Muslim Prisoner Sues State For Not Serving Meals In Accordance With Religious Beliefs

A Muslim inmate filed a lawsuit against prison staff in Oregon for not serving him meals that comply with his religious beliefs, according to the Oregonian Tuesday.

The suit alleged that Oregon Department of Corrections staff did not provide Rashid Kambarov, 29, meals that were halal, or prepared in an Islamic tradition. Halal meat is typically certified, similar to the Jewish meal practice of keeping kosher.

The department said it provides both meals without meat and kosher options, which also satisfies halal requirements as alternative food options. The suit said that vegetarian options, which are typically halal, provided to Kambarov were cross-contaminated with pork, a forbidden food in strict interpretations of Muslim practice.

Kambarov said that he witnessed the staff handling the vegetarian options and salami, a pork product, at the same time, and that knives used to cut vegetables were also used to cut ham. The suit said he was also served soup that he later found out had pork in it, according to the Oregonian. Kambarov’s suit alleged that he was rejected from getting kosher meals. Oregon prisons provide Kosher meals in consultation with prison chaplains.

The suit is against Troy Bowser, the superintendent of Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, Oregon, where Kambarov is serving his sentence and other prison administrators. The suit claimed that Kambarov’s 14th Amendment rights and protections under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act were violated. The 2000 law signed by former President Bill Clinton requires religious accommodations for inmates.

Kambarov is a Turkish national and was convicted of first-degree rape in 2015. He is serving a 100-month sentence.