Sue L. Robinson, United States District Judge.
At Wilmington this 20th day of June, 2016, having reviewed defendants' motion to dismiss (D.I. 16), and the papers submitted in connection therewith, the court issues its decision based on the following analysis:
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2. Plaintiffs, who are Muslim, were among several inmates named in Civ. No. 12-1120-SLR, a case that raised religious discrimination claims based upon Muslim, Catholic, and Jewish faiths. Defendants moved to sever the claims based upon the religion of plaintiffs; the court granted the motions, and this new civil action was opened. (See D.I. 1,2) As noted, plaintiffs opted to stand on the allegations in the original complaint. On November 26, 2013, defendants filed an answer to the complaint in Civ. No. 12-1120-SLR at D.I. 80. Defendants were ordered to advise the court if they stand on that answer in this severed case. (D.I. 14) Defendants replied that they do not and submitted the instant motion to dismiss in its place. (D.I. 16 at 1, n.1)
3. Plaintiffs generally allege in their complaint that the defendants violated the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and RLUIPA by refusing to provide halal diets, not providing Muslim inmates with the same religious privileges as Protestant inmates, restricting congregational prayer, and denying plaintiffs access to items related to their religious beliefs.
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5. The court's determination is not whether the non-moving party "will ultimately prevail" but whether that party is "entitled to offer evidence to support the claims." United States ex rel. Wilkins v. United Health Grp., Inc., 659 F.3d 295, 302 (3d Cir.2011). This "does not impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage," but instead "simply calls for enough facts to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of [the necessary element]." Phillips, 515 F.3d at 234 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). The court's analysis is a context-specific task requiring the court "to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 663-64, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
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7. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has established a "heightened specificity requirement" for civil rights complaints. Colburn v. Upper Darby Township., 838 F.2d 663, 666 (3d Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1065, 109 S.Ct. 1338, 103 L.Ed.2d 808 (1989). Although pro se pleadings are to be construed under a less stringent standard than pleadings filed by attorneys, Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972), there remain certain pleadings prerequisites with which all plaintiffs must comply when bringing a § 1983 action. This means that plaintiffs must identify "the particular conduct" of defendants that is alleged to have harmed the plaintiffs. Freedman v. City of Allentown, 853 F.2d 1111, 1114 (3d Cir.1988). Plaintiffs must allege in their complaint "the specific conduct violating the plaintiff[s'] rights, the time and place of that conduct, and the identity of the responsible officials." Colburn, 838 F.2d at 666.
8. The court agrees that plaintiffs have failed to satisfy this requirement but for the claim directed at defendant Pierce and his enforcement of a prison regulation limiting each prisoner to three (3) books. According to plaintiffs, Pierce's enforcement of this regulation places a substantial burden on plaintiffs' exercise of their Muslim faith, because "[i]t is essential to receive guidance from the history of the Prophet" and "the most reliable and authentic teaching of the Prophet ... are found in a collection of books." (D.I. 18 at 7)
9. Because dismissal of pro se complaints for pleading deficiencies is not favored by the Third Circuit, Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp., 293 F.3d 103, 108 (3d Cir.2002), the court will deny defendants' motion to dismiss without prejudice to renew, and will grant their motion for a more definite statement. Plaintiffs shall file a single unified amended complaint executed by each individual plaintiff which sets forth with particularity the facts underlying their alleged rights.
10. With respect to whether plaintiffs have sufficiently pled statutory or constitutional rights, the court will discuss in turn plaintiffs' claims regarding entitlement to: (1) comparable religious holidays and services; (2) a halal diet;
11. With respect to whether plaintiffs have sufficiently pled a statutory or constitutional right to a halal diet, the Third Circuit requires plaintiffs claiming a violation of their First Amendment rights to religious freedom to demonstrate that defendants' conduct has placed a substantial burden on plaintiffs' ability to practice their religious beliefs. In this regard, the Third Circuit holds a substantial burden is established when: (1) the follower must decide between following his religious beliefs and foregoing benefits given to other inmates versus abandoning his beliefs to retain those benefits; or (2) there is substantial pressure placed on the follower to "substantially modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs." Ford v. Bureau of Prisons, 570 Fed.Appx. 246, 250 (3d Cir. 2014). According to the Third Circuit, the lack of meal variety, when the available meal meets the religious requirements, does not create a substantial burden as it does not cause a prisoner to violate his beliefs. Kretchmar v. Beard, 241 Fed. Appx. 863, 865 (3d Cir.2007); see also Williams v. Morton, 343 F.3d 212, 217 (3d Cir.2003) (holding a prison may offer vegetarian meals in lieu of halal meat diets in the interests of simplified food service, security, and cost); Washington v. Klem, 497 F.3d 272, 283 (3d Cir.2007).
12. The facts as alleged indicate that, while the available vegetarian diet complies with plaintiffs' religious requirements, "Muslims are not vegetarians" and, therefore, "to compel the plaintiffs to accept a diet that alters the tenets of their faith creates a substantial burden." (D.I. 18 at 4) Apparently, a kosher diet is more compatible with the requested halal diet than is a vegetarian diet, but the kosher diet has been denied to Muslim prisoners. (D.I. 3 at ¶ 7) Given the holding of the Third Circuit in Williams v. Morton, 343 F.3d at 217, the court declines to dismiss this claim without input from defendants to determine the competing interests of plaintiffs' religious beliefs and the "simplified food service, security and costs" associated with providing kosher meals in lieu of either vegetarian or halal meat diets. Consistent with the above, plaintiffs shall be required to describe with specificity the defendants and their conduct in relation to this claim.
13. With respect to the remainder of plaintiffs' claims for extra amenities, plaintiffs have failed to allege how the lack of such amenities places a substantial burden on their ability to practice their Muslim faith (especially in light of the prison setting). Plaintiffs shall also be required to describe with specificity the defendants and their conduct in relation to these claims.
14. Turning to defendants' motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity, "[t]he doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct
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