There are between two and five solar eclipses per year around the world. Total eclipses, a phenomenon during which the moon aligns perfectly with the sun and the earth, are even rarer. The last one visible in France dates back to August 1999 and the next one should not take place before August 12, 2026. But to take advantage of the next total eclipse scheduled for April 8, you will have to go to the North American continent, and more precisely to Nazas, in the northwest of Mexico. However, behind the rarity of the phenomenon, this is an astonishing request that some American detainees have made who is talking about her, reports The Parisian.
In fact, these six prisoners filed a request with the federal courts. According to the complaint, the prisoners, who have already suffered a refusal to witness the phenomenon from the prison management, believe that their religious freedom would then be at stake. “Everyone expressed their strong religious belief that the April solar eclipse is a religious event that must be observed, about which they must question, in order to practice their faith“, we can read in the complaint.
Their religious freedom would be at stake
Among the plaintiffs, some invoke passages from sacred texts to justify their request. A Muslim quotes verses from the Koran, while two Christians refer to an extract from the Bible alluding to an eclipse. Another inmate, a follower of the Santeria religion from the Caribbean, sees in this cosmic event a unique opportunity to commune with one’s spirituality.
The prison administration, for its part, sticks to its positions. Invoking “security reasons“, she refuses to authorize the release of the prisoners, while specifying that special glasses will be distributed to inmates and guards to observe the eclipse from their cell.
A fight for freedom of conscience
But in the eyes of the six complainants, the question of security would only be a pretext. They see it as a flagrant violation of their freedom of conscience and their right to practice their religion.. Although the man behind the complaint calls himself an atheist, he sees in this total eclipse “an event of great religious significance“.
But beyond the personal and religious aspect of the request, the desire to witness this astronomical phenomenon of these six detainees highlights a rather paradoxical situation. Deprived of their physical freedom, they fight to preserve an essential part of their humanity: the freedom to believe and live their spirituality as they wish. It remains to be seen whether their complaint will be successful.
2024-04-05 05:00:41
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