Banned
Officials at the Otisville prison recently removed hundreds of books from the chapel library there -- including works by the 12th-century rabbi and physician Maimonides as well as the Zohar, the ancient text upon which the mystical practice of Kabbalah is based. The books were removed, Bureau of Prisons officials explain, to comply with new rules set earlier this year. To reduce the risk that prisoners will find hateful or radicalizing (read: terrorist) materials in chapel libraries, the BOP has developed lists of 150 approved books per religion for 20 religions, including Bahai, Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Could there be a better way? I mean, you can't feel sorry for every 'right' that an inmate loses, yet, isn't religion one way (I didn't say ONLY way) people develop values that make them a better person?
Comments (2)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
Did I read this correctly? The Bureau of prisons has a list of 150 approved books that inmates can read on any of 20 religions... and you're worried that they won't have the right to practice religion?
Did I miss something?
Now, as to figuring out how prison censors go about determining which writings sponsor radical thought, and how you'd exclude the Bible from that list, I have no idea. I think the basic notion (finding ways to help avoid religion from going "bad" in these prisoners) is worth trying, but whether this is a valid way to achieve it... I would have my doubts.
Posted on August 8, 2007 11:25 AM
And then there are all those myriads and myriads of secular books that put all sorts of profane, vialent, hateful, truly radical things in people's heads everyday. I wonder if the regulated all that as well. You know, only 20 books about how to build a bomb or set up a dictatorial communist or jihadist nation, etc. Gotta be a response to radical Islam, and tons of other goofball cults.
Posted on August 10, 2007 8:25 PM