Modified On November 21, 2008
An article in the London Telegraph details the embarrassment of prison and government officials who discovered that al Quaeda member Zia Ul Haq, jailed last year for his role in a plot to bomb London, was discovered to have been among 18 prisoners enrolled in a standup comedy class.
The course was shut down after just three lessons. Justice Secretary Jack Straw was quoted in the Sun:
Prisons should be places of punishment and reform. Providing educational and constructive pursuits is essential but the types of courses and the manner in which they are delivered must be appropriate.
We suppose that al Quaeda members would be good at that “awkward comedy” we’ve heard so much about lately. (And, as for speaking truth to power, well, just check out any of the videos by bin Laden or his number two al Zawahiri. Of course, each could use a little punch-up. And Zawahiri’s gotta layoff the “house negroes” thing. References like that have the potential to turn an entire set into a bomb. Figuratively speaking, of course.)