Talon Posted August 21, 2004 #1 Share Posted August 21, 2004 (edited) Muslims at Belmarsh offered pork chops Vikram Dodd Saturday August 21, 2004 The Guardian The Prison Service yesterday apologised after inmates at the top security Belmarsh jail, which houses Muslims accused of terrorism, were offered a pork chop for their evening meal. Abu Hamza, the radical cleric whom the United States wants to extradite for a string of alleged offences, was among those who were given a menu describing the chop as a halal choice. Authorities at Belmarsh did show some attempt to accommodate the cultural needs of Muslim inmates, some of whom are held without charge. For Muslims pork is considered haram or unclean and is forbidden. Belmarsh's governor apologised to Muslim inmates for the blunder. Yesterday Mr Hamza, the former preacher at the Finsbury Park mosque, appeared via videolink from Belmarsh at Bow Street magistrates court for a short hearing, at which he was remanded in custody until next month. The US is seeking his extradition for a range of terrorist and kidnapping offences, which he denies. Yesterday Mr Hamza's lawyer, Mudassar Arani, threatened legal action against the Prison Service, claiming that Muslim inmates lacked confidence that the food they were getting was halal and so were boycotting meat products. Ms Arani said inmates had lost weight because of the enforced vegetarian diet. The lawyer said that some Muslim prisoners who could not speak or read English might have eaten pork without realising what it was. Ms Arani also said Mr Hamza's health was deteriorating in prison and that she would soon be applying for his release on bail. Inayat Bunglawala from the Muslim Council of Britain condemned the offering of pork chops to imprisoned Muslims as being "immensely insensitive". A spokesman for the Prison Service admitted the blunder. "The mistake was spotted and rectified and the governor sent round an apology to the people affected. To our knowledge there was no report of [Muslim] people eating the pork chops." Link Am I the only one who is thinking 'They're prisioners... who gives a stuff if they feel insulted by the menu'. Ms Arani also said Mr Hamza's health was deteriorating in prison and that she would soon be applying for his release on bail. Oh, and I rather they just let him rot Edited August 21, 2004 by Talon S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+joc Posted August 22, 2004 #2 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Am I the only one who is thinking 'They're prisioners... who gives a stuff if they feel insulted by the menu'. I say let them eat cake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomgirl Posted August 22, 2004 #3 Share Posted August 22, 2004 well if you were Muslim you wouldn't like it if they gave you pork, try thinking of how you would feel in that situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraphina Posted August 22, 2004 #4 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Given that Mr Hamza has been very vocal (and public) for years about how he believes the muslim population of the UK should rise up and murder every infidel (i.e. everyone who's not muslim) in "their" country, I can't say I take much effort to care whether or not he's offended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle Battlefront Posted August 22, 2004 #5 Share Posted August 22, 2004 well if you were Muslim you wouldn't like it if they gave you pork, try thinking of how you would feel in that situation. i agree doomie. regardless of whether or not they have been accused of something their rights to follow and practise their religion should not have been overlooked, and the same goes for anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunarmdscissor Posted August 22, 2004 #6 Share Posted August 22, 2004 come on they were only OFFERED it. I wasnt as though it got shoved down their throat. Fact is the UK is a christian country... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 22, 2004 #7 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Oh God, what struck me as funny about that is that in the early 1900's prisoners went on a hunger strike in Maine. They were sick of eating lobster. And sorry, I don't have a source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcturnersr Posted August 22, 2004 #8 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Poor, poor little terrorists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffybunny Posted August 22, 2004 #9 Share Posted August 22, 2004 I say we should apoligize for not offering mint jelly to go with it...how horribly harsh... Now they are going to have to go to bed without eating the main course of din-din that night, what animals those prison guards are...next they might even make the prisoners stand in the corner until they straighten out... I hate to break it to you folks, but if you want to have full control of your diet it is really important to stay out of prison. Just my two cents worth... Tough...poo-poo I say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 22, 2004 #10 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Tough poo-poo? Something else I need to add to my vocabulary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffybunny Posted August 22, 2004 #11 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Tough poo-poo? Something else I need to add to my vocabulary. I was trying to keep it kid friendly...not exactly what I said to myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snuffypuffer Posted August 22, 2004 #12 Share Posted August 22, 2004 What tough terrorists! they can strap a bomb to their chests and detonate themselves in a crowded marketplace, but they just can't handle pork chops. Poor things, I feel so sorry for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seventh_son Posted August 22, 2004 #13 Share Posted August 22, 2004 I think they should consult Alah for menue suggestions!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted August 22, 2004 Author #14 Share Posted August 22, 2004 well if you were Muslim you wouldn't like it if they gave you pork, try thinking of how you would feel in that situation. No one's forcing them to eat pig, their complaint is that its on the menu. So they don't learn English to accommodate us, but they want us to change our eating habits to accommodate them.... yep, sounds like multi-culturalism to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis Posted August 22, 2004 #15 Share Posted August 22, 2004 they can strap a bomb to their chests and detonate themselves in a crowded marketplace i know snuffypuffer, i really wonder what drives them to commit such crimes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffybunny Posted August 22, 2004 #16 Share Posted August 22, 2004 This is slightly off topic, but I am going to post it anyway. Back in the 70's many american companies were contracted to build and/or update the oil fields in Saudi Arabia, as they did not have access to the same technology or resources that we did at the time. Thousands of oil field workers and engineers came from all over the US to go work for 3 or 4 times what their wages would be here in the US. They made damn good