In 2010, the month of Ramadan was one of frustration for Muslims incarcerated in Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) prisons. CAIR's Seattle office was flooded with phone calls and handwritten letters detailing the weight loss and other medical hardships suffered by men and women in DOC facilities across the state of Washington.
To accommodate fasting Muslims in the month of Ramadan, DOC offers inmates an opportunity to sign up to be placed on a fasting list, whereby they would receive a sack meal before sunrise and after sunset. The problems reported to CAIR-WA, however, alleged that during Ramadan last year, there was not a single hot meal provided in the month of Ramadan, that meals were delivered too late, that there were few fruits or vegetables provided in the sack meals, and that the caloric content of the sack meals was not adequate to sustain a healthy weight and wellbeing.
In response to these complaints, CAIR-WA Civil Rights Coordinator Jennifer Gist collaborated with officials from DOC headquarters, including former Secretary Eldon Vail and the Director of Family Services and Religious Programs, to suggest revisions to DOC's Religious Programs policy and improvements to be implemented for Ramadan in 2011. With the help of input from many community members, prison volunteers, and imams, extensive changes were made. Among them, inmates were provided one hot meal per day, vegetables, a higher quantity of food, and meals that were delivered on time. To most effectively receive feedback from Muslim inmates regarding their experience during Ramadan this year, DOC initiated three debrief meetings - two at Washington State Penitentiary and one at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center.
On Friday, September 9, 2011, Jennifer traveled to Walla Walla, WA to attend these debrief meetings. Present at the meetings were representatives (3-7 inmates) of the Muslim community, representatives from DOC headquarters, DOC's Food Manager, the Food Managers of each facility, and the Chaplains. Overall, inmates concurred that the experience of fasting and prayer during Ramadan this year was much improved, when compared to last year. However, it became clear in the meetings that there were still improvements to be made. Among them were: connecting incarcerated Muslims with their local mosques for support and sponsors, accommodations for fasting during the month of Shawal, offering training for correctional staff regarding Islamic religious practices and the significance of Ramadan, accommodations medical diets during Ramadan, and developing a sign-up process for Ramadan in which an individual receives a receipt confirming that he/she is on the list to fast and in which individuals who are in the Intensive Management Unit or Segregation, or individuals who take the Shahadah (declare faith, i.e. become Muslim) during the month of Ramadan, are able to partake in the fast.
DOC officials appeared receptive to learning about Islamic religious practices and showed interest in accommodating Muslims, as is required by law. Returning to Seattle on Saturday night, Jennifer was hopeful due to the effort made by DOC officials to work with the Muslim community, as well as the persistent patience and willingness of Muslim inmates to work collaboratively with DOC headquarters to implement changes. The task for CAIR-WA now is to educate the staff at each facility to be equally as knowledgeable about and considerate of Muslims, as well as to build upon past changes to further and more comprehensively accommodate Muslims in DOC facilities across the state.
