ACLU Sues Prison Over Muslim Prayers

For the second time in just over a week the Christianity erasing ACLU has taken a stand for the religion of Islam. The first case involved one of the five pillars of Islam~zakat. (Giving to charities)

ACLU sues over limits on Muslim prayers in prison
By CHARLES WILSON

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Muslim inmates held in a special unit at the federal prison in Terre Haute say they aren't allowed to pray in groups as often as their religion commands and have asked a federal judge to ease worship limits imposed by the Bureau of Prisons.

The prison in western Indiana houses several high-security inmates, including American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh, who is serving a 20-year sentence for aiding Afghanistan's now-defunct Taliban government.

The June 16 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana challenges limits on Islamic worship in the prison's restrictive Communications Management Unit, where about 30 of the 40 inmates are Muslim.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day, but the lawsuit, filed on behalf of inmates Enaam Arnaout and Randall T. Royer, says inmates in the CMU are allowed to pray as a group just one hour a week. The ACLU claims that violates a federal law barring the government from restricting religious activities without showing a compelling need.

The lawsuit echoes a 2007 complaint from convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid that he was denied access to group prayer at the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colo.

The Indiana lawsuit is one of two the ACLU has filed in the past week concerning conditions in the CMU. Its other lawsuit claimed the unit was created in secrecy and keeps its mostly Muslim inmates in virtual isolation.

A Justice Department spokesman said last week that the government followed federal rules in creating the special unit in November 2006. Designed to house prisoners who require additional security, the unit closely monitors inmates' outside contacts.

Bureau of Prisons officials declined Tuesday comment on the prayer lawsuit.

Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, questioned policies allowing prisoners out of their cells to watch television, play cards or engage in other group activities but limiting group worship to one hour on Fridays.

"That means four people can sit around the table playing cards or talking about the basketball game but they can't worship," Falk said.

Lindh's attorney George Harris confirmed Tuesday that Lindh, a convert to Islam, is held in the CMU. He declined to comment on the lawsuit or say whether Lindh has had problems practicing his religion at the prison.

The lawsuit asks the Bureau of Prisons to reinstate daily prayers that were held in a multipurpose room for several months after the CMU opened.

Louay Safi, director of leadership development with the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America, said Muslims try to pray in groups whenever possible.

"Muhammad said there is a much greater reward for people who pray in congregation than those who pray individually," he said.

Arnaout, 46, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen, is serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering after admitting in 2003 that he defrauded donors to his Benevolence International Foundation by diverting some of the money to Islamic military groups in Bosnia and Chechnya.

Royer, 36, a former spokesman for the Muslim American Society, is serving 20 years for his participation in what prosecutors called a "Virginia jihad network." The group used paintball games in 2000 and 2001 as military training in preparation for holy war against nations deemed hostile to Islam, prosecutors say.

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ACLU:Against Gitmo Detainee Transfer to "Little Gitmo"

The ACLU has spoken out against Muslim prisoners being held in Gitmo. They have won that battle as President Obama is going to close the facility. But that is not enough, they are now fighting a transfer to an Indiana prison dubbed "Little Guantanamo". Apparently the ACLU is only happy when our enemies are released to island resorts.

ACLU to fight prisoner’s transfer to Terre Haute facility
Dean Kuipers Los Angeles Times

Civil rights activists plan to file a lawsuit Thursday contesting the transfer of a Tunisian-American prisoner to a federal prison facility in Indiana that some inmates have dubbed “Little Guantanamo.”

The suit by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Sabri Benkahla could be the first of many challenging the secretive units, which drastically restrict outside contact.

Benkahla was transferred to the Communications Management Unit in Terre Haute in 2007, eight months after his conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice charges in a terrorism case.

Prosecutors contended that he lied to a grand jury about his contact with an alleged al-Qaida fundraiser and other terrorism suspects.

The Terre Haute unit was opened in 2006. Another CMU began operations last year at the federal prison in Marion, Ill.

The suit charges that the federal Bureau of Prisons violated Benkahla’s right to due process by pulling him out the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center with no transfer paperwork, no hearing, and no opportunity to contest his transfer beforehand. It also questions the legality of the CMUs.

Similar suits are being prepared by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York and by attorneys representing other CMU inmates, calling the specialized units an unwarranted expansion of the war on terror.

Inmates housed in the CMUs are allowed only one 15-minute phone call a week and two 2-hour visits a month. While the CMU rules are more restrictive than those of most federal prisons, they are not as strict as the “supermax” facility in Florence, Colo., which houses terrorists such as unibomber Theodore Kaczynski. Inmates at the CMUs have access to computers, a library, a basketball court and a religious library.

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ACLU Takes a Stand for Islam

So all of a sudden the Christianity attacking ACLU cares about religion. This despite the fact that millions of dollars given to Muslim charities continually ends up in the hands of Islamic terrorists. This is just like in Europe where the left and Muslims work hand and hand to destroy life as we know it .

ACLU condemns U.S. crackdown on Muslim charities
Harsh measures meant to combat terrorist financing violate the charities' rights, a report says, and deter Muslims from giving.
By Duke Helfand
June 16, 2009

The federal government's crackdown on suspected terrorism financing since the Sept. 11 attacks has violated the rights of American Muslim charities and deterred Muslims from charitable giving, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report Tuesday.

An expansion of laws and policies since 2001 has given the U.S. Treasury Department in particular virtually unchecked authority to designate charities as terrorist organizations and freeze assets without adequate safeguards to protect against mistakes or abuse, the study concluded.

It said that such sweeping powers, combined with the FBI interviewing Muslim donors and putting mosques under surveillance, has created a climate of fear among Muslims. Donors have been reluctant to fulfill their religious obligation to give zakat, or charity, one of the "five pillars" of Islam, for fear of being arrested, deported, denied citizenship or prosecuted retroactively for donations made in good faith.

"Giving charity is a central part of being Muslim, so it weighs heavily on them that they cannot practice a key tenet of their faith," said ACLU researcher Jennifer Turner, who based her findings on interviews with 120 Muslim community leaders, donors and former government officials.

In a statement, the Treasury Department, which is responsible for oversight of charitable activity, said it attempts to help the charitable community protect against terrorist abuses.

"We're hopeful this ongoing communication will ensure all charitable groups, regardless of religious affiliation, have the ability to provide assistance where it's needed most, without empowering terrorist organizations," the agency said.

In his speech in Cairo this month, President Obama addressed the oversight of Muslim charities, saying the "rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That's why I'm committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat."

Civil libertarians and Muslim advocates say the Obama administration has yet to take steps to address the problems.

The ACLU said that federal policies have led to the closure of nine Muslim charities in Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and other states.

The leaders of one former charity, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, were convicted in November of funneling more than $12 million to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The U.S. has designated Hamas a terrorist organization, making contributions to it illegal. Two founding members of Holy Land, once the nation's largest Muslim charity, were each sentenced last month to 65 years in prison.

Still, Muslim advocates and the ACLU said the government has seized the assets of other charities without charging them with a crime. Such an approach has driven charitable giving underground and undermined U.S. diplomatic efforts in Muslim countries, they said.

"This is an issue that not only goes to religious giving, but we see this as critical to our continued integration and participation in American public life," said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a legal advocacy and education organization based in San Francisco.

"To be engaged in public life, we need to feel comfortable supporting our community institutions," she said.

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