CAIR Attorneys to Argue Before U.S. Court of Appeals in Challenge to Ban on Muslim Incarcerees Wearing Religious Head Coverings

 Today, attorneys from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will argue before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Court in St. Louis, Missouri challenging the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC)’s policy of forbidding Muslim inmates from wearing their kufis outside of religious services, thereby preventing them from practicing their faith in violation of their constitutional rights.

CAIR is appealing the judgement of the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas who ruled in favor of the ADC after finding that its policy restricting Muslim inmates from wearing kufis was the least restrictive means of achieving its asserted security interests.

WHAT: CAIR Oral Argument for Gregory Holt, et al v. Dexter Payne, et al; 25-2999, 25-3349

WHEN: Wednesday, September 23rd at 9 am Central Time

WHERE: In person at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse, 111 S. 10th Street, Northeast Courtroom (27th floor), St. Louis, MO 63102

Members of the public may listen to the livestream of the oral argument by dialing 1- 571-353-2301, access code: 678341765.

WHO: CAIR Attorneys, on behalf of Gregory Holt and Wayde Stewart.

CAIR offers a booklet, titled “A Corrections Officer’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” designed to help avoid such cases.

SEE: CAIR’s Corrections Officer’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices

BACKGROUNDER:

Gregory Holt and Wayde Stewart are two Muslim men incarcerated in the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) who have challenged ADC policies restricting their ability to practice their faith. The plaintiffs’ sincerely held religious beliefs require them to wear kufis, a type of Muslim head covering, throughout their daily lives. ADC policy prohibits inmates from wearing kufis throughout their facilities except during religious services.

In 2022, the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled in favor of the ADC. CAIR appealed, and in 2023, the Eighth Circuit vacated and remanded the case, holding that the appellants’ religious beliefs were sincere and substantially burdened by the kufi restriction. The court also noted that other state and federal prisons allow inmates to wear kufis.

On remand, the District Court again ruled in favor of ADC, leading Holt and Stewart to appeal for a second time. In Holt v. Payne, CAIR argues that ADC has failed to demonstrate why its policy is necessary when less restrictive alternatives are available and other prison systems permit inmates to wear kufis while maintaining security.  

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