• CAIR-OK Director Joins Jewish, Muslim College Students in Helping Tornado Victims
  
  • CAIR-Pittsburgh Town Hall Meeting Saturday, February 1
    
• NY: Vandalism Incident Targeting Muslim Likely a Hate Crime"U (expletive) (racial slur) I know where u work too!!! U better watch your back!!!" the note stated, according to a transcript in a police report. 
  Backgrounder: CAIR-NY Asks Feds to Probe Hate Vandalism of Muslim's Truck
  • Upstate NY Man Pleads Guilty in Anti-Muslim X-Ray Weapon Case 
  • WA: Metro Bus Passenger Arraigned on Hate Crime Charge
  • CAIR-WA: Hate Attack on Muslim Students in Seattle
    
• CAIR-MI: Lawsuit Against Muslim Group Tossed Out by Federal Judge (Free Press)
  
  • CAIR-MI: Judge Tosses Claims Against Muslim Group (AP)
  • CAIR-MI: Judge Dismisses Dave Agema's Suit 
    
• CAIR: U.S. Military Giving Troops More Leeway for Religious Attire (Reuters)
  
  • CAIR: Pentagon Clarifies Rules on Beards, Turbans for Muslim and Sikh Service Members (Wash. Post)
    "What we are seeing is not a revolution but an evolution in military policy," CAIR's Hooper said. "It sends a message that the military is friendly to minority faiths."
    
• CAIR: VA Man's Challenge to No-Fly List Clears Hurdle (AP)
  Mohamed's lawyer, Gadeir Abbas, who is with CAIR, called the ruling "a stinging rebuke to the government's use of the no-fly list."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR-FL Seeks Halal Meals for Muslim Inmates After Kosher Ruling

(TAMPA, FL, 1/23/14) – The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today welcomed a recent court ruling that kosher meals must be served to Jewish prison inmates and called on the state's Department of Corrections to extend this decision by serving halal (Islamically permissible) food to Muslim inmates.

[NOTE: Guidelines for halal food are similar to, but less restrictive than kosher practices. CAIR-FL has received numerous complaints from Muslim inmates seeking access to halal food.]

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Florida for violating a 2000 law intended to protect inmates' religious rights. The judge in the case issued an injunction, forcing Florida to begin serving kosher meals by July. Only 15 states do not offer inmates a kosher diet.

SEE: Florida Prisons to Serve Kosher Food
You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Love a Kosher Prison Meal

CAIR-FL sees this as a step in the right direction to ensuring that all inmates are guaranteed their constitutional right to freely practice their religious beliefs.

"We welcome the decision as an important step in protecting religious rights of incarcerated individuals. It is only fair and equitable that if Jewish inmates receive kosher food, as they should, that Muslim inmates have access to halal meals," saidCAIR-FL Executive Director Hassan Shibly. "Muslim businesses in our state stand ready to offer the advice and services needed to provide halal meals to inmates."

Last year, CAIR's Michigan chapter filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Muslim inmates against the Department of Corrections for the denial of an adequate diet during the yearly month-long fast of Ramadan.

CAIR offers an educational toolkit called "A Correctional Institution's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," to help correctional officers gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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