money here, and many of them decided to go there and work for a few years and then come back to pay of their homes and have a boatload of money in the bank when they got back. I had a few family members that did just that. The culture shock between American culture and Saudi Culture is huge now, and was even more so in the 70's. No alcohol, bad language, pornography, flirting...the list goes on. Imagine taking a bunch of oil field workers(good old boys...hard working, hard drinking types) and putting them smack dab in the middle of strict muslim culture. It was like a comedy of errors right off the bat, and it got worse as the local people got tired of dealing with the odd strangers who did everything differently and disrespectfully. After several skirmishes between the workers and the locals, the oil field owners decided to give local escorts to each of the oil field workers when they went into town to go shopping; somebody to help difuse situations. It helped a little but the locals that my uncle was near decided that in order to protest the americans, they would spit on them as they went by on foot, or in the company jeep. These folks would run up to the jeep when it was in traffic and stick their heads in the window and spit on the workers... This didn't go over well. The workers finally got fed up and decided to begin carrying raw bacon slices from the company restaurant with them when they went anywhere near town. If anyone got out of line, they would slip the bacon out of a little baggy and commence slapping the locals in the face with the raw bacon. The locals didn't take to well to that, I guess touching raw pork is a really bad thing to them... It worked though, after it occured a few times(bacon slapping), the locals started to steer clear of the company vehicles and always parted way(always out of arms reach) when the workers were walking through the shopping areas... Anywho, sorry to derail...lets get back to the wacky prisoners... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snuffypuffer Posted August 23, 2004 #17 Share Posted August 23, 2004 i know snuffypuffer, i really wonder what drives them to commit such crimes? I know that when I want a filet mignon, and all I get are pork chops, I get a little crazy too. Oh, and there's that crazy religious fundamentalism and brainwashing, also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted August 23, 2004 Author #18 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Oh, and there's that crazy religious fundamentalism and brainwashing, also. True, religious fundamentalism will have a lot to do with most of it, but I wonder how much the suffering of the Palistinians has to do also with some people taking the path they do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alis Posted August 23, 2004 #19 Share Posted August 23, 2004 (edited) and if you look a little closer you might see why there are more terrorist actvities at present than there were 50 years ago. , but I wonder how much the suffering of the Palistinians has to do also with some people taking the path they do Exactly tal, couldnt put it better myself. Edited August 23, 2004 by alis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted August 23, 2004 Author #20 Share Posted August 23, 2004 (edited) I actually saw a programe 'Terror alert... could you survive' presented by an ex-SAS guy which said terrorism has actually decreased in resent years outside the Middle East, its only the coverage of it and people's fear after 9/11 which has increased. I mean in Britain during the 1980s we had attacks by the IRA, they're not as common anymore, but people are far more scared now of Islamic extremist terrorism than they were by Irish extremist terrrism, because of the increase in coverage. Edited August 23, 2004 by Talon S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snuffypuffer Posted August 23, 2004 #21 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Religion is always the handiest excuse for whatever radical group happens to be raising a ruckus at the time. It's never really religion, though, the reason is always power, always has been, always will be. The religious extremists want power, and they fill their followers heads with whatever bs will help them get it. Who cares how many misguided individuals have to blow themselves up? As long as the fearless leader gets to be in charge, he'll go through as many faithful subjects as he wants. And with the invasion of Iraq, and especially the Abu Ghraib incident, we've done nothing but help recruiting. I'm sure a lot of folks who were sitting on the fence before that came over to the terrorist cause after. It doesn't take much for some people, and when your reputation isn't great in a particular area to begin with, you have to be a paragon of virtue to even be grudgingly accepted as a benevolent factor. And I don't even want to begin on the media coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circles Posted August 24, 2004 #22 Share Posted August 24, 2004 come on they were only OFFERED it. I wasnt as though it got shoved down their throat. Fact is the UK is a christian country... No it isn't. The UK has Freedom of Religion, which means that UK citizens have the right to be any religion that they want to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunarmdscissor Posted August 24, 2004 #23 Share Posted August 24, 2004 No it isn't. The UK has Freedom of Religion, which means that UK citizens have the right to be any religion that they want to be. Ahh but you see it is. I didnt mean theyre is a religious govt , im using the type of terminology they use describing most countries, where the vast majority of religious people in the country follow one religion it is generally thought of as being a christian or muslim country. IE: turkey = known as a muslim country , but there is styill a large christian population. What i was meaning was that the vast majority of the population (and this does not necessarily include me BTW) are christia, this is a Chritsanity based country, immigrants know this when they come to the country so why should we change our lifestyle to suit them. They should adapt to our culture. And if that means tolerating pork being on the menu then thats fine. how dare they tell US what we should have on a menu?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lottie Posted August 24, 2004 #24 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I am actually hoping that Belmarsh prison offered them the pork chops intentionally and acted as if they didn't realise. These terrorists deserve no respect whatsoever...Hope the guards force feed them the chops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subtemperate Posted August 24, 2004 #25 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I myself would of thought that if they offer inmates food they wont eat....and the inmates dont eat it...... and then collapse from hunger...... The cost of getting medical treatment would far outweight the cost of cooking them something else........ So doesnt it make sense just to give them what they would eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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