Freedom of Religion for Terrorists?

Aaron Salter
The Verdict


Freedom of Religion for Terrorists?

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), on behalf of John Walker Lindh, the American born Taliban fighter, has submitted a motion for summary judgment to enjoin the prison from denying daily congregate prayer to the Muslim prisoners confined to the Communications Management Unit within the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana because it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1.

According to “Supplemental Declarations” made by Lindh under oath, adherents to Islam are required to engage in five daily prayers known as Salah or Salat. More specifically, he stated that Salat should be performed in groups and in a “ritually clean environment”. Since Lindh is required to pray in his cell, he is forced to pray alone and next to his latrine, leaving him unable to perform the Salat obligations. Currently, Terre Haute is only willing to provide the time for congregational prayer once a week on Fridays.

Lindh first used the prison’s internal complaint system; Lindh’s “Request for an Informal Resolution”, allowing group prayer five times a day, was denied. The “Informal Resolution Response” made reference to prison Program Statement 5360.09, Religious Beliefs and Practices which states “the Bureau of Prisons provides inmates of all faith groups with reasonable and equitable opportunities to pursue religious beliefs and practices, consistent with the security and the orderly running of the institution of the Bureau of Prisons”. In summary, the prison simply does not have the security resources to provide for the additional requested congregational activities.

The deposition taken of the assistant warden, Harvey G. Church, helped to describe the differences between prison mandated group activities and congregational activities; congregational activities pertain to “a group of the same affiliation discussing things specific to that affiliation, whether it is continuing criminal enterprises and other attempts and nefarious actions”.

I believe the court should dismiss the lawsuit but for reasons other than the economical reason given by the prison. Individuals should have the freedom to practice their religion in America, as long as their practice does not infringe upon the rights of others. Islam has been used as a weapon by terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda. The teachings of Islam, just as any other religion, are determined by how individual followers want to interpret the scriptures and customs.

Lindh, in an interview with CNN back in 2002, told the reporter that “it’s the goal of every Muslim to be martyred”. Islam doesn’t kill people, terrorists kill people. John Walker Lindh has proven that he cannot handle practicing Islam without infringing upon the rights of others. He uses Islam as a weapon and that weapon needs to be taken away.

Just as the National Rifle Association (NRA) would agree that a person who has murdered shouldn’t be allowed to carry a firearm, an Islamic radical should not be allowed to practice Islam in prison if they committed the crime in the name of Islam.

Prison is a form of rehabilitation as well as punishment. A patient at a detoxification clinic is not given heroin during their treatment so why should the Terre Haute prison give this Islamic radical additional prayer time if any prayer time at all?

As a general rule, every religious radical should be barred from practicing their religion in prison if that religion was used as justification for their crime. For clarification, this reasoning would not affect a person who robs a bank and just happens to be Muslim.

In the future, the American courts need to cautiously rethink the way the First Amendment is applied in cases such as this one. There needs to be balance between the individual’s rights and the rights of society. What sort of message does it send to Islamic radicals if we allow them to freely practice their religion when they are incarcerated? This federal court in Indiana needs to set precedent and “take away the gun” from John Walker Lindh. The rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution should never again be used against America and its citizens.