John Walker Lindh is making headlines for suing the Federal Bureau of Prisons for infringing upon his religious freedoms. Lindh is protesting not being allowed to lead group prayer with other Muslim inmates. Politics and religion aside, Lindh is full of shit.

First, let’s look at this from a strictly sociological view. Lindh lives in a society with a social contract. He violated that social contract with his actions that landed him in prison. Thus, he no longer gets to reap the benefits of said social contract. When you are a felon, let alone a domestic terrorist, you are still entitled to human rights, but you do not get certain privileges anymore. That’s the downside of breaking the law. Boo hoo.

Secondly, it is not a tenant of Islam to pray in a group. It is more meaningful to pray together, as it is in many religions, but praying alone is perfectly acceptable. Group prayer builds community. As a member of a maximum security prison with a hidden location, a sense of community is not really paramount. It is the equivalent of letting Christian inmates perform Passion plays. It is a communal activity that is seen as important but not necessary and is not appropriate in a prison setting.

Officials have expressed concern that group prayer will contribute to plans and plots, as prayer is performed in Arabic. So why not just hire guards who understand Arabic then? Again, because violent offenders do not deserve special privileges.

Lindh is not having his religious views infringed upon. He is allowed to pray the required 5 times a day, he is allowed access to his Quaran. His only problem is that he is being treated like an inmate.

Oh shit, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

 

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