Islam, crime and criminal justice 9781134032839, 1134032838, 9781843924586, 1843924587, 9781903240892

Table of contents :
Content: Religious diversity, British Muslims, crime and victimisation / Basia Spalek --
Interpreting Islam : young Muslim men's involvement in criminal activity in Bradford / Marie Macey --
Muslim women's safety talk and their experiences of victimisation / Basia Spalek --
Policing after Macpherson : some experiences of Muslim police officers / Douglas Sharp --
Racism and religious discrimination in prison / Basia Spalek and David Wilson --
Working with Muslims in prison : the IQRA Trust / Salah el-Hassan --
Human rights and Muslims in Britain / Natassja Smiljanic --
Religious diversity and criminal justice policy / Basia Spalek.

Citation preview

Islam, Crime and

Criminal Justice

Basia Spalek

§

Isla m , C r i m e and C r i m i n a l Ju s tice

Is l a m , C r i m e a n d C r i m i n a l J u stice

E d i t e d by B a s i a S p a l e k

O

Routledge Taylor & Francis Croup

L O N D O N A N D N EW YORK

First published by Willan Publishing 2002 This edition published by Routledge 2011 2 Park Square, Milton Park, A b ingdo n, O xo n 0 X 1 4 4RN 711 Third A v en u e, New Y ork, N Y 10017 R ou tledge is an im print o f the T aylor & F ran cis G roup

© Basia Spalek and the contributors All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system , or transmitted in any form or by any m eans, electronic, m echanical, photocopying, recording or otherw ise w itho ut the prior written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting copying in the UK issued by the C o py rig ht Licensin g A gency Ltd, 90 Tottenham C ourt R oad, London W 1 P 9H E. First published 2002 ISBN 978-1-903240-89-2 Hardback British Library C ataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Typeset by GC S, Leighton Buzzard, Beds.

Contents

List o f tables A ckn ow ledgem en ts

viii ix

N otes on con tribu tors

x

1

1

2

R e li g io u s diversity, B ritish M u s li m s , crim e and v ictim isa tio n Basia Spalek Introduction C rim inology: a 'm o d e rn ' discipline that has often b ypassed the issue of religion A nti-racist m o v e m e n ts and the neglect of religious diversity T he rationale for this b ook A s u m m a ry of the chapters C onclu sion In te rp re tin g Islam : yo u n g M u s lim m e n 's in v o l v e m e n t in crim in a l activity in B rad ford M arie M acey Introduction Som e conceptual and te rm inological difficulties South Asian m igration to Britain South Asians in Bradford Ethnicity, religion and crim e in E ngland and Wales M uslim male criminal activity in Bradford R esp onses to, and 'ex planation s' of, the public d istu rb ances Islam, culture and crime C onclu sion

1 2 3 5 14 15

19 19 20 22 23 25 26 32 39 42

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

3

4

5

6

M u s lim w o m e n 's safety talk and their e x p e rie n c e s of v ic tim isa tio n : a study e x p lo r in g s p e cificity and d if fe re n c e Basia Spalek Introduction F ear of crim e research R esearch m e th o d s Islam, veiling and self-identity Veiling, the negotiation of difference and the m an a g e m e n t of male heterosexuality Hate crim es against ethnic m inority and religious groups Victimisation and the issue of religion: in particular, Islam C o nclu sio n P o lic in g afte r M a c p h e r s o n : so m e e xp e rie n c e s of M u s li m police o ffice rs D ouglas Sharp Introduction Policing and ethnic m inority g ro ups T he present study T he im portance of religion M e m b ersh ip of the police co m m u n ity Policing R acism C o nclu sio n R ac ism and re lig io u s d is c rim in a tio n in prison: the m a rg in a lis a tio n o f Im a m s in th e ir w o rk w ith p ris o n e rs Basia Spalek an d D avid W ilson Introd uction Prison statistics Prison legislation T he study R eligio us h e g e m o n y D irect and indirect racism I m p ro v e m e n t R ecent research C o n clu sio n W o r k in g w ith M u s li m s in prison - the I Q R A Trust Salah el-H assan Introd uction Iqra T he IQRA Trust

50 50 51 53 55 57 62 65 71

76 76 77 81 83 85 87 89 93

96 96 97 98 99 100 102 105 110 110 113 113 113 114

C o n te n ts

7

8

IQ R A d atabase essays Research reports Teachin g m aterials G u id ance booklets P riso ners' welfare C o nclu sio n

114 115 115 115 116 116

H u m a n rights and M u s li m s in B ritain N atassja S m iljan ic Introduction The H u m a n Rights Act 1998 Article 9 (freedom of religion) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrim ination) L im itations of the H u m a n Rights Act Crim inal attacks and the lim itations of the H u m a n Rights A ct Islam ophobia as a h u m an rights concern C o nclu sio n

118

C o n c lu s io n : re lig io u s d iv ersity and crim in a l ju s tic e p o licy Basia Spalek Introduction Modernity, po stm od ernity and k now led g e claim s V ictimisation and religion Crim inal justice responses to religious diversity Religion, subcultures and crim e C o nclu sio n

Index

118 120 122 126 127 129 129 133 133 133 135 136 137 139 141

Tables

2.1 2.2 7.1

M ajor ethnic groups in Bradford (1 9 8 1 -9 1 ) Prison population of England and Wales by ethnicity and type of crim e (1999, %) C o nvention rights

24 26 121

A c k n o w le d g e m e n ts

I would like to thank David Wilson for suggesting that I edit a book on Islam and the criminal justice system. I am also grateful to all the contributors - Marie Macey, Douglas Sharp, David Wilson, Salah clHassan and Natassja Smiljanic - without whom this book would not be possible. In particular, I would like to thank Assma Bibi, Nazira Nathalia and Sadaf Ilyas for their help in developing my understanding of Islam, also the TQRA trust for their support. Basia Spalek Birm ingham U niversity

N o t e s on c o n trib u to rs

S a la h el-H a ss a n w as born in K h a rtou m , Sudan. He studied politics at Cairo and London Univ ersities and C rim in olog y in B irm ingham . He is the Director of the IQ R A Trust P risoners Welfare and the G eneral Secretary of the N ational C ouncil for the Welfare of M uslim Prisoners. M a r ie M a c e y (BA, M Ed, PhD , F R SA ) is a senior lecturer in sociology. She has published fairly extensively on ra c e /e th n ic ity and racism in Britain and w id er Europe. She is particularly interested in intersections b etw een ethnicity and g end er and the role o f religion in influencing gendered ethnic and inter-ethnic relations. She is also the D ep uty Ch air of the M a n a g e m e n t C o m m itte e of the D om estic Violence A gency that ran the first national conference on violence in Asian com m u n ities and w hich also w o rk s extensively with Asian w o m e n . D o u g la s S h a rp served for 30 years in the Police Service before taking up his present post as Senior Lecturer in Crim inal Ju stice and C o urse Director of the BA in crim inal justice and policing at the Univ ersity of Central E ngland in 1995. He is editor of the jo urn al P olice R esearch and M an agem en t and is a m e m b e r of the Editorial A d v isory Board of The H ow ard Jou rn al o f C rim in al Ju stice. He has published w o rk on policing, private security and vigilantism and on the role of M u slim s in the criminal justice system . N a ta s s ja S m i l j a n i c is a lecturer in law at the Law School at the University of Central E ngland, Birm ing h am . H er research interests include international and d om estic h u m a n rights, w a r crimes, Islam and hu m an rights and fe m inist legal theory. B a sia S p a l e k is a lecturer in c o m m u n ity justice studies at Birm ingh am University. She has published research on v ictimisation, white-collar crime and r a c e /e th n ic ity in journ als such as the In tern ation al R eview o f V ictim ology, the In tern ation al jo u rn a l o f the S ociology o f Law and T he H ow ard Jou rn al o f C rim in al Justice.

N o t e s o n c o n t r ib u t o r s

David W ilson is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He has researched widely on prisons and the consequences of imprisonment. His most recent books include Prison (er) Education - Stories o f C hange and Transformation (Waterside Press) and What Everyone in Britain should Know about the Police (Blackstone Press). He is the Editor of The H ow ard Journal o f Crim inal Justice.

Chapter I

Religious diversity, British M u slim s, crim e and victimisation Basia Spalek

In tro d u c tio n

National and inte rnational events periodically arise w hich generate significant m ed ia and political interest in the lives of British M u slim s becau se they bring into sharp focus im portant cultural and religious differences betw ee n M uslim com m u n ities and wider, 'm ain s tre a m ' British society. M o st recently, the terrorist attacks in A m erica on 11 Se p te m b e r 2001, and the s u b seq u ent backlash against M uslim c o m m u n ities in the w estern w orld, s paw n ed an array of articles and p ro g ram m e s a b ou t Islam as it is practised in Britain. Prior to this, the Bradford d isturbances that took place in Ju ne 1995 and then later b e tw ee n April and July 2001, w hich involved (am ongst others) M uslim Pakistani youths, also placed British M u slim s in the public eye, as did the Salm an Rushdie affair in 1989. Whilst the contents of this b ook have b een influenced by the recent attacks on the World Trade Center, the book itself w as d eveloped as a response to a perceived need to address the issue o f religious diversity and to produce a crim inological textbook w h ich specifically fo cuses upon the Islam ic faith. There are over one million M u slim s living in Britain and to a significant proportion of these individuals Islam is a central part of their lives. A s a result, it was considered to be im p ortan t to p u t together a collection of pieces which focus on the lives of som e M u slim s and which d o cu m en t their experien ces of crim e and criminal justice.

I

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

C r i m i n o l o g y : a ‘m o d e r n ’ disciplin e t h a t h a s oft en b y p a s s e d th e issue o f relig io n

Within crim inological textbooks and research studies, diversity and difference have often been viewed in terms of race or ethnic identity, thereby largely om itting the issue of religious diversity. Using generic labels such as 'Black', 'A sian' and 'ethnic m inority ' m u ch research has been carried out exa m in in g how experiences of crim e and crim inal justice m ay differ (Smith 1977; H u dso n 1989; Fitzgerald 1993; B urnett and Farrell 1994; H o ld a w a y and Barron 1997; K alunta-C ru m pton 1998; Kershaw et al 2000). This w o rk has u n d o u b ted ly produced m any im portant results, such as the finding that Black people are m ore likely to be stopped and searched by the police than 'w hite' people are; and that they are also m o re likely to be rem and ed in custody than released on bail and are over-represented am o ng st the prison populatio n (Willis 1983; Hood 1992; Sm ith 1997). Asian groups and other ethnic minorities are m ore likely to be victim s of crim e than 'w hites'; and fear of crim e is greater am o n g st A sian groups than am o n gst 'w h ites' (Fitzgerald and Hale 1996).1 These sorts of findings have caused researchers to seek explanations for the disparities, w hich include racial discrim ination w ithin, and unequal treatm ent by, the criminal ju stice system (Hood 1992; K a lunta-C ru m pton 1998), and also s ocioecono m ic d ep riv ation, the age structure of particular minority groups and racist stereotyping (Jefferson 1993; K a lu n ta -C ru m p to n 1998). In classifying people in term s of ethnic identity, one a spect of difference that is largely om itted is that of religious affiliation, w h ich m ay play a central role in so m e individ uals' lives. It seem s that the issue of religion has rarely featured in crim inological w ork. This m ay partly be attributed to the m o d e rn roots of the aca d em ic discipline of criminology, w h ich m eans that values adhered to under m o d ernity have also underpinned m u ch crim inological w ork (Garland 1994). Progress and scientific rationale are two key characteristics o f m odernity (Sm art 1992; Douglas 1994) and these are clearly evident in the study of crime: 'C rim ino lo g y claim s the status of the rational and scientific attem pt to study the p h e n o m en a of crime. It w as born with the death of God. It w as m e a n t to aid in the journey, the construction of a secure m o d e rn ity ' (M orrison 1995: 5). As a result, the issue of religion and p eople's beliefs has rarely featured as an object of study. W hilst historical accounts regarding the influence of evangelical Protestantism on the penal system can be fo und, little attention has been directed to w ards the issue of religion in m o d e rn prisons (Beckford and Gilliat 1998).2 Yet the religious affiliation of individuals m ay in so m e cases be particularly salient, as in the exam p le of 'A sian' prisoners, alm ost 60 per cent of w h om were classified as M uslim in the

2

R e lig io u s diversity, B ritish M u slim s , c rim e and victim isa tio n

1991 National Prison Survey (Fitzgerald 1993: 32). National and local crime surveys tend to classify people according to their ethnic identities rather than their religious affiliations. The British Crime Survey, for example, has traditionally classified people as belonging to Black (BlackAfrican, Black-Caribbean, Black-Other), Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi ethnic identities, thereby largely ignoring com monalities of experience of individuals who follow the same faith. The 1994 National Survey of Ethnic Minorities reveals that when respondents were asked to indicate which two out of twelve elements of self-description were most important to them, the majority of south Asians indicated these to be religion and nationality, with religion being as important or more important than nationality (Modood et al 1997: 294). These findings indicate that religion is a central part of self-identity to many south Asians and as such should be a focus of research when studying crime-related issues.

