Friday, July 20, 2007

Muslims behind bars

An Iranian language news service has revealed that:

Any one who converts to Islam in America will be jailed for over 20 years...The bulletin goes on to say that radical Zionist groups in America have proposed a plan that every convert should be jailed and this proposal has prompted the US government to toughen its intelligence gathering efforts to seek those new converts and prosecute them.
Those pesky Zionists, huh?

It's hard to know how many Iranians would believe this sort of bullshit, but my guess is that those predisposed to do so will find in it confirmation of their fears and hatred of the Great Satan and its Zionist puppetmasters; the growing, and sophisticated, younger middle classes will find it absurd; and the rest of the population will neither know nor care.

But what will happen to Muslims who are imprisoned? If the USA is anything like Britain, there are mixed signals. Will they organise and recruit new converts to Jihadism? Via Steve:
the foot soldiers of the security services - based at Prison Service headquarters [are] quietly working to ensure that the failed bombers do not inspire a new generation of violent jihadists.
[...]
Most of those convicted are in top security "dispersal" jails at Woodhill in Milton Keynes, Frankland, near Durham, Full Sutton, near York, and Long Lartin in Worcestershire.
But radicalisation of other prisoners is probably the last thing on the mind of Dhiren Barot, the "dirty bomb" conspirator, in Frankland Prison right now:
a prisoner at the maximum security Frankland Prison in Durham had thrown boiling water on Barot's back which had led to a "physical punch up". Later while attending to his burns, another inmate poured boiling oil over his head.

"Eesa (Dhiren) Barot has suffered various burns to his hands, forehead, head, neck and back. Eesa Barot as a result of the boiling oil having been poured over him has lost all of his hair," Arani said in a statement.

"Barot is suffering from extensive pain and has been scarred for the rest of his life."
This is the standard treatment meted out to "nonces" (sex offenders) in British prisons, which is why most are held under the segregation of Rule 43. If Islamic terrorists find themselves similarly regarded and threatened there will be very little recruitment going on. Being held in the same regard as child rapists is a bad starting point for preaching. The fact that two inmates attacked Barot suggests both that this view is widespread and that there was some sort of at least informal conspiracy to get him.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why wouldn't Iranians believe the story? How much do they really know about the US that they didn't get from Iranian media?

They live in Iran. The only government they've lived under is one that really does imprison people for religious reasons -- conversion may well be one such reason.

OTOH, they must've had enough experience with Iranian media to discount most of it.

Fidothedog said...

Barot deserved all he got, hell I hope the lags in that prison do the same to him again and again.

Who says criminals in prison can not do some good.

Peter Risdon said...

I can't say I'm going to lose any sleep tonight over Barot.