AUBURN — Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson said Friday that reports of Muslim inmates not being provided with prayer mats or food to celebrate their holidays are not true.

The controversy erupted this week when someone contacted the District Attorney’s Office to complain about changes to visitation and meals at the jail. According to Samson, the same individual then contacted Lewiston city officials to complain, this time about the food and the lack of prayer mats.

Eid al-Fitr, to be celebrated this Sunday, marks the end of Ramadan.

“They are being provided with culturally approved meals,” Samson said. “The jail has actually made special accommodations for Eid. We went through everything with (the Maine Department of Corrections) because they monitor standards, issue caloric intake. I’ve explained that to everyone.”

The jail’s visitation policy has not changed, Samson said, adding that he and Jail Administrator Lane Feldman remain puzzled about the accusation regarding a lack of prayer mats.

“I don’t know where the prayer mat thing came from,” Samson said. “It’s never been an issue. We’ve always been ahead of the curve. I talked to the jail administrator this week and we’re confused by it.”

While not mandated by state law, the Department of Corrections maintains standards for jails to honor every religion and their traditions, Feldman said, adding that the Androscoggin County Jail follows that order.

One possible source for the misunderstanding, Samson theorized, is that the jail did make a change to what food is being allowed into the jail for Ramadan and Eid. He said a different individual last year brought the food to the inmates for the Muslim holy days.

“Last year they brought in more food than in past years, and it got really out of hand,” Samson said.

Seeing all the food being brought in to celebrate the occasion, other inmates claimed they were also Muslim so they could partake in the holy feast, Samson said.

“People were hanging on to contraband that wasn’t being disposed of,” Samson said.  “People with chicken bones makings sharps, things like that. So, before Ramadan, the supervisory staff approached administration asking to go back to how we did it previously, and that is what we’re doing.”

Samson said he has talked to both Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline and Androscoggin County District Attorney Neil McLean Jr. this week about the complaints.

“Members of our Muslim community reached out to me with concerns, and I had a subsequent conversation with Sheriff Samson,” Sheline said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. “The sheriff relayed that they have a plan for Eid and prayer mats are available upon request free of charge through the jail commissary. I appreciate our Muslim community members and the sheriff’s office working together in good faith to address these items.”

According to Feldman, the jail is currently holding approximately a dozen Muslim inmates.

Because inmates are held under different classifications, they cannot pray together as a group in one room. Instead, they use their prayer mats in their own cells, Feldman said.