A n t i - r a c is t m o v e m e n t s and the n e gle c t of re ligio us diversity

The dearth of criminological work looking at religious diversity and how this might influence experiences of crime and criminal justice reflects the approaches taken by government bodies, agencies of the criminal justice system and social service departments. Although the issue of race or ethnic identity has received much attention by policy-makers, religion has tended to be largely ignored, or debated only as a secondary issue. This is parti)' because most race equality organisations are secular, not religious, and so they are often insensitive to religion-based harassment and abuse. Both social welfare and criminal justice policy anti-discriminatory approaches are largely based on anti-racist models, thereby significantly diminishing the importance of religious issues (Sheriff 2001). Many people who have wanted to make formal allegations of discrimination have therefore had to resort to discrimination on the grounds of race or gender even though they believe that the religion that they follow has been the real reason for their inappropriate treatment (Weller et al 2001). As a result, people from a variety of different faiths have criticised secular-based anti­ racism responses, including Sikhs, Hindus, Catholics and Jewish people. British Muslims in particular have criticised the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which introduced higher penalties for offences that are racially aggravated. Whilst the m axim um sentence for com m on assault is six months a n d / o r a £5,000 fine, the m axim um for racially aggravated com m on assault is two years a n d / o r an unlimited fine. A 'racial group' is, for the purposes of the Act (S. 28(4)), 'a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins'. This is

3

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

the sam e definition as used in the Race R elations Act 1976. This does not inclu de religious groups, althou gh Je w s and Sikhs are covered as a result of case law. According to police guidelines, it is im portant to investigate w h eth er an offence, w h ich m ay appear to be motiv ated by religious hostility, also contains racial hostility becau se in this w ay an attack on a M u slim m ig h t be classified as racially aggravated. A n u m b e r of police forces have also included a reference to religion in their definition of hate crim e and are taking into consideration if a racist offence has occurred in a religious build ing w hen recording crime. H ow ever, these approaches have been criticised by M uslim groups for their perceived inability to deal with anti-M uslim hate crim e sufficiently. It has been argued that a possible c o nseq u ence is that attacks on Je w s and Sikhs will be punished more severely than assaults against persons w h o follow a different religion. Thu s, a M u slim y outh w h o pu nches a Sikh y outh m ay be classed as a racially aggravated assault, yet a Sikh youth p u nchin g a M uslim youth m ay be classed as only co m m o n assault (A dd ison and Law sonC ruttend en 1998). Gu id elines d ra w n up for statutory, volu ntary and c o m m u n ity groups in response to the Stephen L a w re n ce inquiry report have also b een criticised by M uslim gro ups, for w h a t is perceiv ed as being an anti-racist m o v e m e n t that fails to address hate crim es against religious com m unities. It see m s that M u slim s have b eco m e disillusioned with an anti-racism m o v e m e n t that refuses to co m b a t Islam ophobia (C om m ission on the Future of M u lti-E thnic Britain 2000). Victim services can be accused of failing to address the religious and spiritual need s of som e victims. It appears that religious identity has largely been ignored, and pro g ram m e s h av e instead attem pted to ac co m m o d ate racial rather than religious diversity. R eligio n m ay in som e cases be a better w a y of un derstand ing people than purely through the fra m ew ork of race. For exam ple, it m ay be the case that the need s of south Asian M uslim w o m e n m ay n ot be the sa m e as the need s of Asian Sikh and Hind u w o m e n , b u t rather m ay be more sim ilar to English, Bosnian or Arab Muslim w o m e n (Sheriff 2001). As a result, incorporating an appreciation of religion within victim fram ew ork s would perhaps m ean that a more sensitive approach to victimisation could be d ev eloped , one that a cknow led g es the specific practical and spiritual needs of victims. A lthough it m ig h t be argued that Britain is a multicultural and m u lti­ faith society, w ith only 10 per cent o f people attendin g A nglican churches, it m ight still be considered to be a Christian country. T he Q u e e n is the suprem e g ov ernor of the Ch urch of E ngland, the Church has bishops in the H ou se of Lords and tends to have access to g o v ern m e n t m inisters on im portant issues. The Christian religion is also taught in m a n y schools, although alongside other faiths (Ward 1992). T he Church of England has

4

R e lig io u s d iversity, B r itish M u s lim s , c r im e a n d v ic tim isa tio n

m an y privileges as a result of being the m ost representative religious organisation in E ngland and also as a result of it representing the state (Beckford and Gilliat 1998). This m eans that Christianity, in particular the C h urch of E ngland, occupies a privileged role in the criminal justice system , thereby having the effect of m arginalising other faiths. For exam p le, within the penal system , Christianity is the d om in a n t religious force, as evidenced by the Prison A ct 1952 w hich requires that every prison has a chaplain w h o should be C h u rch of E ngland (ibid). There are som e indications that po licy -m ak ers have recently started to take notice of the issue of religious discrim ination and harassm ent. A H om e Office report w a s published in 2001, entitled R eligious D iscrim in ation in E n glan d an d W ales (Weller et al 2001). This report found that w hilst in theory it is difficult to d isentangle discrim ination based on religious g ro u n d s from discrim ination based on ethnicity, in practice som e of the persons vv'ho w ere questioned in this study did appear to be the targets of discrim ination and violence as a result of their religious beliefs and practices (ibid.). Co ntro versy recently erupted in the au tu m n of 2001 w h e n the em ergency anti-terror bill the British g o v ern m e n t had put together in the w ake of the terrorist attacks in Am erica included a ban on incitem ent to religious hatred, in response to the b acklash against British M uslim com m u nities. Critics argued that this would stifle free speech and legitimate d ebate a m o n g st different religious gro ups. The H om e Secretary, David Blunkett, countered these claim s by insisting that prosecutions would only take place if they w ere considered to be in the public interest and cases w ould only succeed if it could be proved that there w as an 'intention' and a 'likelihood ' that the use of threatening, abusive or insulting w o rd s w ould arouse hatred. N onetheless, the g ov e r n m e n t was unable to defeat its opposition and w as forced to drop the ban on incitem ent of religious hatred from the anti-terror bill in order to secure the successful passage of the bill through Parliam ent. This w as despite the fact that M uslim c o m m u n ities have for a long time ca m paigned for protection against anti-religious discrim ination and violence, believing that a law' against incitem ent to religious hatred could close legal loopholes that farright groups such as the N ational Front and British N ational Party have been exploiting.

T h e r a t i o n a le fo r this b o o k

Insensitivity to religious issues can be criticised on the basis that im portant aspects of crim e and victimisation are largely b ypassed . P eople are viewed pred om inantly from an ethnic perspective, yet ethnicity does not always

5

Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

correspond with religious identity. Moreover, through focusing upon ethnicity, important questions are not addressed. It may be the case, for example, that the ways in which a particular religion is interpreted may lead a person to com m it particular types of crime. Religion may significantly influence perceptions and experiences of crime and criminal justice and, as such, should be carefully considered by policy-makers and criminal justice and voluntary agencies when responding to both the perpetrators and victims of crime. For people who work for the criminal justice system, as prison officers, police officers, probation officers and so forth, their religious beliefs may also influence their working practices or may act as a point of discrimination and abuse. This book examines one marginalised, yet popular, religion and generates questions about how following the Islamic faith influences people's experiences of crime and the criminal justice system. H e t e r o g e n e i t y a m o n g s t the British M u s l i m p o p u l a t i o n

Using the term 'Islam' in this book is in itself rather problematic and misleading as it gives the impression there is one community of Muslim people who have very similar beliefs and practices. However, individuals classified as being Muslim in the UK are heterogeneous, as they originally came from different countries, speak different languages and follow different schools of Islamic thought (Joly 1995). Using the term 'Islam' is also problematic in terms of the negative stereotypes often associated with this religion. Said (1981: xv) has argued that 'Islam' has often been linked to barbarism, medieval theocracy or a kind of distasteful exoticism in western academic, political and social discourses. The term 'Islam' is used in this book, not so as to reproduce these dominant, misleading understandings, but rather to stress the commonalities of experience of British Muslims with respect to criminal justice issues. To a significant proportion of these persons, religion occupies a central role in their lives. The 1994 National Survey of Ethnic Minorities revealed that 90 per cent of M uslims surveyed considered religion to be important to the way they lead their lives, with a substantial majority attending mosque at least once a week (although nearly a third of w omen do not attend mosque or prayer meetings as this is not an important requirement as it is for men) (Modood et a! 1997: 302). Hence it is of param ount importance that aspects of crime and criminal justice are addressed in terms of how they are experienced by Muslims. All the available statistics on the number of Muslims living in Britain are only estimates, since the General Census has not traditionally included questions about religious affiliation. The 1991 General Census includes

6

R e lig io u s d iversity, B r itish M u s lim s , c r im e a n d v ic tim isa tio n

ethnic and national categories, w h ich is one w ay in w hich researchers have estim ated the n u m b e r of people fo llow ing a particular faith. H ow ever, this approach is rath er problem atic since all the individuals belong ing to a specific category do not necessarily follow the sam e religion. For exam ple, not all Banglad eshis are M u slim s, som e are H ind u; som e P akistanis are also Christian (Lewis 1994). This m eans that other surveys have often been used in order to back up data generated from the G eneral Census. For e x a m p le , the Office of P opu lation C ensu ses and S urveys (O P C S) and national surveys of ethnic m inorities carried out by the Policy Stu dies Institute have also been used (Lewis 1994; Joly 1995). The 2001 census in England and Wales has, for the first time, asked individuals to classify them selv es according to the fo llow ing categories: Christian, B uddhist, H indu, Jew ish, M u slim , Sikh or N one. H ow ever, as the results of this census will not be available until approxim ately the m id dle of 2003 (C ensus D issem in ation Unit 2001), for the pu rposes of this book w e m u st use previous estim ates of the M uslim population. In general, there are considered to be approxim ately one million M u slim s in Britain (although som e authors have argued that the total am o u n t is more than this) (Lewis 1994: 14; Nielsen 1992 in Joly 1995: xi). A p proxim ately one-third of these are of Pakistani origin; 100,000 com e from east Africa; at least 80,000 are from India; and over 60,000 from Bangladesh. The rest have Arabic, Iranian, Turkish, M alaysian and Nigerian origins (Joly 1995: xii). Islam is n ot only a culturally and ethnically div erse religion, b ut also is spiritually diverse. There are two m ain strands to Islam - Shi'a and Sunni. Som e 90 per cent of M u slim s w o rld w id e are S unni M u slim s, and this percentage is even greate r for south Asian M u slim s in Britain. Within the Sunni tradition, there are a n u m b e r of different m o v e m e n ts, including Barelw is, D eoband is, Tablighi Ja m at and Jam a'at-I-Islam i (C onw ay 1997). O f course, religious practices also change and evolve over time (Khan 1999). M u s l i m o ffen ders : so cia l ex clu sio n , I s l a m o p h o b i a a n d i n t e r p r e t a t io n s o f Islam

Statistics are available regarding the n u m b e r of individ uals classified as M uslim w h o are im prisoned. A ccord ing to the Prison Statistics England and Wales (2000), there were 4445 M u slim s, 418 Sikh, 254 Hindu male and fe male prisoners on 30 June. Spalek and W ilson's chapter (C hapter 5) looks m o re closely at the issue of practising Islam in the penal system . Islam is currently the fastest-grow'ing non-Christian religion in British prisons; w hilst the n u m b e r of M uslim prisoners has significantly increased, those registering as Christians has steadily d ecreased (Beckford and Gilliat 1998). Th ro u g h interview ing a group of Im am s w h o regularly

