Here we summarise our findings and set Islam in prison in a broadly reflective context.

We will identify gaps in prison provision around Islam that urgently require plugging in order to develop the rehabilitative potential of Islam in prison and to reduce the criminogenic risk of Islamism and Islamist Extremism.

Chapter 1: Where does Islam come from and who are Muslim prisoners?

We described:

• • how Islam came into the world;

• • how Islamic civilisation developed, contributed to other civilisations and declined;

• • how, against a backdrop of post-colonial migration and a century of conflict in the Muslim-majority world, Muslims have come to be a significant presence in prisons throughout Europe;

• • a broad socio-demographic portrait of our characteristic sample of 279 Muslim prisoners who, when compared to the general European prison population, exhibited:

  • • higher levels of education;

  • • higher levels of pre-prison employment;

  • • longer prison sentences;

  • • more reoffending/ reconviction.

Chapter 2: What is Islam in prison?

We outlined:

• • the essential elements of Islamic belief: the Articles of Faith, the Pillars of Islam and the Permitted (halal) and Forbidden (haram);

• • how, in prison, these basic elements of Islam are living realities that brought structure and meaning to the lives of many prisoners;

• • how the levels of belief and practice of Muslim prisoners fluctuated greatly;

• • how Islam was part of the cultural heritage of many Muslim prisoners, especially in France and Switzerland, rather than constituting a commitment to religious practice and belief.

Chapter 3: Finding their faith: why do prisoners choose Islam?

• • Religious conversion was defined as ‘any significant change in type or intensity of religious Worldview’.