From Daniel Pipes’ weblog (thanks to EPG):
The Bureau of Prisons Explains Islam Many branches of government need to understand Islam, but probably none deal with Muslims and their religious practices in so practical and detailed a way as do the wardens of prisons. It is therefore particularly dismaying to see that the highest prison authority in the United States, the Bureau of Prisons (which oversees all federal correctional facilities), has bought the Islamist line….
The lesson plan’s Introduction (p. 3) asserts: “Since September 11, events have aroused significant media and public attention on our neighbors who represent Islam in America. The concept of “˜Jihad’ has been exploited causing fear, anxiety, and confusion about the tenants [sic] of a religion centered in peace and obedience to God. Many have come to understand the concept of “˜Jihad’ as a Holy War, but in reality, “˜Jihad’ depicts the struggle one endures to be submissive to God.”
Which is just misleading, of course, since armed Muslim groups are waging what they, not these unnamed exploiters, call jihad all around the world today. Pipes adds:
Comment: Not only has some of the highest ranking staff in the BOP Central Office acquiesced to CAIR, but it proffers a la-la-land description of jihad that is unhistorical, inaccurate, and (given the prison environment) downright dangerous. (February 10, 2005)