The multi-faith room at HMP Lewes will have footbaths installed so Muslim inmates can wash their feet before prayers.For Christians, however, there will now only be a plain wooden cross and a portable altar which can be removed if other faiths are using the room.
The new £200,000 development at the East Sussex jail has been designed as a multi-faith room with the space split into two.One side is dedicated to Christian worship and the other is for other faiths in the 485 inmate category B jail.But a spokeswoman from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) revealed the traditional Christian crucifix depicting Jesus nailed to the cross will not be used.
After discussions between the prison chaplain and Muslim imam it was agreed a toned-down wooden cross would be used instead of a crucifix.Zsa Roggendorff, chair of the nearby Ford HMP IMB, could not understand why the crucifix has been taken out of the chapel.She said: "At Ford we have a multi-faith chapel and all are prisoners are allowed to use it."We still have our cross and we have the altar. All the other faiths have got their own special rooms in huts to use which are part of the main prison."
A portable alter will also be used at HMP Lewes so it can be removed when it is not needed while footbaths have been installed so Muslim inmates can wash their feet before prayers.Amanda Hamblin, chair of the Lewes IMB, said: "We see this as a vastly improved facility and very much welcome the fact that the prison has an imam"It is key that everyone will have access to a decent place of worship whether they are Muslims, Christians or any other faith."I think the significant thing about this is that the facilities were very poor before.
"Now they have been set up with a lot of consultation and thought given to how to make it fit for purpose, fit for access and fit for the religious needs of our prisoners, whatever they may be."The multi-faith room was dedicated on December 5 but has not yet been opened for use.
Christian leaders in the UK continue to bow down to Islam as if they have no concern for their own religion. This time a new multi-faith prayer room in a UK prison is set to open with Islamic foot washing baths installed, but a Christian crucifix with Jesus nailed to it will not be used out fear of offending the Muslim prisoners. This all came about after a conversation between the prison's chaplain and Imam.
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