in our academic systems and I myself attended a Bible school (encouraged by a Muslim teacher) in a Catholic system. You can also study the religion in one of the 7 churches in the country, one of which is in a school which has many Muslim students present (Sacred Heart.) Please don’t act as if your systems are all mighty and superior when you don’t know much about our offerings. In school, we also studied Buddhism and Hinduism as part of world history which was to all students a requirement.
The issue of rights in prisons is a thorny one, and of the role of prisons in general, particularly here in Canada. Many people feel that prisoners have too many rights, and too short sentences, while others campaign for more freedoms in incarceration. Personally, I feel that the number of prisoners who go on to be repeat offenders (hovering around the 70% mark, I think)in general would make a case for offering as much socially positive imput as possible. Christianity, Judaeism and Islam certainly offer that. If prison officials are worried about extremist teachings making their way into the prison libraries, why not put a little effort into ensuring only the more pacifistic and serene interpretations of these philosophies are present? Given the US’ unenviable status as one of the largest incarcerators in the world, one would think that more effort would be made at giving exposure to such systems of thought.