2023 Theses Master's

The Protection of Islamic Faith Behind Bars: A Study of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act Post-9/11

Poonawala, Rubaab

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000 was passed with the intention of protecting incarcerated individuals’ right to religious exercise in American state prisons. This author studies how effective the act has been in specifically protecting the religious exercise rights of incarcerated Muslims following the events of 9/11. RLUIPA has been mobilized by incarcerated individuals, and especially incarcerated Muslims, to advocate for increased accommodation of their religious rights while detained.

In a study of governmental datasets and existing literature on RLUIPA and judicial behavior post-9/11, this thesis argues that the statute ultimately fell short of providing substantial protection to Muslims incarcerated in state prisons in the aftermath of 9/11 due to federal courts applying a diluted version of strict scrutiny to the detriment of prisoners’ free exercise rights. Judicial deference to national security after 9/11 further enabled prison officials to discriminate against incarcerated Muslims. By deferring to prison officials’ claims of security, even when supposedly applying the appropriate legal standard, federal courts forgo their obligation to exercise meaningful scrutiny.