In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has decided that Muslim prisoners may keep their beards because being forced to remove the facial hair would violate those prisoners' religious rights.
In a 9-0 ruling, the court determined that prisoner beards--which had been deemed dangerous by Arkansas prisoners authorities due to concerns that prisoners could hide contraband in them--did not pose a danger and, therefore, forcing a "no-beard" policy on Muslims, infringed on their ability to practice Islam which requires that men grow their facial hair.
In the opinion, Justice Samuel Alito argued that there was a double standard when it came to facial hair that was not applied to other places where inmates could potentially hide contraband materials.
"Hair on the head is a more plausible place to hide contraband than a half-inch beard, and the same is true of an inmate's clothing and shoes. Nevertheless, the department does not require inmates to go about bald, barefoot or naked."
Despite the unanimous ruling, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a one-paragraph concurrence to explain why the religious exception for Muslim’s beards is different than the religious exemption that she voted against last year in the Hobby Lobby case.
"Unlike the exemption this court approved (in Hobby Lobby), accommodating petitioner's religious belief in this case would not detrimentally affect others who do not share petitioner's belief," she said.
The case was brought before the court by Arkansas inmate Gregory Holt, also known as Abdul Maalik Muhammad.