Allah v. Al-Hafeez.

• Position: FOOD - Case regarding religious food - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

RELIGIOUS DIET

Allah v. Al-Hafeez, 208 F.Supp.2d 520 (E.D.Pa. 2002). A prisoner brought a civil rights action against prison officials. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The court held that the prisoner's two-month exclusion from religious services did not violate his First Amendment rights, in light of security and economic concerns. The prisoner had challenged a prison chaplain about the chaplain's teaching and the two had a disagreement, resulting in his exclusion from services for two months. The court also found no First Amendment violation in the prison's failure to hire a minister, or appoint a prisoner as a minister, for an additional Nation of Islam faith group, because of security and economic concerns. The court found that a prison regulation that prohibited group calisthenics in the prison yard was reasonably...