Federal Bureau of Prisons Fails to Follow IG Recomendations

In the Shadow of the Prison Walls

Often what happens within the shadows of the prison walls is elusive to the understanding mind.
A recent article by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Wall Street Journal regarding  Imam Fouad El Bayly and the Federal Bureau of Prisons leaves one aghast at how prison officials make hiring decisions.  That the BOP would select an individual, who has openly called for the death of infidels,  as a spiritual leader of the inmate muslim population nationwide is beyond a logical explanation.
Fouad El Bayly, was the leader of an Islamic Center in Pennsylvania in 2007 when he made a statement regarding killing anyone who would defame
Islam or depart from it's tenets of faith.  At the time of his statement Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who  had been an outspoken critic of radical Islam and the subjugation of women,  was scheduled to speak at the University of Pittsburgh.

Fouad El Bayly

Eight years later we now discover that Mr. Bayly  was recently cleared by the Department of Justice for hiring as a chaplain within the U.S. prison system.
 Ayaan Hirsi Ali described her reaction on hearing this ; "Imagine my surprise when I learned recently that the man who threatened me with death for apostasy is being paid by the U.S. Justice Department to teach Islam in American jails."
She went  to outline her analysis of how something like this could take place. It was a willful  disregard of DOJ guidelines for background checks of potential prison employees prior to allowing them access to inmates.
Ms Ali is correct in her assessment of the potential threat overlooked by Mr. Bayly's new employer.
The failure of the Department of Justice to follow the recommendations of it's own Inspector General ten years earlier lead to the  hiring of Imam El Bayly.
The IG's report in 2004 called for the use of an established eclessiastical body, approved by the FBI,  to be utilized in the certification of Islamic Clergy as well as a thorough background investigation by law enforcement for all potential religious workers.  At that time CAIR, the Council of American Islamic Relations, offered to be that certifying organization but was turned down by the FBI because of security concerns and alleged ties to Hamas.   Now officials at the BOP have either chosen to ignore the security recommendations of the DOJ or have turned a blind eye to Mr. Bayly prior comments regarding how to deal with critics of Islam.
Perhaps it is time once again for a Congressional oversight committee to look into the threat of radical Islamic influences within the prison community.