Prison official: American Taliban fighter Lindh, other Muslim inmates show defiance

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/officer-says-lindh-other-muslim-inmates-cite-religion-to-defy-authority-in-indiana-prison/2012/08/29/1212cb86-f1ff-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_story.html

By Associated Press,

INDIANAPOLIS — American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh and other Muslims housed at a special federal prison unit in Indiana have used the veil of religion to show defiance toward their captors and assert power over other inmates, prison officials testified Wednesday.

Lindh is suing the government to overturn a policy preventing him and the other Muslim detainees he’s housed with from performing their five daily prayers as a group. He once delivered an incendiary sermon in Arabic at the Terre Haute prison’s Communication Management Unit despite a requirement that inmates speak English except for ritual prayers, security official Tim Coleman testified during the third day of the trial over Lindh’s lawsuit.

Lindh, who is serving a 20-year sentence for aiding the Taliban during the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, says group prayer is required under the school of Islam to which he adheres, and that the prison policy violates a 1993 law barring the government from curtailing religious speech without showing a compelling interest.

Coleman said Lindh has a history of acting defiantly toward prison officials.



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