Justice Dept. Tells Prisons to Screen Imams
Charles Johnson
Tue May 4, 2004 at 4:37 pm PDT • Views: 129
A new report by Justice Department investigators says that prisons are not adequately screening Muslim chaplains to find out whether they’re preaching jihad.
WASHINGTON - Federal prison officials are failing to adequately screen Muslim chaplains and others who provide Islamic religious services to inmates to determine whether they hold extremist views, Justice Department investigators say.
A report by Justice Department inspector general Glenn A. Fine also found Muslim contractors and volunteers have ample opportunity “to deliver inappropriate and extremist messages,” which could lead to terrorist recruitment, inside federal prisons because they lack proper supervision.
Muslim inmates themselves sometimes lead Islamic services in prisons, another potential source of terror recruitment and dissemination of extremist doctrine, according to the report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Formal release was set for Wednesday.
“Religious providers are in a unique position to influence the beliefs and conduct of inmates,” the report said. “The presence of extremist chaplains, contractors or volunteers … can pose a threat to institutional security and could implicate national security if inmates are encouraged to commit terrorist acts.”
Frank says: