Muslim Prisoners Face Price-Gouging
A fair amount of ink has been spilled about the high cost of items sold in prison commissaries. From honeybuns to deodorant, it’s all exorbitantly expensive, especially in light of the low wages prisoners are paid. But one often overlooked aspect of commissary pricing is the disparate cost that Muslim prisoners pay for items specific to their faith, which raises uncomfortable questions about religious discrimination and bias in prisons.
Muslims are well-represented behind bars; according to a July 2019 NPR News report that cites the Free Exercise Report, 9% of state prisoners nationwide practice Islam. Many correctional facilities provide Jum’ah or Taleem religious services and make special provisions for Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Yet it’s another story when it comes to purchasing religious materials from the commissary—the prison company store.
In March 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction (DOC) contracted with one company—Rancho Dominguez, California-based Union Supply Group, Inc.—to supply commissary and personal property items in state prisons. This eliminated competition from all other vendors, including those that had previously offered religious items.
The most recent Union Supply property catalog lists a watch cap for $3.55; satin kippahs, similar to yarmulkes worn by Jewish adherents, cost the same amount. But a Muslim head covering (kufi) is priced at $8.25. The catalog also lists a rag floor rug for $5.45 while an Islamic prayer rug costs $17.95. Rosary beads, used by Catholics, are just $1.65. Prayer beads used by Muslims cost $6.95—more than four times as much. Union Supply sells copies of the Bible for $5.45 while Muslims must pay $7.25 for a Quran.
Several Muslim DOC prisoners at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville were interviewed by PLN about this issue. “They could push [to have comparable prices] but they don’t,” said Abdullah Salam. “This is discrimination against our religion.”
The higher costs for Islamic items are disturbingly consistent—and that’s just for the items that Union Supply stocks. The company’s DOC catalog lists Christmas and Easter cards for sale, but no Ramadan cards. It includes sterling silver pendants with the “face of Jesus,” the Star of David or the Christian cross, but no Islamic jewelry.
“It makes me question why you would exclude items for Muslim inmates while allowing items for other religious denominations,” stated Faheem, another DOC prisoner.
Pricing disparities between Islamic religious items, and those for other faiths, are not limited to Tennessee’s prison system or to Union Supply. In April 2024, The Appeal published “Locked In, Priced Out,” a database of commissary lists from corrections systems in 46 states that included pricing, markups and related information. As PLN reported, researchers found a Christmas card in Virginia prisons was $.80 while a Ramadan card cost $2.33. In the Connecticut DOC, a Bible sold for $4.55 but the Quran was priced at $25.99. [See: PLN, Jan. 2025, p.48.]
Why such inflated costs for Muslim prisoners? Perhaps the vendors that supply commissary goods simply can’t find comparably priced Islamic religious items. But a search on Amazon.com in February 2025 found a copy of the Quran selling for as little as $5.99.
“For each individual Islamic item to be a higher price than non-Islamic items, I don’t believe that the vendor they use charges consistently higher prices,” said Faheem.
“I believe that other places would afford cheaper prices,” added another Tennessee prisoner, Abdullah Nafi. “Union Supply is the sole provider for the state, and they could find lower prices if they looked.”
Faheem noted that the DOC could also let more than one company provide commissary and property items, resulting in more competition and lower prices for all religious materials. The current system not only inflates prices but also restricts choice. When the DOC contracted with Union Supply it also limited book orders to three approved vendors. Only one of the vendors, 21st Century Christian Bookstore, is approved to provide religious books. Yet a review of its website found over 140 English-language Bibles but no Qurans.
“This is not meeting the needs of the Muslim community,” stated Abdullah Salam. Asked whether they believe such price-gouging is deliberate, several Muslim prisoners told PLN, “Absolutely.”
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