Imam Behind Bars

A large body of research exists today regarding the imam who provides spiritual guidance and care within the mosque walls. But we still don't know enough about the imam as a Muslim chaplain outside the mosque, in the public, and particularly in our prisons. Mohamed Ajouaou's award-winning study focuses on this group of imams and addresses Muslim chaplaincy and Islamic spiritual care in Dutch correctional institutions. It provides insight into the design of a professional, Muslim, prison chaplaincy profile, with an emphasis on pastoral competencies, and it introduces crucial theological concepts of Muslim spiritual care. Through case studies, it illustrates the mosque imam's transition to prison imam, the differences and similarities between the two contexts, and the distinct disadvantages prison imams suffer compared to their colleagues in more established denominations. The study's result is not only a practical and theological exploration of Islamic chaplaincy in the Netherlands, it is also a proposal of how this practice can be developed, through a conceptual framework and models for success, in other Western democracies and Islamic countries, as well. Ajouaou adeptly maps the pastoral skills that prison imams need, sketches a foundation for the profession, and clarifies the core theology for this widely overlooked ministry.

Male prisons can be dangerous places with a climate of distrust, but can long-term prisoners be given the space to reflect and grow ? This ground-breaking study found that engaging prisoners in philosophy education enabled them to think about some of the ‘big’ questions in life and as a result to see themselves and others differently.

Radikalizace a extremistické projevy představují pro vězeňské prostředí, především pak ve vazbě na jeho specifičnost, významnou bezpečnostní hrozbu. Dynamická povaha radikalizačního procesu ve spojení s vzájemným působením procesů ve vnější společnosti na vězeňské prostředí a naopak způsobuje, že radikalizační proces nabývá (nejen) ve vězeňském prostředí nových podob. V tomto kontextu je významné monitorování těchto projevů, ať už s ohledem na realizované aktivity, průnik nedovolených látek a předmětů, nebo symboliku. Publikace Extremismus za mřížemi je studií mapující nejen povahu a proměny extremismu a radikalizace obecně, ale vztahující tuto problematiku také k českému vězeňskému prostředí, četně v komparaci se zahraniční praxí. Významnou částí publikace jsou fotografie z archivu autorů, kteří kladou důraz nejen na projevy extremismu samotné, ale i na vizuální a ikonickou manifestaci extremismu, ať už ve formě vězeňské tetuáže, tak ve formě materiálů na podporu odsouzených. Publikace je rovněž doplněna o případové studie a bohatý fotografický materiál dokladující význam radikalizace a extremismu nejen v rovině praktické, ale také symbolické, kdy ať už nabývá jakékoliv podoby, je potenciálním nástrojem rekrutace v prostředí za vysokými zdmi a vězeňskými mřížemi, které je pro svoji povahu pro tento proces doslova živnou půdou.

More and more women—mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, and sisters—are doing hard prison time all across the United States. Many of them are facing the prospect of years, decades, even lifetimes behind bars. Oddly, there’s been little public discussion about the dramatic increase of women in the prison system. What exactly is happening here, and why? The answers are in Women Behind Bars, in which investigative journalist Silja Talvi sheds light on why American girls and women are being locked up at such unprecedented rates. Talvi travels across the country to weave together interviews with inmates, correctional officers, and administrators, providing readers with a glance at the impact incarceration has on our society. With a combination of compassion and critical analysis, Talvi delivers a timely, in-depth analysis of a growing and extremely complicated issue.

Charlie has taken his 24 years of experience of prison dwelling and condensed it into one handy and comprehensive volume. Moved regularly around the prisons of the British Isles he has sampled all that prison life has to offer, taking in both the historic and pre-historic buildings that comprise Britain's infamous prison system. It's all in here from the correct way to brew vintage prison 'hooch' and how to keep the screws from finding it, to the indispensable culinary methods required to make prison food edible. Read about Charlie's special taming techniques for prison wildlife such as spiders, rats and cockroaches, creatures that may be your only friends on long stretches in solitary. Also Charlie shows how to plan and prepare for marriage inside what can be seen as a less than romantic setting. With over 70,000 people (and rising) currently residing at Her Majesty's pleasure, Charlie Bronson's "Good Prison Guide" is essential for young offenders and 'old lags' alike. Make sure you don't get nicked without it.

In Freedom through Submission Johannes Renders explores Danish-Muslim statements on human freedom, analysing the Muslim community’s attempts to reconfigure a public debate that pits freedom against islam.

This book examines how prisons meet challenges of religious diversity, in an era of increasing multiculturalism and globalization. Social scientists studying corrections have noted the important role that religious or spiritual practice can have on rehabilitation, particularly for inmates with coping with stress, mental health and substance abuse issues. In the past, the historical figure of the prison chaplain operated primarily in a Christian context, following primarily a Christian model. Increasingly, prison populations (inmates as well as employees) display diversity in their ethnic, cultural, religious and geographic backgrounds. As public institutions, prisons are compelled to uphold the human rights of their inmates, including religious freedom. Prisons face challenges in approaching religious plurality and secularism, and maintaining prisoners' legal rights to religious freedom. The contributions to this work present case studies that examine how prisons throughout Europe have approached challenges of religious diversity. Featuring contributions from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium and Spain, this interdisciplinary volume includes contributions from social and political scientists, religion scholars and philosophers examining the role of religion and religious diversity in prison rehabilitation. It will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Social and Political Science, Human Rights, Public Policy, and Religious Studies.