The next day, about 70 Negro inmates assembled in the yard and refused to work. A spokesman presented to prison authorities several demands including segregation of NOI followers in the prison and a place for religious worship. The demands were denied and 59 of the protesting prisoners refused to go to work. However, after a brief period of isolation for these prisoners they returned to work. Word of the disturbance at San Quentin apparently spread, as several days later, NOI leaders in California came to the prison to present demands for special privileges for NOI prisoners. Their demands were refused.
Much publicity is given to the contention that NOI members are taught to live cleanly and to improve themselves physically, spiritually, and morally. While NOI adherents in prison have sought freedom to practice their religion and to follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the sincerity and depth of their convictions are sometimes in doubt. While in prison, a Muslim often asserts devotion to his religion and claims his religious rights are being denied by prison authorities. Then, released from prison, he may violate religious principles unscrupulously.
For example, an NOI member confined in a New Jersey State prison filed a suit alleging that prison authorities discriminated against NOI inmates. His suit reached the New Jersey Supreme Court, which has yet to render a decision in this matter. However, this prisoner was paroled and, in 1964,
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