7

Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

visit Muslim prisoners, the study reported in this book suggests that antiMuslim sentiment is a com monplace feature of prison life. A further important issue to address is that of the over-representation of Muslims in the prison population, when taking into account that although there are approximately one million Muslims in Britain, there are an estimated 500,000 Sikhs, 500,000 Hindus and 300,000 Jews (Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain 2000). Clearly, it is important to ask some questions about the Muslim population and why it is the case that the number imprisoned is so high. This issue once more highlights the negative consequences on focusing upon ethnic identity to the detriment of religious affiliation. Researchers looking at rates of imprisonment amongst different ethnic groups have found that although individuals classified as Black are over-represented amongst the prison population, those classified as Asian are under-represented (Smith 1997). The question has then been posed as to why, if both ethnic groups experience similar material deprivation and racial discrimination, are so many black people in prison? This kind of reasoning ignores the over-representation of Muslims in prison in comparison to Sikhs and Hindus. Are there social, economic and perhaps some religious factors which might account for the large am ount of Muslims in prison? Age may be a factor here because approximately 70 per cent of all British Muslims are under the age of 25 (Conway 1997), and the age at which offending most com monly starts is 14, whilst the age at which it most com monly stops is 23 (Farrington 1997). Social deprivation and discrimination are also important. The link between social deprivation and offending is now well established (ibid.) and would appear to be a factor in offending amongst some young Muslim men. Racial inequality is evident in the labour market. The rate of unem ploym ent of ethnic minority people is at least double the rate of unem plo yment of white people (ibid.: 112). People from ethnic minority groups are also more likely to work in low-paid jobs with poor conditions of employm ent than white people (Bloch 1997: 113). It is clear that social exclusion and inequality are high amongst Muslim communities. According to the Labour Force Survey 1994, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities (the majority of whom are Muslim) tend to be least well paid (ibid.: 114). In Bradford, unem ploym ent is high in Muslim communities and around half of Pakistani and Bangladeshi households have no full­ time workers (Ratcliffe 1996). It is in these areas that public disturbances and riots have taken place. It might be argued that the disadvantage experienced by young Muslim men as a result of racist practices and discrimination is further com pounded by anti-Muslim sentiment and hostility in Britain. The Islamophobia report found Tslamophobia' to be endemic in British society, and defined this as follows: 'The term

8

R e lig io u s d iversity, B r itish M u s lim s , c r im e a n d v ic tim isa tio n

Islam opho bia refers to u n fou nd ed hostility tow ards Islam. It refers also to the practical conseq uences of such hostility in unfair d iscrimination against M u slim s and to the exclusion of M u slim s from mainstream political and social affairs . . . . Islam is seen as violent and aggressive' (C on w ay 1997: 10). It m a y be the case that extrem ist Islam ist groups, aw are of the lack of educational op portunities and high levels of u n em p lo y m en t, attem pt to influence disaffected y ou ths (C om m issio n on the Future of M ulti-Ethnic Britain 2000). Ind eed , extrem ist organisations have been accused of targeting penal establishm ents in order to find new recruits for their causes. H ow ever, this has been staun chly denied by M uslim groups, w h o argue that only tw o organisations have any contact w'ith prisoners. These are the N ational C ouncil for the Welfare of M uslim P risoners and the IQ R A Trust. N onetheless, in the w ak e of the terrorist attacks of 11 S e p te m b e r 2001, prison authorities in Britain have b eco m e very sensitive to the issue of the expression of fu nd am entalist view points, and s uspend ed three Im a m s for allegedly m a k ing inappropriate com m e n ts a bout the terrorist attacks to inmates. O ne w a s later expelled, the second w as reinstated after an investigation had been cond u cted and the third is currently aw aiting the results of an investigation. T he use of religion for violence and terror has featured in both Christian and M uslim religions. With re spect to Islam , w hilst there are m any p assages in the Q u r 'a n teaching mercy and fo rgiv eness to w a rd s others, there are n on eth eless som e w h ich m ay be open to violent interpretation (although this, of course, applies to the Bible) (Sullivan 2001). C ultural and personal interpretations of the Q u r 'a n m a y be implicated in s om e criminal offences. These m ay som etim es, b y a m inority of individuals, be used as a w a y of justifying acts of physical violence against w o m e n , gay men, lesbians and prostitutes. In som e com m u n ities, so m e m e n have policed w o m e n 's beh a v io u r and inflicted p sychological and physical violence on w o m e n w ho transgress cu ltural norm s and dress cod es (M acey 1999). In order to develop an un d e rsta n d in g of criminality am o n g st som e individuals in som e M uslim com m u n ities, it m ight therefore be argued that it is im p ortan t to take into accou nt personal and cultural interpretations of Islam. For instance, Marie M a ce y 's chapter in this b ook (C hapter 2) illustrates how som e you ng Pakistani M uslim m en in Bradford have d eveloped a brand of ethnic activism w h ich has been d escribed as aggressive and m acho. This can s om etim es lead to their involvem ent in crim e and has been linked to the public d isturbances in Bradford w h ich recently took place b etw een April and July 2001, and which were identified by the m edia as the w orst case of urban rioting on the British mainland for 20 years. The d isturbances are estim ated to have

9

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

cost the city betw ee n £7.5 and £10 million (D enham 2001) and the police £10 million. H u nd red s of y o u n g M uslim m en used petrol b om b s, stones and baseball bats as w e a p o n s and around two hundred police were injured. It see m s that material deprivation, u n em p lo y m en t, police m istreatm ent, racism, Islam opho bia and the 'far right' also played som e role in the disturbances. M u s l i m s a n d vic tim isatio n : h a t e c r im e , relig ion as s o c i a l s u p p o r t a n d s e c u l a r r e s p o n s e s to victim isa tio n

Victimisation is another area that deserves to be explored from a perspective that a cknow led g es religious diversity. A ltho ug h the process of victimisation has been well d ocu m en ted in terms of the psychological, e m otional, financial and b eh av io ural costs o f crime, little analysis has been carried out regarding the im pact of religious beliefs on this process. Sp a lek 's chapter in this b ook (C hapter 3), w hich looks at the crime e xperien ces of a group of M uslim w o m e n living in B irm ing h am , illustrates how Islam can be a central source of su p p ort for victim s, helping them to m o ve more quickly from 'v ictim ' to 's u rv iv o r ' status. The w o m e n featured in this chapter clearly illustrate the m a n y internal and external resources available to them to help them cope w ith crim e and violence. For exam ple, family as well as the local c o m m u n ity can som e tim e s be a great source of com fort, as is prayer and Islam ic spiritual guidance. This m a y m e a n that external agencies such as Victim Sup port are not a lw ay s required. At the sam e time, state and volu ntary responses to victim isation m ay be criticised on the basis of their insensitivity to religious need. Secular w o m e n 's refuges, for e xam p le, often provide inadeq uate su p p ort and so m an y M uslim w o m e n choose to remain in their abusive dom estic environm ents (Sheriff 2001). As a response to this, the M uslim W om en's Help line was established in 1990 in order to act as an e m otional su p p ort to M uslim w o m e n for a w ide range of issues inclu ding divorce, d omestic violence, arranged m arriages, sexual a buse and incest. How ever, it has not as yet received any funding from the g o v ern m e n t and relies upon v olu ntary donations. Religio n can also be a target for hate crim e, particularly w hen individuals w h o follow a particular faith are visibly different. In this respect, the events that occurred in the USA on 11 Se p te m be r 2001, w h en terrorists linked to the extrem ist Islam ist group al-Q aid a destroyed the twin to w ers that com prised the World Trade Center, are particularly salient and have had a significant im pact on the w ay in w hich this book has developed . A nti-M uslim s en tim en t and Islam opho bia, w h ich have been a long-stand ing feature within w estern societies, w ere heightened in the afterm ath of the atrocities that w ere c om m itted .3 M uslim m en, w o m e n

10

R e lig io u s d iversity, B r itish M u s lim s , c r im e a n d v ic tim isa tio n

and children, as well as places of w o rship , beca m e the targets of hate crime. Violent attacks on M u slim s b ecam e m ore co m m o n . For instance, in M an ch este r a w o m a n w as attacked with a ham m er, and the assailant is reported to have shouted: 'You should die. You w an t killing for w h at you did in A m erica' (G uardian 29 S e p te m b e r 2001). O ther M u slim w o m e n have h ad their head scarves pulled off their head s, have been shouted at and had various attacks com m itted against their h o m es (Islamic H u m an Rights C o m m is sio n 2001). Graffiti and em ails have been sent to individuals with m essag es such as 'You d o n 't b elong here, you never will' (T he In depen den t 1 O ctob er 2001). M o sq u es have also re peatedly been attacked. In Bolton in the days that followed the terrorist attacks in N ew York, a m o sq u e w as firebombed (ibid.). In A m erica also M uslim and Sikh co m m u n ities w ere targeted. Two m e n w ere m urdered: one w as a Pakistani M u slim and the other an Indian Sikh in acts w h ich w ere described as revenge killings after the terror attacks (T he In depen den t 17 S eptem ber 2001). As a result, M uslim c o m m u n ities across the w estern world have been living in a state of heightened anxiety, as evidenced by their requests for greater police protection and their precau tionary strategies to try to avoid b eco m in g the targets of hate crime. These m ig h t include putting up signs outside m o sq u es w h ich c o n d e m n the terrorist attacks in A m erica, and M uslim w o m en in Britain have b een issued with a set of guidelines to try to re duce the likelihood of them being attacked (Siddiqui 2001). This discussion clearly illustrates the im portance of introducing the issue of religious identity into the debate on fear of crime. Ethnic identity rather than religious affiliation has been the traditional w ay of classifying individuals, and this has m e a n t that, for Indian, Pakistani or B anglad eshi people, their fear of crim e has often been d ocu m en ted a ccording to the general category of 'A sian'. R eligio us harassm ent, and its potential, as one im portant d im ension to crim e-related anxiety, has therefore largely rem ained u n d o cu m e n te d , yet m ay be particularly salient in some p e o p le 's lives. Similarly, the w ays in w hich fear of crim e is m anag ed by particu lar religious c o m m u n ities has not been explored. Spalek 's study (C hapter 3) illustrates that, for som e M uslim w o m e n , the veil is an im portant aspect to their m a n a g e m e n t o f male sexuality, and therefore is an im portant d im ension to their m a n a g e m e n t of fear of potential violence from men. R e s e a r c h i n g Isla m : e t h ic a l d i l e m m a s a n d barrier s to resea r c h

Clearly, crim inological w'ork has m u ch to gain from an increased focus upon religious diversity. A lack of M uslim crim inologists has no d ou bt contributed to the neg lect of research here. T he majority of the

11

Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

contributors to this book are 'white' 'non-M uslims' and this then raises the issue of the appropriateness of non-M uslims carrying out this kind of work. Certainly, negative stereotyping of Muslims and gross misunderstandings and representations of Islam have been pervasive in western political and social arenas. Islam has often been interpreted as 'the other', as the antithesis of western society. The West has often defined itself against Islam, with Islam being portrayed as inhumane, barbaric and evil. Islam has often been viewed in monolithic ways, as an unchanging religion which lacks cultural diversity (Said 1978). Islamic law has often been presented as incomplete and inadequate in comparison to 'm odern' European law. Islamic law has therefore been delegitimised whilst European law has been viewed as complete and established (Strawson 1993). White, non-Muslim social commentators and journalists have played a significant role in propagating these false impressions of Islam. Recently, for example, The Independent published an article called 'In defence of Islamophobia' which again generated stereotypes of Muslim w om en as being oppressed and under the control of violent men (Islamic Human Rights Commission 2001). In the aftermath of the attacks on 11 September 2001, Mr Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, claimed that western civilisation was superior because of its respect for human rights. These remarks were widely condem ned, forcing Mr Berlusconi to apologise as well as argue that his com m ents had been taken out of context (The Independent 17 September 2001). Straw son (1993) questions the way in which western countries have portrayed themselves as being democratic and promoting human rights as opposed to 'defective' Islamic societies which need to be 'fixed'. In his words (ibid.): How can Europeans claim this superiority, particularly in the fields of human rights, democracy and pluralism, when our entire societies have been founded on the systematic denial of these benefits to the population of the colonised world until well into the second half of this century? The European systems of law have been used to imprison many who fought for these principles in the colonial world. The European age of the Enlightenment produced the American constitution that permitted slavery, and confined the vote to white male property-holders of the Christian religion. Claims to moral, legal and political superiority, and the abusive portrayal of Islam by the West, must form a cautionary backdrop to any text written by western non-Muslim academics. Gaining the trust and standpoints of Muslims must be the primary aim, alongside adopting a critical stance towards m echanisms and processes that serve to reproduce dominant

