Why you should care about a Muslim prisoner's beard [View all]

[rug]

October 6th, 2014
05:25 PM ET
Opinion by Emily Hardman, special to CNN

(CNN) – I’m not a Muslim. I’ve never been imprisoned. And I don’t want to grow a beard. But I’m defending the rights of someone who is and does.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear Holt v. Hobbs, a landmark case cutting to the heart of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.

At issue is whether refusing to allow a prisoner to peacefully practice his religion violates a federal civil rights law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known as RLUIPA .

In this case, Abdul Muhammad (formerly named Gregory Holt) is an Arkansas inmate who wants to observe the Muslim command to grow a beard, in his case a half-inch in length.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/10/06/why-we-all-should-care-about-a-muslim-prisoners-beard/