(Colorado Politics) A federal judge has reversed her prior decision to dismiss a Muslim inmate’s lawsuit, reopening the case amid new information about the inmate’s lack of access to food that complies with his religious beliefs.
In September of last year, U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello threw out the religious freedom claims of Sabir Shabazz against the government, which alleged a failure to provide him food that is halal, meaning permissible under Islam. Shabazz is incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary — Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, where he is serving a 32-year sentence for child sex trafficking and severely beating a prison guard.
Shabazz claimed that he signed up to participate in the Bureau of Prisons’ religious diet program, but found his meals did not conform with Islamic standards by containing excessive amounts of sodium and meat that was not clearly hand-slaughtered. He said the Florence facility had access to halal foods, which Arguello misinterpreted to mean that Shabazz himself had access.