12

R e lig io u s d iversity, B r itish M u s lim s , c r im e a n d v ic tim isa tio n

misrep resentations of Islam. In the sam e w a y that G elstho rpe (1993) argues that 'w h ite' researchers can study 'black' people, I w ould suggest that n o n -M u slim s can carry out research on Islam. But this requires active involvem ent with M uslim organisations and individuals in order to un derstand and try to portray their w o rld v ie w s and lifestyles. It also requires the researcher to question his or her ow n u n derstand ings of Islam and the bases o f these (m is)u nd erstandings. All the researchers w ho have contributed chapters to this b o o k have striven to d evelop links with Muslim c o m m u n ities and organisations, and have b eco m e actively engaged with issues related to Islam. David Wilson, for instance, has established a close relatio nship with the IQ R A Trust, w hich is a M uslim educational organisation dedicated to p rom oting a greate r understanding of Islam a m o n g M u slim s and n o n -M u slim s alike in Britain. T he IQRA P riso ners' Welfare group w as set up in 1996 with the help of (am ongst others) David Wilson. M arie M acey is a social scientist living and w o rking in Bradford. As such her a ccou nt of m ale M uslim you th in Bradford is infused with the kinds of details and issues that deriv e from having a 'lived experien ce' of the area. Similarly, Basia Spalek 's analysis of Muslim w o m e n 's fear of crim e and their experien ces of crim e em erges from the d ev elo p m en t of a close w o rk ing relationship with the w o m e n w h o took p art in her study - a significant proportio n of the w o m e n w ho were interview ed w ere stu dents at the sam e univ ersity Basia Spalek worked in. T h ro u g h getting to know the lives these w o m e n w ere leading, it was possible to gain som e un derstand ing of their m a n a g e m e n t of crimerelated anxiety. N one the less, there is a desperate need for M uslim researchers to e xam ine crim inal ju stice issues. N o n -M u slim s cannot directly provide 'in sid e r' accounts of M uslim lives, nor the full extent of the im pact and scale of hate crime. Diversity in a cad em ic life m u st be encou rag ed through the rein troductio n of ad eq uate stud ent grants; in this w ay individuals from socially excluded b ack g ro u n d s m a y have a chance to contribute to a cad em ic discourse. A d eeper p roblem atic that is alluded to in this b ook is that of the tensions that can arise b etw een the interpretations and values of Islam and the Ju d eo-C hristian values that pervad e British society. Islam can provide individuals with particular perspectives and lifestyles w hich m ay conflict with the policies adopted by the police, the courts, the prison system and so forth. It is im portant for us to increase our kn ow le d g e of Islam ic perspectives and traditions so that a constructive dialogue can take place b etw een M uslim com m u n ities and agencies of the criminal justice system . This book m ak es a small contribution to this debate.

13

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

A s u m m a r y o f o f th e c h a p t e r s

The m ain b od y of this b ook consists of seven chapters, each of w hich looks at a separate, but related, aspect of crim e and criminal justice in terms of the experiences of British M u slim s. The b ook begins with a contributio n from M arie Macey, w h o exam ines the crim inal activities of you ng M uslim m en living in Bradford. Social exclusion and d isad vantag e, to gether with the tensions inherent b etw ee n their y outh subcultures and the traditional patriarchal structures of their families, have s om etim es led to their in v o lv e m e n t in crim e and w h ich can also be im plicated in the public disturbances w hich recently took place in Bradford. Som e y o u n g m en in Bradford have also m obilised a particular form of Islam w hich has been used aggressively, and s om etim es violently, against w o m e n . C h apter 3 (by Basia Spalek), focuses upon the fear of crim e, and experien ces of victimisation, of a group of M uslim w o m e n living in B irm ingh am w h o w e a r the Hijab (or veil). The Hijab can have the effect of liberating w o m en from the male (sexual) gaze and, as such, is a central part in the m an a g e m e n t of crime-related anxiety by these w o m e n . At the sam e time, how ever, the Hijab can arouse aggression, hara ssm e n t and hostility from the w id er n on -M u slim com munity. This study has found that, particularly after the events of 11 S e p te m b e r 2001, M uslim w o m e n w h o veil have been the targets of hate crime. C h apter 4 (written by D ou glas Sharp) presents the results of an em pirical study com m issioned by the IQ RA Trust that docu m en ts the experiences and attitu des of a group of M u slim police officers. Religion is an im portant aspect of these officers' lives and can at times conflict with police culture and social activities. This chapter also highlights the need for the Police Service to respond more positively to the cultural and religious diversity of its officers, as there is a distinct lack of Halal food and prayer-room facilities at operational police stations. C h apter 5 is based on a recently published study by Basia Spalek and David W ilson w h ich w as featured in The H ow ard Jou rn al (F ebruary 2001) entitled 'N o t ju st visitors to prisons: the experiences of Im am s w h o work inside the penal system '. This chapter looks at the penal system and considers the extent to w h ich the spiritual and religious need s of Muslim prisoners have been met. Christianity, in particular the Ch urch of E ngland, has traditionally provided religious care to prisoners and so C h ap te r 5 looks at the extent to w hich Islam is marginalised within a penal setting through presentin g the results of a study w h ich explored the experiences of a group of Im am s w h o visit M uslim prisoners. A nti-M uslim sen tim ent and Islam ophobia arc barriers the Im am s have often had to face and ov ercome. C h apter 6 has been written by Salah el-H assan, the Director of the IQ R A Trust. This is a short c hapter w hich presents a historical a ccou nt

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R e lig io u s d iversity, B r itish M u s lim s , c r im e a n d v ic tim isa tio n

of the IQRA Trust, inclu ding its involvem ent with the HM Prison Service. C h apter 7 (by Natassja Smiljanic), looks at h u m a n rights legislation and its im pact u pon British M uslim com m unities. Sm iljanic d em onstrates that the hu m a n rights of m any M u slim s are violated on a daily basis in terms of w ork, edu cation and personal safety. H ow ever, relying up on a primarily legalistic response to redress M u s lim s ' h u m a n rights violations, through the ad option of the H u m an R ights A ct 1998, is unlikely to provide M u slim s with ad eq uate protection becau se legalistic interpretations of discrimination are based on race rath er than religion. Sm iljanic argues that b road er cu ltural, social, political and e co n o m ic policies m u s t be d eveloped in order to respond m ore fully to the discrim ination and abuse encountered by m any M u slim s since h u m a n rights contain social, cultural and interpersonal dim ensions.

C o n c lu sio n

This chapter has set out the reasons w h y it is im portant to focus upon criminal ju stice issues in term s of religious rath er than ethnic diversity. It has been argued that an approach which seeks to consid er aspects of crim e and criminal justice through the lens of Muslim identities and experiences would m a ke a significant contributio n to a largely forgotten area. Im po rtant them es w hich have been raised here include: the lim itations of secular-b ased responses to discrim ination, h ara s s m e n t and violence w h ich often incorporate notio ns of ethnic rath er than religious identity; the d om in a n ce of Christianity in the crim inal justice system and the su b seq u ent m arginalisation of other faiths; the social exclusion and d is enfranchisem ent of you ng M uslim men and the significance of this w h e n looking at the criminal activity o f a proportion of M uslim youth; hate crim e against British M u slim s, particularly since the events of 11 S e p te m b e r 2001; and the tensio ns that exist b e tw ee n w estern responses to crim e and victim isation and M u slim s' lifestyles. These them es featu re in the chapters that follow.

Notes 1

T h e term s 'eth n ic m in o r it y ' and 'A s i a n ' h av e been criticised . T h e s e k ind s of labels do n o t reflect the d iv ersity o f the in d iv id u a ls w h o are classified w ith in their am b it. T h e y also signify the n o tio n of 'o th e r n e s s ' s in ce they ca rry an array o f a s s u m p t io n s a b o u t the i n d iv id u a ls thu s la belled, w h o arc co n sid ered to be dif fere nt from 'w h i t e ' p eo p le ( K h a n 1999). T h e s e term s c a n b e used as a form of

15

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2 3

exclusionary p o w e r against individuals considered to be "the o th e r ' (B owling 1998). In response to this, the book R eligion in Prison (Beckford and Gilliat 1998) was recently published. It is also im portant to point out, however, that since 11 September, in Bradford attacks by M u slim s against other e th n ic /re lig io u s groups have also increased. The violent attack on a local vicar and his church is one e xam p le of this.

R eferences

A d d iso n, N. and L aw son-C ru ttend en , T. (1998) H arassm en t Law and P ractice. L ond on: Blackstone Press. Beckford , J. and Gilliat, S. (1998) R eligion in P rison : E qu al R ites in a M u lti-F aith Society. C am brid ge: C am b rid g e University Press. Bloch, A. (1997) Ethnic inequality and social security policy. In A. Walker and C. Walker (eds.) Britain D ivided: T he G row th o f Social E xclusion in the 1980s and 1990s. London: CP A G , pp. 111-22. Bow ling, B. (1998) Violent R acism , V ictim isation , P olicin g an d Social C ontext. Oxford: Oxford Univ ersity Press. Burn ett, R. and Farrell, G. (1994) R eported and U nreported R acial In ciden ts in Prisons. O ccasion al P aper 14. O xford: Centre for C rim inological Research, University of Oxford. C am pbell, D. (2001) San Diego: gripped by the fear factor. The G uardian 29 September. Carrcll, S. (2001) Muslim leaders w arn of riots over anti-terror law. The In depen den t 11 Novem ber. Carrell, S. and G u m bel, A. (2001) M u rd ers of A sian men in U S heighten fears of revenge attacks. The In depen den t 17 September. C ensu s D issem in atio n Unit (2001) h t t p : / / c e n s u s . a c . u k / c d u / C o m m issio n on the Future of M ulti-Ethnic Britain (2000) The Parekh Report. L ondon: Profile Books. Conway, G. (1997) Islam ophobia: A C hallen ge fo r Us A ll. L ondon: The R u n n y m cd e Trust. Crim e and D isorder Act (1998) h t t p : / / w w w . h m s o . g o v . u k / a c t s / a c t s l 9 9 8 / 19980037.htm D en ham , J. (2001) B u ildin g C ohesive C om m u n ities: A R eport o f the M in isterial G roup on P ublic D isorder and C om m u n ity C ohesion. L ondon: HM SO . D ouglas, M. (1994) P urity and D anger: An A n alysis o f the C oncepts o f P ollution and Taboo L ondon: R ou tlcd ge & Kegan Paul. Farringto n, D. (1997) H u m a n d ev elo p m en t and criminal careers. In M. M agu ire et al (eds.) The O xford H an dbook o f C rim in ology (2nd edn). O xford: Clarend on Press, pp. 361-408. Fitzgerald, M. (1993) Ethnic M in orities an d the C rim in al Ju stice System . London: HMSO. Fitzgerald, M. and Hale, C. (1996) Ethnic M in orities, V ictim isation and Racial

