Prayer Ban "Absurd"

American Taliban fighter has complained over a recent ruling forbidding him and other muslim prisoners from praying daily together

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — American-born Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh says a federal prison rule barring him and other Muslims from praying together daily is ''absurd'' and contends the U.S. is causing him to sin against his religion by prohibiting such gatherings in the name of security.

Lindh testified Monday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis during a trial in a civil lawsuit seeking to overturn the prison policy, which he argues violates a 1993 law barring the government from curtailing religious expression without showing it has a compelling interest.