Muslim inmates sue to receive halal meals

SEATTLE – Muslim inmates unhappy that they’re not receiving halal meat in prison have taken their complaints to federal court.

Practicing Muslims eat only meat that has been specially prepared according to their religion. It requires that an animal is calmly put on the ground and petted gently before slaughter, then the animal is cut once across the jugular as a blessing is recited.

In prison, the state opts not to give practicing Muslims any meat whatsoever. Instead, it offers a so-called lacto-ovo vegetarian meal plan, which includes eggs and milk products.

Upset over the system, inmate Ronald Keal has filed a civil rights complaint against the state and the Department of Corrections, alleging religious discrimination and other violations, according to court documents filed Jan. 6 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

Keal, an inmate at Stafford Creek Correction Center in Aberdeen, seeks $12.3 million as well as a change in meal plans.

“Muslims are encouraged to eat meat,” Mohamad Joban, president of Washington’s Imam Fatwa Committee, which makes rulings on religious issues, wrote in a letter to prison officials.

“For them, (a vegetarian diet) is not a solution.”

About 660 inmates – or 4 percent of Washington state’s prison population – identify themselves as Muslims. Other inmates have filed similar lawsuits, the Seattle Times reported in a story in Monday editions.

The state consulted two Muslim experts who said there is no requirement that Muslims eat meat, court papers state. The courts agreed with the department.