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H arassm en t. R esearch F in din gs 39. London: H M SO . Garland , D. (1994) O f crim es and criminals: the d ev elop m en t of crim inology in Britain. In M. M agu ire et al (eds.) The O xford H an dbook o f C rim inology. Oxford: O xford Univ ersity Press, pp. 17-68. Gelsthorpe, L. (1993) A p proaching the topic of racism: transferable research strategies? In D. C o ok and B. H u dso n (eds.) Racism and C rim inology. London: Sage, pp. 77 -9 5 . G uardian (2001) H a m m e r attack on Asian w o m an. 28 September. H oldaw ay, S. and Barron, A. (1997) R esigners? The E xperien ce o f Black an d Asian P olice O fficers. L ondon: Macm illan. H oo d , R. (1992) R ace and S entencing. Oxford: Clarendon Press. H u d so n , B. (1989) Discrim ination and disparity: the influence of race on sentencing. Nezv C om m u n ity 16(1): 23 -4 . Islamic H u m an Rights C o m m ission (2001) h tt p :/ / w w w . i h r c .o r g / I s l a m o p h o b i a / fact-fiction.htm Jefferson, T. (1993) The racism of criminalisation: police and the reproduction of the crim inal other. In L. G elsthorpe (ed.) M in ority E thn ic G roups in the C rim in al Ju stice System . C am brid ge: Institute of Crim inology, pp. 2 6 -4 8 . Joly, D. (1995) B ritannia's C rescent: M akin g a P lace fo r M u slim s in British Society. Aldershot: Avebury. K a lu n ta-C ru m p ton , A. (1998) The prosecutio n and defence of black d efendants in drugs trials. British Jou rn al o f C rim in ology 38(4): 5 6 1 -9 1 . Kelso, P. (2001) Prison Im am suspend ed for anti-US stance. The G uardian 28 December. Kershaw, C., Budd, T., Kinshott, G., M attinson, J., M ayhew , P. and M yhill, A. (2000) The British C rim e Survey 2000. H om e O ffice S tatistical Bulletin 18. Lond on: H M SO . Khan, S. (1999) A G lim pse through P u rdah: A sian W om en - the M yth an d the Reality. Oakhill: Trentham Books. Lew is, P. (1994) Islam ic B ritain: R eligion , P olitics and Iden tity am on g British M uslim s. L ondon: I.B. Tauris & Co. Macey, M. (1999) Class, gender and religious influences on changing patterns of Pakistani Muslim male violence in Bradford. E thn ic an d R acial Studies 22(5): 8 4 5 -6 6 . M o d o o d , T., B erthoud, R., Lakey, J., N azroo, J., Sm ith, P., Virdee, S. and Beishon, S. (1997) Ethnic M in orities in B ritain: D iversity an d D isadvantage. L ondon: Policy Studies Institute. Morrison, W. (1995) T heoretical C rim in ology: From M odern ity to P ost-m odern ism . L ondon: Cavendish. Prison S tatistics E n glan d an d W ales (2000) L ondon: H M SO . Ratcliffe, P. (1996) R ace an d H ou sin g in B radford. Bradford: Bradford Housing F o r u m / C a m b r id g e : C a m brid g e University Press. Said, E. (1978) O rien talism . H arm ond sw orth: Penguin Books. Said, E. (1981) C overin g Islam : H ow the M edia an d the E xperts D eterm in e Hozv We See the Rest o f the W orld. L ondon: Routledge. Sheriff, S. (2001) Presentation to the Victim S up port annual conference, 3 July, University of Warw ick.

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Siddiqui, S. (2001) The Islamic Human Rights Commission h t t p : / / www.ihrc.org/ file7.htm Smart, B. (1992) M odern C onditions, Postm odern Controversies. London: Routledge. Smith, D. (1977) Racial D isadvantage in Britain. Harm ondsworth: Penguin Books. Smith, D. (1997) Ethnic origins, crime and criminal justice. In M. Maguire et al (eds.) The Oxford H andbook o f C rim inology (2nd edn). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 703-60. Spalek, B. and Wilson, D. (2001) Not just visitors to prisons: the experiences of Imams who work inside the penal system. The How ard Journal o f C rim inal Justice 40(1): 3-13. Strawson, J. (1993) Encountering Islamic law. Paper presented at the Critical Legal Conference, 9 -12 September, New College, Oxford. Sullivan, A. (2001) This is a religious war. The New York Times M agazine 7 October. Vallely, P. (2001) MP tries to allay Muslim fears over 'war on Islam7. The Independent 1 October. Ward, K. (1992) Is a Christian state a contradiction? In D. Cohn-Sherbok and D. McLellan (eds.) Religion in Public Life. London: Macmillan, pp. 5-16. Weller, P., Feldman, A. and Purdam, K. (2001) R eligious Discrimination in England and Wales. H om e O ffice Research Study 220. London: HMSO. Willis, C. (1983) The Use, Effectiveness and Im pact o f Police Stop and Search Poivers. H om e Office Research and Planning Unit Paper 15. London: HMSO.

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Chapter 2

Interpreting Islam: y o u n g M u slim m e n ’s invo lvem e nt in criminal activity in B ra d fo r d M arie M acey

In tro d u c tio n

This chapter w as written as the majority of the world reeled in horror at the terrorist attack on the USA that is thought to h av e cost around six thousand N orth A m erica n lives. The econ om ic, social and, perhaps, military con se q u e n ces of the incident are as yet u n k n o w n , b ut are likely to be far-reaching for all of us. For M u slim s they will be w o rse if evidence c orrob orates speculation that the attack w as carried out by Islam ic extrem ists. In both Britain and A m erica, M u slim s have already suffered insults, threats and assaults, e choing the experience of the Irish in Britain follow ing b o m b in g s by Irish terrorists (H ick m an and Walter 1997). W riting a bout M uslim m e n 's involvem ent in crim e at this point in time invites the charge of p erpetu ating racist a n d / o r religious stereotypes and d etracting attention aw ay from the reality of racism in Britain. Even before the attack on A m erica, there w as strong pressure on researchers not to publish material that m ight be seen as critical of m inority ethnic groups. A n n e Cryer, a L abour M e m b e r of P arliam ent in the Bradford area, was recently vilified for suggesting that lack of com p eten ce in English by brides b ro u g h t to England from the Indian sub continent could contrib ute to poverty in the Pakistani com munity. R osem ary H arris's pa p e r on B ang lad eshis in Lond on (Harris 1998), to an Institute for Public Policy research Semin ar, resulted in a highly charged debate in w h ich she was criticised for m o ving too far a w a y from issues of racism and racial discrim ination, and it w a s suggested that a w hite w o m a n had no right to

19

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

c o m m e n t on minority ethnic c o m m u n ities .1 Criticism s from w ithin m inority ethnic c o m m u n ities are dismissed as 'inauthentic and w este rn ise d ' and 'm ore radical elem ents of our c o m m u n ity are labelled as extrem ists' (Patel 1998: 22). In Bradford, such labelling is som etim es follow ed by physical assault, as a n u m b e r of my stu dents have experienced. Beckett and M ace y (2001: 3) refer to '. . . . the d ev elop m en t of a "c o n s p ira c y of sile n ce" b e tw ee n such diverse groups as m inority ethnic m en, m ale a cad em ics, professionals and the state', a situation su m m ed up by A fs h a r's (1994: 144) com m ent: '. . . . a clim ate of fear and oppression has been created in this area w hich extend s to research and scholarly pursuits.' Sir H erm an O u sley 's investigation into inter-ethnic relations in Bradford describes a city 'in the grip of fear': fear of talking a bout problem s openly; fear of challenging w ron g -d oin g in case of being labelled 'racist'; fear of confronting the gang culture, the illegal d rugs trade and the grow ing racial intolerance, hara ssm e n t and abuse that exists (Ousley 2001: 1). The Bradford C o m m is sio n report - an intensive inquiry into the public disorders of 1995 - precedes the O usley one in pointing to ignorance and fear as m ajor contributors to conflict b etw een ethnic groups. But fear and oppression and the silencing of voices that suggest alternative analyses of situations do n ot produce either good social science or social policy b ecau se the latter is (som etim es) based on the former. Nor do they enhance racialised relations; they m ay actually w orsen them as w hite people react adversely to c onstan t accusations o f racism, observin g that 'A sian racism ' is ignored or explained away. This is particularly so for those w hite people w h o have suffered racially based assaults (as m a n y as 70 per cent of all such assaults in som e areas) and w h o them selv es live with deprivation and marginalisation. I am writing this chapter, then, for two reasons. First, b ecau se as both a social scientist and a resident of Bradford, I am conscious that m u ch of w h at is w ritten a bout ethnic groups and inter-ethnic relations in the city is at b est incom plete and at w orst inaccurate. Secondly, b ecau se I believe that racial equality will only be achieved w h en w e can openly and honestly d iscuss the difficulties involved in multicultural living for all the diverse groups in Britain.2

S o m e c o n c e p t u a l an d t e r m i n o l o g i c a l difficulties

Before an intelligible analysis of you ng M uslim m e n 's in volve m e n t in criminal activity can take place, it is n ecessary to explain how I am using

20

In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

so m e key concepts and terms. First, the terms 'A sian ' and 'P akistan i' are not strictly correct since the majority of people to w h o m I refer w ere born, or m ainly b ro u g h t up, in England and are British citizens. I have retained the terms 1) in the interests of brevity; 2) becau se official d ocu m en ts and statistics use them and 3) becau se the people to w h o m I refer designate them selv es in this way, m ore often referring to P akistan, not Britain, as 'h o m e '. It should be noted, how ever, that there are recent indications of ch an g e on this d im ension as som e y o u n g M u slim s explore a 'British' Muslim identity (Samad 1998). Secondly, the terms 'Islam ' and 'M u s lim ' are used with caution and in full a w areness that they are not h o m o g e n e o u s categories. T he variant of Islam adopted by Pakistani men in Bradford is strongly influenced by cultural traditions im ported from rural Mirpur, so that w h at is referred to as an Islam ic code is, in m a n y instances, a cultural norm . In addition, young Pakistani men have d eveloped a 'M u s lim ' identity that can be said to ow e less to Islamic theology than it does to self-interest (M acey 1999a, 1999b). Thirdly, the you ng perpetrators o f crim e and violence described in this chapter constitu te only a tiny percentage of the local M uslim populatio n. How ever, their b eh av io u r has a d isproportionate im pact on all Bradford resid ents’ and is having a negative effect on both inter- and intra-ethnic relations, particularly g endered and g enerational ones. Fourthly, public disorder and violence are not restricted to you ng Pakistani M uslim m en in Bradford or elsewhere. Arguably, m uch of their b eh av io u r has s ocioe con o m ic roots, its correlation with ethnicity being largely d ue to d em o g ra p h ic and residency patterns in the areas under discussion. Ethnicity and religion acquire an ind ep end en t status because 1) the perpetrators of crim inal acts use both to legitimate their behaviour; and 2) there are aspects of Islam that can be seen as influencing the potential for crime. Fifthly, it is im portant to distinguish betw ee n religions and the b eh av io u r that their ad herents claim is religiously inspired, for there is often a y aw n ing chasm b etw een the two. Both Christianity and Islam , for e xam p le, preach peace, equality and respect for hu m an life, y et both have b een - and are - used to legitimise injustice, oppression and w arfare (Allen and M acey 1995). Al Sa d aa w i (1991) co m m e n ts that 'g o v e rn m e n ts need G od and religion to justify oppressive regim es; politicians use religion and authoritarian g ov ern m e n ts p u rsue fu nd a m enta list positions for reasons far rem oved from theological ones'. It m ay be that Al Sa d a aw i's observation can be applied to areas such as Bradford w h ere the (m ale) politics of the m o sq u e influence individuals, groups, com m u n ities and local g ov ern m e n t decision-m ak ing (Patel 1998; Beckett and M acey 2001).

21

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

Finally, of im m ediate significance to this chapter is the fact that crime statistics use the aggregate term 'A sian' to include p eople of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani origins (H o m e Office 2000a). There are som e exceptions to this, such as data on prison p opulations that differentiate b etw een ethnicity and religion. E ven this, how ever, does not disaggregate the terms 'b lack ', 'w h ite' and 'o ther non -w h ite ', despite the heterogeneity of the populations com prising these categories. Faced with statistics of limited utility, then, one has to reach conclu sions using d em o g ra p h ic data on ethnicity and geographical residency patterns supported by in fo rm a­ tion from k now le d g eab le local groups and individuals. This situation is n ot perfect and so m e misclassifications m a y occur. Before going on to discuss you ng M uslim m e n 's in volve m e n t in crime, it is im portant to provide information on the p o pulatio ns concerned and the contexts within w h ich they operate.

