In the previous chapter, we gave basic definitions and painted a statistical picture of Muslim prisoners’ Worldviews, which showed that the Worldview of Mainstream Islam was the most significant feature of Muslim prison life.

In this chapter, we flesh out our description of the Worldview of Mainstream Islam and illustrate how this Worldview of Mainstream Islam was brought to life by Muslim prisoners.

The Mainstream Islamic values of our prisoners

As a product of their varied commitment to believe and practise Islam as outlined in Chapter 2, Muslim prisoners understood and enacted Mainstream Islamic values in a wide range of ways.

Unity-in-Diversity

For Riyad (male, 28, British Indian, Born-Muslim, HMP Stour, Category D Prison), the equality of humanity before God was a core element of his Islamic belief:

Asif (male, 45, British Asian, Born-Muslim, HMP Cherwell, Category C Prison) had been struck by the importance of diversity in belief and practice within Islam when he had performed The Lesser Pilgrimage to Mecca (Umrah):

Respect for humanity regardless of faith or none

Mainstream Muslim prisoners also emphasised the importance of translating this idea of equality and diversity into practice by treating both Muslims and non-Muslims fairly and as equals.

Adnan (male, 27, British Black Caribbean, Muslim Convert, HMP Cherwell, Category C Prison) explained the value that he placed on the Islamic ethos of fairness:

Our Mainstream Muslim prisoners recognised (18 citations) the centrality in Islam of forgiveness and showing compassion towards others despite their negative behaviours.

For Suleiman (male, 26, British Black Caribbean, Born-Muslim, HMP Parrett, Category B Prison) the Prophet Muhammad himself provided the best exemplar of Islamic mercy:

Sharing and caring for other Muslim brothers and sisters

As part of a Worldview foregrounded by Mercy, Mainstream Muslim prisoners were strongly characterised by looking out and caring for other Muslims. For many Muslim prisoners an important way of giving positive meaning to life in prison could be found in sharing resources, participating in rituals together, and guiding and helping other Muslims.