Thursday, July 2, 2009 -2:29 PM - Appeasing the colonisers!
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news
detainees with compasses
so they can face Mecca
to pray
They may already have wandered from the straight and narrow. But Muslims held in police cells in one area are being given every help to find their way back.
Norfolk Police is offering compasses to suspects so they can face accurately towards Mecca when praying.
The force had already painted the ceilings of some of its cells to point worshippers in the right direction.
It tested the idea at a police station in Norwich and has recommended extending it across the county. If successful, the scheme could be rolled out to other forces around the UK.
Norfolk Police Authority outlined the initiative in its Custody Visitors Committee report, following a trial at Bethel Street Police Station in Norwich.
The report states: 'The painted compasses on the ceilings at Bethel Street will be replicated across the rest of the county.
'However, further guidance has been received and in future small compasses will be issued to those detainees who request them.'
Officially, this is because Muslims may not always be in a cell with directions to Mecca at prayer time.
But a force insider said: 'An Islamic detainee might not trust those who are holding him and a compass will allow him to make his own mind up about which way he should be facing.'
The custody suite at the force's King's Lynn police station is next in line to be painted with a compass. The town's custody inspector, Colin Williamson, said the force had to meet the religious needs of anyone held in its cells.
He added: 'We have responsibilities to ensure that everyone detained has their specific needs met, whether they are unable to read, visually impaired or a vulnerable young person. Each person taken into custody is asked if they have any particular religious or dietary requirements.
'We will also have compasses available to Muslims so that they may know the direction of Mecca.
'Wherever possible custody staff facilitate any reasonable request in respect of religious considerations.'
Risk assessments will be carried out before each compass is issued.
Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is a focal point for all Muslims and the centre of the Islamic pilgrimage known as the Hajj. Devout followers of Islam must face towards the city for the five prayer sessions they take part in each day.
According to the last national census in 2001, some 1.6million people in the UK are Muslims.
The Muslim prison population has swelled in recent years and at Whitemoor Prison, near March in Cambridgeshire, a third of the 460 inmates are Muslims.
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