S o u t h A s i a n m i g r a t i o n to B r it a in

Britain, like m any other w estern European countries, only b eca m e significantly m u lti-ethnic around 50 years ago w h en post-W orld War Two restructuring necessitated the recru itm ent of overseas labour. Even then, eth nocentrism and racism ensured that non -E u ro p ean s were recruited reluctantly, w h e n European labour proved insufficient. The o v e r­ w h elm in g ly m ale m igrants w h o cam e to Britain were viewed as units of labour and it w as assum ed that they w ould return to their countries of origin w h en they w ere no longer needed. M igrants were discriminated against in the w o rk place, lived in appalling cond itions and suffered ignorance, preju dice and outright racism in society. B ecause they subscrib ed to the 'm y th of retu rn' (A n w a r 1979), they tolerated this with little, or no, com plaint, believing they could am ass en o u g h m o n ey to return to m u ch im pro ved living conditions in their hom eland s. T he arrival of w o m e n and children from the Indian s ub continent in the 1960s and 1970s had a m ajor im pact on Pakistani life in Britain. It contributed to the dem ise of the 'm yth of return', ensured the reim positio n of biradari4 control over m ale sexuality and provided an im petus to self­ definition on religious, rath er than ethnic, grounds (Shaw 1994). M ost migration from the Indian s ub continent took the form of 'chain m igration': . the vast m ajority of m ig rants arrived not as unconnected ind i­ viduals, but in cascading chains along increasingly w ell-w orn paths of kinship and friend ship' (Ballard 1994: 11). This resulted in extrem ely un eq ual Asian settlem ent across the country, with ten geographical areas (including West Yorkshire in which Bradford is located) accou nting for 85

22

In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

per cent of the total m inority ethnic p opulations of England and Wales (H o m e O ffice 2000a). This m e a n s that social structures and kin netw o rk s in, for instance, rural Mirpur, have a strong influence on social relatio nship s and organisation in, say, urban Bradford. Ballard (1994: 11) observes that south Asian settlem ents have a parochial character because '. . . . specific and highly localised castes, sects and kinship groups in the s u b-con tinent have given rise to - and are now um bilically linked with equally tightly structured British-based ethnic colonies'. This has im plications for inter- and intra-ethnic relatio nships, carrying an im petus tow ards self, rath er than social, exclusion as well as the continu ou s reproduction of Pakistani culture and religion. Shaw (1994) and Ballard (1994) point to the strong rejection of British society by people of Pakistani origin and their deep concern to avoid the corrupting influence of the West, particularly in relation to sexuality, w o m e n and g end er segregation. Ballard (1994: 8) remarks: . . . . m inorities have b eco m e an integral part of the British social order, and they have done so on their oivn term s. H ence the underlying challenge is sim ple: how - and how soon - can Britain's white natives learn to live with difference, and to re spect the right of their fellow-citizens to organise their lives on their ow n preferred term s, w h atev er their historical and geographical origins? I would argue that Ballard's questio n oversim plifies the com plexity of inter-ethnic relations and ignores the tensions and conflicts w h ose effects cross ethnic b oundaries. To illustrate this, I first describe minority ethnic p opulations and their location in Bradford befo re tu rning to the question of M uslim involvem ent in crim e there.

S o u t h A s i a n s in B r a d f o r d 5

According to the 1991 census, ju st under 6 per cent of the British population com p rise 'v isible' m inorities w h ose origins are India (840,000), the Caribbean (500,000), Pakistan (477,000) and Bangladesh (163,000) (Ballard and Kalra 1994). H ow ever, the unequal settlem ent noted above m e an s that cities such as Bradford have far larger south Asian populations than the national average. Ratcliffe produces population statistics for Bradford (Table 2.1) that show chang es over a te n-year period. The largest m inority ethnic group in Bradford originates from the M irp u r region of A zad (Free) K a sh m ir in Pakistan - a rural area that is one of the po orest in the country. The status of Kashmir, partly in India and

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Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

Table 2.1: M ajor ethnic groups in Bradford (1 9 8 1 -9 1 )fl Ethnic group White Black Caribbean Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

1981 401,490 2,927 10,375 34,116 2,259

1991

Population change

% change

399,860 3,508 12,409 48,059 3,877

-1,630 +581 +2,034 +13,943 +1,618

-0.4 + 19.8 + 19.6 +40.9 +71.6

Source: Based on Ratcliffe (1996: 3).7 partly in Pakistan, is a major political influence on Pakistanis in Bradford. The Bangladeshis, a relatively small group who arrived later than the Pakistanis, come from Sylhet, which is also a poor rural area. They suffer the greatest proportionate levels of stress in Bradford (Allen and Barrett 1996). There is also a small group of Gujaratis whose origins are Indian but who, like the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, are Muslim. The small number of east African Asians, from Kenya and Uganda, are from middle-class backgrounds, are fluent in English and well educated. The Indian populations (Hindu and Sikh) are estimated at around 6,000 each. Both are dispersed across the Bradford district and both are relatively prosperous, though their internal class differentiation is marked (Ratcliffe 1996). Despite a shared religion, Bradford Muslims are not homogeneous. They speak a number of different la nguages/d ialects and are divided into several sects (Samad 1991). The Muslim com munity is mainly concen­ trated in a narrow geographical area of the city, where it constitutes the overwhelm ing majority of residents (Lewis 1994). Four formal investiga­ tions in Bradford com m ent on this geographical segregation and its role in inter-ethnic conflict (Allen and Barrett 1996; Cantle 2001; Denham 2001; Ousley 2001). Bradford is the fourth largest metropolitan settlement in England. Its population is young (23.6 per cent under 16) and growing (+6 per cent by the year 2011). Population change varies by ethnic group with the Pakistani population predicted to in crease by 71.7 per cent betw een 1996 and 2011 and the white one predicted to decrease by 6 per cent over the same period (City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council [CBMC] 1996b: 1). This is due to the differential age structure of the white and Pakistani populations, the fact that Muslim families tend to be larger than white ones and the phenom enon of 'white flight'. The latter is com ­ pounded in Bradford by 'Indian flight' (Singh 1994) as the city is increasingly perceived as a Muslim enclave.

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In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

O n e in five people in Bradford live in areas of m ultiple d epriv atio n characterised by poverty, un em p lo y m en t, po or education, overcrow ded hou sing, crime, drug dealing, firearms and prostitution (C BM C 1993, 1998). U n e m p lo y m e n t is high in M uslim co m m u n ities and around half of Pakistani and Bangladeshi h ou seh old s have no full-time workers (Ratcliffe 1996). It is particularly prevalent in the inner city a m o n g young M u slim s (C BM C 1996a, 1996b) w h ere it can reach as high as 45 per cent (Taj 1996). It is in these areas that the public violence described in this chapter has taken place. Before d iscussing this in any detail, I will first look at w h a t w e know of M uslim crim e m o re generally.

Ethnicity, r e lig io n a n d c r i m e in E n g l a n d and W a l e s

The pro blem s of interpreting crim e statistics in relation to 'race' and ethnicity are m a n y and well rehearsed. They include the use o f such un differentiated categories as 'A sia n', 'B lack' and 'W h ite '; chang es in b ehav io ur defined as criminal, and differential m e th o d s of recording betw ee n police forces. F undam entally, too, the extent of racism, inclu ding institu tionalised racism, throug ho ut the criminal justice system results in differential arrests, court a p pearances and sentencing - both in terms of custodial sentences and their length (see Barclay and M hlanga 2000 on differential decisio ns by the C row n Prosecution Service; H ood 1992 on race and sentencing; M a cp h erso n 1999 on institutionalised racism in the police; Miller et al 2000 on stops and searches; Phillips and B row n 1998 on arrests, and Virdee 1995 on racially m otivated violence). Interpreting crime statistics in term s of race /e th n icity , then, m u st be done with extrem e caution. This is particularly the case w h en religion is used as an additional variable, and m y use of prison statistics m u st be interpreted in light of all the caveats noted above. There are, how ever, two interesting aspects of the relationship b etw ee n ethnicity, religion and crime. T he first is that w hilst the n u m b e r o f British south Asian males in prison has increased from 1.7 to 2.3 per cent over the six-year period 1 9 9 4 99, the m ajor change is within the Pakistani population. B ang lad eshis and Indians have remained relatively constan t at around 0.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively, b u t Pakistanis have increased from 0.9 per cent in 1994 to 1.3 per cent in 1999 (H om e Office 2000a: 41). A second point of interest concerns differences in the types of crim e for w h ich Asian, black and white people are im prisoned (see Table 2.2). A n u m b e r of these figures fly in the face of co m m o n ly held stereotypes of ethnic groups. These include the high rate of violent offences com m itted by Asians relative to, for instance, black people, and the similarity of both

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Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

Table 2.2: Prison population o f England and Wales by ethnicity and type o f crim e, (1999, %) Offence Violence against the person Sexual offences Burglary Robbery Theft and handling Fraud and forgery Drugs offences

Asian 24 8 6 10 7 7 23

Black 18 7 10 21 5 2 28

W hite 22 10 19 11 9 2 13

Source: Based on Home Office (2000a: 45). groups' involvement in drugs. Whatever the explanations for this (and these must include migration stages and the age reached by Asian populations), the offences listed are com m on to varying degrees across the British population. There are, however, a number of 'specifically Muslim' crimes that are not immediately apparent from the Table 2.2. I will deal with these mainly in relation to Bradford, since I do not have factual information on their incidence elsewhere.

M u s l i m m a le c rim in a l activity in B ra d f o rd

The only crime statistics dealing with race/ethnicity for West Yorkshire (a considerably larger area than Bradford) concern 'stops and searches', 'racist incidents' and 'composition of the police force' (West Yorkshire Police 2001). This makes it impossible to see whether Muslim crime in Bradford is similar to that at the national level, though some observations are relevant to this chapter. First, whilst violent crime nationally increased by 16.1 per cent, in West Yorkshire it only rose by 5.1 per cent. Secondly, the types of crime (using the categories in Table 2.2) showing the most significant increases in West Yorkshire were 'violence against the person', 'drugs' and 'handling'. In ethnic terms, the only com m ent that can be made on these statistics with any level of confidence is that the majority of the illegal drug trade in Bradford is controlled by Pakistani Muslims. This may be related to the fact that, other than cannabis, heroin is the most com m on drug (West Yorkshire Police 2001: 25) and Muslims have ready access to it in Pakistan (Khan 1997). W hat I referred to above as 'specifically Muslim crime' in Bradford

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In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

stem s from, centres around , or is influenced by: 1) perceiv ed religious requirem ents; 2) inte rnational Islam and the notio n of U m m ah (the panIslamic nation or brotherhood of M u slim s); 3) the politics of the Indian s ubcontinent; and 4) M irpuri cultural traditions, s om etim es m a s q u e ra d ­ ing as religious requirem ents. These influences are not discrete, but intersect and interact; how ever, the categories are help ful in un d er­ standin g particular instances of public disorder. For exam p le , religious requ irem en ts were used in 1989 to d em a nd the provision of Hnlal m ea t for Muslim children in Bradford schools; public dem onstration s degenerated into violent disorder. T he influence of in tern ation al Islam w as seen in 1989 w h en Bradford M u slim s publicly dem onstrated su p p ort for thefatzv a declared by Ayatolla K h o m e n i against the author, Salm an Rushdie. The dem onstration s included a ritual book b urning and ended in violent public disorder. The influence of p olitics on the Indian su bcon tin en t is illustrated by the public disorder that m arked the 1995 local elections in Bradford. B ecause both C o nservative and L abour candidates w ere Pakistani, the high levels of public h a rassm e n t by roving g angs bew ildered m any onlookers - until they realised that the candid ates w ere from rival clans in Pakistan.8 Finally, the influence o f traditions im ported from M irp u r is illustrated by g end er relations and sexuality in the Pakistani M uslim com m unity. T hese have b een extended to n o n -M u slim s, with serio us effects on racialised conflict in Bradford. This issue highlights the tension that exists b etw een local interpretations of Islam ic values and the Ju d eo-C hristian ones that are d om in a n t in British society. For this reason I give several e xam p les of criminal and neo-crim inal beh a v io u r in Bradford under this heading. U n d e r the concept of izzat (honour), central to Islam ic culture, w o m e n carry the entire burden of upholding family and co m m u n ity hon our (K h an u m 1992), and 'app ropriate' female dress and beh a v io u r are taken to signify not only their honour, but that of their families and the w id er c o m m u n ity (Kassam 1997). The result is that in defence of honour, m en go to inordinate lengths to m o nito r the a ppearance and beh a v io u r of w o m e n (referred to as 'g u a rd in g ' by Afshar 1994 and 'p o licing ' by Alibhai-Brow n 1998). Young M uslim m en in Bradford spend a consid erable am o u n t of time and energy in controlling 'th e ir' w o m e n - control that involves them in a spectrum of b ehav io ur from relatively m inor nu isance to murder. O ne e xam p le is the persistent (ano ny m ou s) telephoning of 'liberal' parents to tell them that their d aug hters bring disgrace to the com munity. A co m m o n threat in such cases is to 'run families out of Bradford', a threat that M uslim w o m e n say is a real one: 'T hey can do it and e verybo d y k now s that.' A n o th e r e xam p le of relatively m inor nuisance is the constant h a rassm e n t of you ng Asian (and other) w o m e n by gangs of M uslim males

