(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/3/23) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today filed a lawsuit today against the Virginia Department of Corrections and officials at Green Rock Correctional Center for their unlawful refusal to provide Ramadan accommodations to a Muslim incarceree.
Alexander Crichlow, a Muslim who converted to Islam in Jan. 2023, fasts from dawn until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Since January, he has repeatedly asked prison officials to provide him with the same Ramadan accommodations as dozens of Muslims at Green Rock: receiving breakfast before dawn, a double serving of dinner at sunset and permission to gather daily for evening prayers with other Muslims.
But prison officials reportedly refuse to accommodate Critchlow because he converted to Islam after their arbitrary deadline to sign up for Ramadan accommodations, which fell on Nov. 18, 2022—over four months before Ramadan. According to them, an exception-free statewide policy refuses Ramadan accommodation to any incarceree who converted to Islam after Nov. 18, 2022.
CAIR’s lawsuit explains that Virginia’s senselessly rigid policy violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which mandates that, when government officials can easily accommodate a prisoner’s religious exercise, they must do so. There is nothing difficult about prison officials providing Crichlow exactly what they already provide to dozens of other Muslims, and CAIR seeks a federal court’s immediate intervention to order that accommodation.
“Virginia’s inflexible policy barring recent converts to Islam from receiving Ramadan accommodations is ridiculous and unlawful,” said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas. “We look forward to vindicating Mr. Crichlow’s rights in federal court.”
“Green Rock’s refusal to take very simple steps to accommodate Mr. Crichlow is exactly what RLUIPA forbids,” said CAIR Staff Attorney Hannah Mullen. “We are hopeful that he will soon receive the accommodations guaranteed to him by law.”
Last month, prior to the beginning of the Ramadan fast, CAIR issued a reminder to jails and prisons nationwide that they must provide religious accommodations for Muslim inmates following complaints of incarceree rights violations in Georgia, Nevada and California.
CAIR offers an educational toolkit, called “A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” to help correctional officers and administrators gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.
SEE: A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices
Washington, D.C., based CAIR defends the rights of incarcerated American Muslims in cases throughout the country.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Staff Attorney Hannah Mullen, 202-742-6420, [email protected]; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected], CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]