Weird news: Harry Potter is a new favorite among... terrorist detainees at Guantanamo.
Harry Potter's worldwide popularity is so broad-based that it has become favorite reading for Islamic terror suspects at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.Lori, who for two years has overseen the detention center's library, said J.K. Rowling's tales about the boy wizard are on top of the request list for the camp's 520 al Qaeda and Taliban suspects, followed by Agatha Christie whodunits.
"We've got a few who are kind of hooked on it. A couple have asked if they can see the movie," said Lori, a civilian contractor who asked that her last name not be publicized.
Detainees may not peruse the bookshelves at Camp Delta, which is stocked with more than 800 books other than the Koran and with family-values movies. Instead, a staff of three librarians load up a book cart and go cell to cell.
The titles are not all sorcery and murder mysteries. There is, for example, "Sahih Bukhari," a book of sayings and deeds by the prophet Muhammad compiled by the early Arabic scholar Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari.
"We had someone from the Joint Staff [of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] come down who is a Middle East Islamic specialist and gave recommendations," Lori said.
The library bans certain book categories, such as ones that deal in political thought.
"We try to keep people calm and not incite riots," Lori said.
We await words of protest from the swags at the American Library Association over this new incidence of book banning.
Posted by Alan at August 8, 2005 06:44 AM