27

Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

w h o gather in public places and verbally harass w o m e n passers-by.’ More serio us is the m ental and physical violence inflicted on fe male family m e m b e r s perceiv ed as breaching Islam ic cod es of b ehavio ur, particularly in terms of interaction with m en and choice of hu sb and s (A fshar 1989; Ali 1992; M ace y 1999a; Beckett and M ace y 2001). This takes varying form s, from intense pressure and m onitoring of activities, th rough dom estic violence, to the use of gangs and 'bounty hu nters' to force w o m e n w h o have fled to return h o m e (Keighley D om estic Violence Forum 1998; Patel 1998; W om en A gainst F u n dam entalism 1998). Alibhai-Brow n (1998) refers to w o m e n w ho 'v an ish ' and reports that the co r o n e r's office is unw illing to release inform ation on the suspicio us deaths o f Asian w o m e n . Afshar (1994: 133) c om m ents: . . . there are m a n y cases of daughters, w ives or sisters being b eaten to death, burned or grievously harm ed by their kin for transgressing'. The extension to n on -M u slim s of cultural traditions (defined as Islamic principles) has led to physical assaults on w hite college and university staff and students. A ltho u g h som e incid ents m a y reflect inter-ethnic a n ta g o n is m / r a c is m , others cannot b e explained in this way. For exam ple, infring em en t of Islamic dress cod es u n derpinned the hara ssm e n t and threats to w h ich a white fe male stud ent w as subjected w hilst ru nning on the streets. Assaults on, and death threats to, gay people are justified by the Islam ic con d e m n a tion of homosexuality. Follow ing the local election described earlier, Muslim m en instigated a cam paign against the sex trade in w hich large n u m bers of Pakistani M uslim y ou ths engaged in hara ssm e n t and violence. This started as a peaceful, organised protest, b ut over eight w eek s spiralled out of control as roving gangs of you ths (som e from surrou nding areas) violently harassed prostitutes to drive them out of the area. The vigilante activity w h ich characterised the c am p aig n was publicly defined as an 'Islamic cau se' - a claim that I noted (M acey 1999a) would have been more conv in cing if the m ajority of 'p im p s ' and 'p u n te rs' had not been Pakistani M uslims! In sum , y ou ng Pakistani M uslim m en in Bradford have developed a brand of ethnic activism described by Ali (1992: 117-18) as: '. . . . aggressive and m acho b oth in rhetoric and action . . . . [and enablin g the conjoining of the] traditionalism of the old or low er m iddle class . . . . with the quasi-ethnic nationalism of m ale you th'. This som etim es leads to their in v o lv e m e n t in crime; it is certainly im plicated in their participation in public disorder and affray.

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In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

T h e p u b l i c d i s t u r b a n c e s in B ra d for d , 199S ' 0

B etw een 9 and 11 Ju ne 1995, three days of public d isturbances took place in the m ainly M uslim area of M a n n in g h a m . Termed 'riots' by the m ed ia, they consisted of three days of violent disorder during w hich ov er 300 Pakistani M uslim y ou ths ra m p a g ed on the streets, attacking the police station, throw ing missiles (including petrol b om b s) at passing cars, erecting b urning barriers across roads, sm ashing w in d o w s and looting shops, w reck ing g arages and b urning cars, fire-bom bing businesses, pubs, clubs and an hotel and issuing death threats at knife point. T he property d a m a ge d belonged to n on -M u slim s. The Bradford C o m m is sio n described the im m ed iate reasons for the distu rb ances as: . . . . a failure to police by consent, and a w id espread local m isu n d e rstan d in g of the accepted protocol for protest. T he police show ed their ignorance of the local population, and of its concerns; the protesters sh ow ed their ignorance of the m eans of acceptable protest; som e representatives of the local population show ed their ignorance of n ecessary and proper police proced u res (Allen and Barrett 1996: 11). The actual flashpoint to the 'riots' involved M u slim youths playing football on the street, police intervenin g and local people beco m ing involved in the ensuing row diness. A ccounts of the incident vary: local people say the police tried to break up w h a t was no m o re than a noisy g am e of football; the police refer to 'p rovocative sw e arin g ' and resistance to arrest by 'k n o w n troublem akers'. O n e of the y ou ng m e n 's sisters (and her baby ) joined the ensuing melee and this b eca m e a key factor in the s u b seq u e n t disturbances. R u m o u rs spread rapidly that the police had attacked an Asian w o m a n and her baby and assaulted an Asian m an by d rivin g a car over his foot (su bsequ ent m ed ical exam ina tion found no evidence to su p p ort the charges). These rum ours b ec am e the basis for public protest and eventual violent disorder. Som e aspects of the 1995 public d istu rb ances in Bradford merit c om m ent. First, the West Yorkshire police m ishand led the situation, s how ing no un d erstand ing of the M uslim c o m m u n ity and failing to differentiate betw ee n genuinely concerned people and crim inal gangs. A m assive failure of com m u n ication - or indeed any attem pt to c o m m u n icate - runs through the entire event. Secondly, though men and w o m e n of all ages protested outside the police station, the s u b seq u ent disorders w ere cond u cted solely by you ng Pakistani M uslim men. The in v o lv e m e n t of older m en - elders, co m m u n ity leaders and cou ncillors -

29

Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

was restricted to unsuccessful attempts to negotiate between police and protesters, and w o m en's involvement consisted of a peace-making attempt by a group of 'interfaith' women. Thirdly, the young men's experience of a 'successful' campaign against prostitution had provided them with valuable communication and organisation skills that they applied to rioting. This included the ability to mobilise young Muslim men from towns and cities in the surrounding area." B e t w e e n 1995 a n d 2001

Contrary to the impression given in most of the national press, Bradford between 1995 and 2001 was not an oasis of multicultural peace. The Daily M ail reported Asian youth besieging Toller Lane police station (the site of the 1995 protests) on Bonfire Night in both 1997 and 1998. The article quotes Jan-Khan (later to become spokesman for the M anningham Residents' Association): 'A serious drugs and alcohol problem is growing, but the local Asian community is in denial' and 'local politicians have a vested interest in playing it down. There's a powder keg waiting to explode' (Goodwin 1998). In 1 9 9 9 ,1 noted that acts of aggression by young Pakistani men had become part of everyday life in Bradford; that these were targeted at both genders, all ages and all ethnic groups, but received little, if any, media publicity (Macey 1999a: 855). In 2001, a report written before the public disturbances referred to Muslim youth having developed a sense of immunity from the law and boasting that 'the police daren't touch them for fear they'll riot' (Ousley 2001: 11). The 2001 disturbances, then, may have come as a shock to the government and many people in the country; they came as no surprise to the residents of Bradford. T he public distu rbances in Bradford, 2001

Although in this chapter I use material from the two Home Office reports that have been published on the public disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham (Cantle 2001; Denham 2001), I have chosen to concentrate mainly on 'local' material. I use mainly media reports and the com m ents of local people, some made directly to me, others taken from newspapers. The chronological developm ent of the 2001 disturbances is as follows. A pril 14-15, Bradford, West Yorkshire: a fight at a Hindu wedding led to rumours of attacks on the Asian com munity by the National Front (NF). The response was a series of arson attacks in the city. M ay 26, O ldham, Greater M anchester: 'rioting' took place after white attacks on Asian homes, again linked to the NF. June 5, Leeds, West Yorkshire: Asian 'rioting' took place after a local man accused the police of squirting him with CS gas.

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Ju n e 23, B urnley, L an cashire: violent disorder involving fighting betw een Asian and w hite y ou ths took place fo llow ing a h a m m e r attack on an Asian taxi driver. Ju n e 29, A ccrin g ton , L an cashire: fo ur petrol b o m b in g s took place on w h ite -o w n e d businesses, a Catholic school and a car. Asian youths w e re seen running aw a y from the crim e scenes. Ju n e 30, A ccrin gton , L ancashire: an arson attack took place on an Asian h o m e whilst the family w as in the house. July 7 -1 0 , B radford, W est Y orkshire: large-scale rioting by A sian youths took p lace fo llow ing a rally against the NF. Thu s, the violent public d isturbances of 2001 started, and c u lm inated , in Bradford in w h at has b een described in the m edia as the w orst urban rioting on the British m ainland for 20 years. As noted above, none o f this surprised the people of Bradford: . . . . there is an overarching belief around the city to day that these riots w ere going to h appen w h atev er efforts w ere m ad e to head them off. There was clearly a d eterm ination in som e quarters for Bradford not to be left out of the chain of racial violence w h ich has w rack ed the N orth o f England this sum m er. And it is clear that som e w o u ld n 't be h ap p y unless the scale of it w as 'b igger and b e tt e r' than the incidents in Burnley and O ld h am (B radford Telegraph an d A rgu s 2001). T he im m ed iate b ack d ro p to the July public d istu rb ances in Bradford centred around the NF, m e m b ers of w h ich had been b anned from m arch ing in the city. R u m ou rs that an N F rally was planned despite the ban b ro u g h t Asian you ths on to the streets to 'defend the co m m u n ity '. An assault on an Asian youth by w hite drunks w as the im m ed ia te catalyst for the explosion of violent d isturbances of an order predicted to cost the city b etw een £7.5 and £10 million (D enham 2001) with policing costs of an additional £10 million. T he 2001 public disorders took a sim ilar form at to the 1995 ones: four to five h u ndred yo u n g M uslim m en took to the streets armed with petrol b o m b s, stones, baseball bats and a variety o f other w e a p o n s and missiles. Fires were lit in the m id dle of roads, and garages, busin esses, pubs, clubs and cars ow ned by n o n -M u slim s w ere set on fire. There w ere som e d ifferences b etw ee n this y e a r's disorders and the earlier ones: first, this time the rioters had prepared in a d va nce, collecting baseball bats, knives and other w e a p o n s and storing petrol bo m b s in derelict h ou ses around the city (Harris 2001). This g oes so m e w ay tow ards explaining the second difference b etw een the tw o d isturbances, w hich is their extent, ferocity and the scale of injury and dam age. S o m e 326 police w ere injured and there were a n u m b e r of stabbings - inclu ding of police horses. S o m e 30 or m o re people w ere inside one of the clubs set on fire, yet the rioters

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deliberately tried to prevent their escape by blocking e m ergenc y exits with b urning cars. A third difference is the increased involve m e n t of young children in this disorder. O ne p rim ary school teacher reported a six-yearold M uslim child, taking part in the routine M o n d a y m orning 'w hat 1 did this w e e k e n d ' session, saying: . w e m a d e petrol b o m b s at m y house, M iss'. A local reporter observed: A te n-year old boy, his face covered by a hand kerchief, captured the reality of how deeply raw hatred has b ec o m e e m bed d ed . Rage had so poisoned him he w as prepared to hurl a brick the size of his head at rows of riot police poised to charge barely 30 feet away. There was no fear in this child 's eyes, ju st anger hard to understand in one so young. Around him w ere at least 60 teenagers and m en launching volleys of petrol b om b s, sticks and rocks at the m assed police ranks. M a n y of these ou tlaw s w ere children, but they w ere not playin g a child 's g am e (Dutt 2001). A fourth difference b e tw ee n the two sets of disorders is w h a t appears to be retaliatory action by white youths. A n A sian-o w ned restaurant in one of the outer suburbs w as attacked and other m inor incid ents have been reported. Local white y ou ths did not have a history of b urning cars and b usinesses, b ut it now appears they m ay be cop y ing you ng M uslim m e n 's style of van dalism and violence. M a n y w hite Bradfordians talk of the dangers o f a 'w hite b ack lash ' and m any M uslim Bradfordians reply: 'I d o n 't b lam e them.'

