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| American Talibunny wins prison prayer lawsuit | |
| 2013-01-12 | |
| John Walker Lindh, an American who was convicted of helping the Taliban, should be allowed to participate in group prayer with other Muslim inmates at a high-security prison in Terre Haute, a federal judge ruled Friday. The “American Taliban” fighter sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons, demanding that he and other Muslims in the Federal Correctional Institution should be allowed to conduct group prayers, and that not doing so is a violation of Religious Freedom of Restoration Act of 1993. Prison officials said allowing inmates such congregation poses security risks. Ruling in Lindh’s favor, U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus Stinson stated in her decision that “the denial of daily group prayer opportunities substantially burdens Mr. Lindh’s religious beliefs.” Lindh, who claims to follow the Hanbali school of Islam, said Islam requires him to pray with fellow Muslims five times a day daily. In his testimony during a three-day trial in August, he said the restrictions on group prayers were forcing him to sin.
Prison officials said Lindh’s demands are not only dangerous, but also not fair to other inmates. They’re also concerned that allowing group prayers could result in the inmates having a leader. But Stinson said that group prayers have not resulted in serious incidents or security threats in at least the past three years. Nor have such activities led to leadership issues among inmates, she said. If Stinson’s decision stands, it could reach beyond the federal prison in Terra Haute. Though the ruling does not bind other federal prisons in other districts, it could encourage other inmates to challenge prison rules if they think their religious freedom is being restricted, said Indianapolis civil rights lawyer Karen Celestino-Horseman. She said, “Certainly, when one judge decides that, it does make it more interesting. The biggest impact is that there are going to be other Muslims who follow this particular belief and will certainly look at this case. Ultimately, it would not surprise me at all to see this decision one day end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.” | |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #4 Obama appointee |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-01-12 14:27 |
| #3 Interesting that more than 1/2 the prisoners in this high risk unit are muslims. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2013-01-12 12:54 |
| #2 Currently, all 43 inmates in the Communications Management Unit within the Terre Haute facility. If they could simply escape, swim the mighty Wabash and request asylum in Illinois. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-01-12 09:09 |
| #1 TheyÂ’re also concerned that allowing group prayers could result in the inmates having a leader. That's kind of the point here. If Lindh does nothing else, he can lead demonstrations of the poor mistreated Muslim inmates or get everybody martyred in a full-dress revolt. Either way, the war goes on. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2013-01-12 09:02 |