Arkansas Must Defend Bar on Beards to Justices
Arkansas Must Defend Bar on Beards to Justices
WASHINGTON (CN) - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review the challenge a Muslim man has brought against the grooming policies at an Arkansas prison.
Gregory Houston Holt aka Abdul Maalik Muhammad says he must grow a beard as a Muslim fundamentalist, but that the grooming policy for the Arkansas Department of Corrections allows only trimmed moustaches or quarter-inch beards for a diagnosed dermatological problem.
Holt had filed suit under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, but a federal judge in Pine Bluff dismissed the action after learning of the other ways in which Arkansas lets Holt practice his religion.
The court heard evidence that Holt had a prayer rug and a list of distributors of Islamic material; that he was allowed to correspond with a religious adviser; and that he was allowed to maintain the required diet and observe religious holidays.
A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit affirmed dismissal this past June, crediting an explanation from Arkansas that its grooming policy helps "prevent inmates from concealing contraband, drugs, or weapons; that an inmate who grew a beard could change his appearance quickly by shaving; that affording special privileges to an individual inmate could result in his being targeted by other inmates; and that prison officials believed the grooming policy was necessary to further ADC's interest in prison security."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/03/03/65787.htm