Gregory Houston Holt, also known by the name Abdul Maalik Muhammad, is an Arkansas state prisoner who didn't want to cut off his beard because of his Islamic faith.
He believes shaving his beard is limiting his first amendment right to freedom of religion, and he continues to fight the courts. He is willing to compromise and keep his beard trimmed to one-half inch, but Arkansas corrections officials allow beards only for dermatological conditions.
"Allah's Messenger said, 'Cut the moustaches short and leave the beard (as it is),' " Holt writes in a court briefing.
Arkansas prisons require all inmates to shave their beards for security reasons because beards can be a hiding place for weapons, such as razors, reports The Washington Post.
Prison officials believe Holt is dangerous, according to WP. He has threatened to kidnap President George W. Bush's daughters in the past and threatens "jihad" against his enemies often. Holt is serving a life sentence in Arkansas State Prison for slitting the throat of a former girlfriend and stabbing her in the chest.
The Supreme Court will hear the case on Oct. 7.
