Notre Dame, IN — A Muslim man’s request to pray in accordance with the dictates of his Islamic faith was repeatedly denied by correctional officers in the Dodge County Detention Facility in Wisconsin. His case addresses the lack of religious accommodations made for practicing Muslims in prison systems. The Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic filed an amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case Emad v. Dodge County yesterday. In Emad, plaintiff Mohamed Salah Ahmed Emad was denied permission to engage in congregate religious worship and prayer outside of his cell, two practices required of him by his Muslim faith. The brief asserts that the religious practice Emad seeks to engage in has been recognized and allowed in prisons throughout our Nation’s history. Religious Liberty Clinic Legal Fellow Francesca Matozzo explained, “Congregate worship—including worship outside of a prisoner’s cell—has been allowed and promoted in prisons for centuries in the United States. Courts must account for this historically rooted and long respected right to worship in prisons.” As part of his religious practice, Emad engages in daily prayer five times a day at prescribed times, a practice known as ‘salah.’ Islam requires Muslims, when they are physically able, […]
