The
latest from the UK sounds like something from the
Onion News Network. The Norfolk police department will give arrested Muslims compasses, so they can locate the right direction to Mecca when they pray.
The force had already painted the ceilings of some of its cells to point worshippers in the right direction.
Apparently that wasn't good enough. According to a police spokesperson,
'Wherever possible custody staff facilitate any reasonable request in respect of religious considerations.'
Yeah, because asking for a compass to pray is really reasonable. I guess their all-powerful God won't hear Muslims if they happen to face in the wrong direction when they pray. He can't be expected to overlook a minor mistake in facing when a worshipper is in jail. I don't know if a mere compass is good enough. Maybe they need a state of the art GPS system that precisely locates the angle of Mecca. After all, with a compass they might be off a degree or two in their facing, and we can't have that.
I can never decide if they're serious or if they're being whingey, as people tend to be when they're in jail.
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