Some Notes On Representative King’s Hearing On Radicalization of Prisoners

On Monday the Center For Security Policy posted an article about the literature currently found in Mosques in America and the hope that the same literature would not be allowed in our prisons. 

The article reports:

Such materials were used in a new peer-reviewed study published last week in the highly respected journal Middle East Quarterly (MEQ) as indicators of jihadist sentiment and proselytization in a random sample of 100 American mosques.  This study, which is entitled Shari’a and Violence in American Mosques, involved the collection of empirical data through repeated on-site investigations over several years.  It established that 81% of U.S. mosques had the cited materials on the premises. The study also found that in over 84% of the mosques surveyed, the imam recommended texts advocating violent jihad.”

The article lists the texts cited in the study:

The seven texts featured in the MEQ analysis are illustrative of the body of hate-mongering, supremacist literature and films used by shariah-adherent Muslims to inculcate in targeted populations their call to violent jihad:

  1. Riyad-us Saliheen (Gardens of the Righteous)
  2. Jihad in Islam
  3. Umdat al-Salik (The Reliance of the Traveller)
  4. Tafhim al-Qur’an (The Meaning of the Qur’an)
  5. Fiqh-us-Sunnah (The Book on Acts of Worship)
  6. Tafsir Ibn Kathir
  7. Ma’alim fi’l-Tariq (Milestones)

We have all heard the expression “You are known by the company you keep.”  In this case, I think we can say “You are known by the books you read and promote.” 

As Americans, we need to understand that the goal of many Muslims (not all) is to promote Sharia Law around the world and create a worldwide caliphate.  Although I believe radical Muslims are entitled to believe whatever they choose to believe, I do not believe they have the right to undermine the U. S. Constitution within the United States prison system. 

I applaud the efforts of Representative King to raise awareness on the issue of radicalization in our prisons.  Please read the entire article at the Center for Security Policy for a list of the witnesses that will be called and further details on the MEQ study.