R e s p o n s e s to, a n d ‘e x p l a n a t i o n s ’ of, the pu blic d i s t u r b a n c e s

M o st of the national press located the 'Bradford riots' in the context of disturbances in A ccrington, Burnley, Leeds and O ld ham and there was m u ch talk of British N ational Party (B N P) and NF involvem ent. However, under the head ing 'N o w it's time for Bradford to stop m ak ing excu ses', the local n e w sp a p e r wrote: In ou r leading article after the Bradford C o m m is sio n report into the M an n in g h a m riots [of 1995], w e stated: 'In Bradford there is racial hatred; there is fear; there is ignorance; there is dire u n em p lo y m en t; there is poverty and deprivation; there is religious fu nd am entalism ; there is political extrem ism ; there is petty politics; there is ineptitude and incom petence; there is m isplaced op tim ism ; there is d am ag ing pessim ism and apathy; there are good intentions and there are evil ones'.

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Five years on, can any reader put their hand on their heart and state in all honesty that anything has chang ed ? . . . . at the root of everything there is still a fu nd am ental and deep-seated hatred of white p eople and of authority in g eneral in the hearts of a m inority of you ng and m ainly M u slim activists and thugs (B radford Telegraph and A rgu s 2001). The editorial goes on to say: 'crim inal thuggery cannot be excused by depriv ation or u n em p lo y m en t, by alleged police m istreatm ent or by provocation by the fascist scum of the National Front.' In this, the n e w sp ap e r highlights so m e of the m o st frequently cited reasons, in acad em ia and the m edia, for Pakistani M uslim y o u n g m e n 's involvem ent in crime: m aterial deprivation, u n em p lo y m en t, police m istreatm ent, racism, Islam opho bia and the 'far right'. Before discussing these, it is interesting to note som e local view s on them: M aterial deprivation an d u n em ploym en t Here everything in the Asian c o m m u n ity is a bout k eeping up with the Joneses. We have been here fifty years and w e're going backw ards. T he Indian c o m m u n ity is doing fine. It's the Pakistanis w ho are not m a kin g it (older M uslim man). T h e y talk about re spect in our com m unity, b u t if y o u 'v e got m o n ey y o u 'v e got respect. It's all about flash cars and pretty girls (young M uslim man). It m ak es you sick w h en you see the Sub aru s and Porsches, all the flash cars they have up on M a n n in g h a m (young w hite man). O rganised racism O nce again violence erupts on the streets of Bradford - and w h o is to blam e? The police? T he BN P? Society? A n y one b ut the so-called disaffected Asian youth, w h o feel they have the right to violate innocent people and use relentless thuggery to m ake them selves heard (older white man). T he N F are the only w inners tonight. T h e y 'v e got exactly w h a t they w anted. They will be sitting at h o m e with a beer w atching this on television and laughing (older M u slim man).

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I have a sword ready at h o m e and if som e d u m b bastard com es running tow ards m e I will use it (y oung M uslim man). R acism in the police If it w a s n 't for the police there w ould have b een so m e deaths. You ca n 't b la m e the police - if they're too he av y -h a n d e d people com plain, and if they d o n 't do e nou g h people say they're soft. They ca n 't win (young M uslim man). T h e y should crack d ow n on them hard, w h eth er they're w hite or Asian. It's not a racial matter, it's plain law -breaking by idiots (older M uslim man). It's not w h at they say and it's not w h at you think. It's a bout Asian lads shouting racism to keep the police off 'th eir' tu rf (young Muslim w o m an ). R acism an d Islam ophobia T he recent riots in Bradford were not to do with racial d iscrim ination, poverty or w h atev er other excuse you m ay wish to pick out of thin air. The fact is that they w ere caused by y o u n g Asian thugs . . . . (older w hite man). It's not about racism, it's about gangs, territory and control (young M uslim w o m an). O u r p arents' generatio n were too tolerant. T h e y took abuse and did nothing. N ow w e 'v e got to sort out their m istakes (y oung Muslim man). The above are only a small selection of local p eople's responses to the public d isturbances in Bradford. There is no overall consensus of opinion, b ut there are interesting generational sim ilarities across ethnic lines. This ag reem ent is stronger in relation to 'a n sw ers' to the problem : 'send them back to P akistan' is a co m m e n t m a d e equally by w hites and Asians, m en and w o m e n ! I will return to this later, but first evaluate so m e a cad em ic analyses o f the 1995 public disorders in Bradford under the same headings.

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M a t e r i a l dep r iv a tio n a n d u n e m p l o y m e n t

The location of the public d isturbances in Bradford - M a n n in g h a m - is a materially depriv ed area and there is a clear correlation b etw een deprivation - poverty, low-quality, overcrow ded hou sing, low e d u ca ­ tional sta nd ard s, u n e m p lo y m e n t - and y ou n g m e n 's in v o lv e m e n t in criminal activity. This is not least becau se these factors, especially un em p lo y m en t, constitu te a push to spend time on the streets, often in gro ups. Taj (1996: 5) remarks: 'Idle hands are the D evil's plaything and no serio us co m m e n ta to r d isputes the link b etw ee n youth u n e m p lo y m e n t and anti-social behaviour.' K han (1997: 18, 28) refers to a 'n ew Pakistani street culture' that he describes as 'highly m a ch o ' and linked to drug d e p e n d ­ ency and involve m e n t in violent crim e and prostitu tion. H ow ever, as I have noted elsewhere (M acey 1999a), material deprivation does n ot in itself constitu te an explanation of public disorder and violence, since other residents of the area w ho share the sam e material en v iron m en t have not resorted to such behavio ur. N or have w hite y ou ths in com p a rab le areas of d eprivation - a fact com m e n ted on by M uslim m en, inclu ding those currently in A rm le y goal for their involve m e n t in the 2001 distu rbances! There are exceptionally high levels of u n e m p lo y m e n t in M an n in g h am , som e of w h ich are un do ub tedly d ue to racism (Allen and Barrett 1996; O usley 2001). H ow ever, Taj (1996: 5) c om m ents: '. . . . a proportion of the y ou ng people of the area m ak e very u n appealing prospective em ployees. T hey are the p rodu ct of a cycle of low expectations and educational u n d e r­ achievem ent. T hey offer few qualifications, lack skills and so m e display an offensive d em ea n o u r d eveloped within their "stree t c u ltu re ".' In B radford, statistics for e du cational ach iev em en t by ethnicity mirror national ones (C BM C 2000; Farooq 2000), so that Pakistani M uslim boys achieve few public exam ination successes. To suggest that this is explicable by racism in schools is to b eg the questio n of w h y Indian pupils and Pakistani M uslim girls do well in public exam inations. H ow ever, the link b etw ee n poor edu cational qualifications and u n em p lo y m en t, and b etw een u n em p lo y m en t and crime, m ay help to explain you ng Muslim m e n 's involve m e n t in criminal activity in Bradford. O r g a n i s e d ra cism

T he B N P has racism at its core, b ut recently has d eveloped a specifically anti-Islam ic focus and targets areas with large M uslim populations. It gained a significant n u m b e r of votes in the northern tow ns in w h ich the 2001 d isturbances took place. H u sb a n d s (1994) suggests that the real significance of the BNP, how ever, is not its electoral potential, but its role in creating a clim ate that facilitates racial antagonism and violence. Like the

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NF, there is a clear associatio n b etw een its presence in an area and the g rowth of racially m otivated violence, and this m u st be a factor in the clashes b etw ee n white and Asian youths in Burnley and O ld h a m . The BNP has no base in Bradford and the N F had been b anned from marching in the city on the day that public disorder broke out, yet the m ere threat of the NF was the spark that lit w h at Ja n -K h a n called the 'p o w d e r keg'. W hite extrem ist organisations with a racially divisive a genda are jo in ed in Bradford by M uslim ones. In the afterm ath of the 1995 disorders, one militant Muslim group - H izb-ut-T ahir (FIUT - Party of L iberatio n) - tried to rally su p p ort am o n g Pakistani youth (Allen and Barrett 1996). The com bination of political and religious zeolotry provided by such gro ups appeals to y o u n g m en and, in the w a ke of the 2001 d istu rbances, H U T is again highly visible in Bradford. H u sb an d s (1994) notes with reference to the B N P that the im pact of such gro u p s is n ot restricted to the n u m be rs involved, but has w id er effects on local populations, and Lew is (2001: 15) refers to H U T 's circulation of 'i nflam m a tory literature - anti-dem ocratic, anti-zionist, anti-w estern, anti-H ind u, and anti-Sikh'. This is an exam p le of the inadeq uacy of such explanations o f violent public disorder as those that b la m e the BNP or NF. It illustrates the com plexity of a reality in w hich both white and M uslim separatists contribute to the creation of mutually antagonistic ideologies that can predispose you ng men to violent confronta tion. R a c i s m in th e p o lice

The police have been accused of carrying so m e responsibility for b oth the 1995 and the 2001 public d isturbances in Bradford. Writing about the 1995 disorders, Burlet and Reid (1998) refer to m a n y years of strained relations b etw ee n the police and the Pakistani M uslim c o m m u n ity ; the Bradford C o m m is sio n suggests that this created a disposition to violence; and Taj (1996: 8) c o m m e n ts: '. . . . it is impossible to overstate the mistrust with w h ich yo u n g e r m e m b ers of the c o m m u n ity view ed the police.' T he two H o m e Office reports on the 2001 d isturbances ad opt a m ore positive approach, and Cantle (2001: 40) observes t h a t '. . . . there has been a great deal of su p p ort for the police and a re cognition that their approach has im proved considerably, for e xam p le since the earlier riots in Bradford in 1995'. D en ham (2001: 17) notes, how ever, '. . . . that there are policing issues w h ich n e ed to be addressed'. There is a large literature on racism in the police in general, in relation to y ou n g m en in particular and with reference to public d is o r d e r/r io ts (Benyon 1 9 8 6 ;Je w s o n 1990; C ashm ore and M cL au g hlin 1991; M acp herso n 1999). H ow ever, as I have previously observed (M acey 1999a), there are aspects of the relationship b etw een the police and Pakistani M uslim men

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In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

in Bradford that should m ake one cautious of an uncritical acceptance of police racism as being responsible for y o u n g m e n 's in v o lv e m e n t in crime and public disorder. F or e xam p le, such cu ltural traditions as arranged m arriages are s o m e tim e s abused in w a ys that bring the police and M uslim m e n into conflict. Forced m arriage is far m ore co m m o n in Bradford than is suggested by such publications as A C hoice by R ight (H o m e Office 2000b), and w o m e n w ho resist often turn to the police for help. This also applies to w o m e n fleeing dom estic violence, w h ich is m o re co m m o n than the M uslim com m u n ity ack n ow le d g es (Keighley D om estic V iolence Forum 1998; M acey 1999b). Refusal by the police to return unw illing w o m e n to their h om es s om etim es cu lm inates in violence, as brothers, cou sins and friends m obilise w id er netw o rk s to search for 'o ffend ing ' w o m e n . It is notable in this context that the W est Yorkshire police force w as one of the first in the cou ntry to take serio usly the issue of d om estic violence and to im p lem e n t radical policies on it (H a n m er and Saun ders 1993). O ther e xam p les of conflict betw een the police and M uslim m en centre around the concept of izzat and the use of religion to justify threatened or actual violence against people seen as offending against Islam. I noted above the c am p aig n against prostitu tes, violence against gay m en and lesbians, d om estic violence and murder. There are, then, a n u m b e r of issues, m any involving gender, that are a source of tension betw een the police and M uslim m en. These m ean that the interests of the latter would be served if the police b eco m e sufficiently n ervo us of accusations of racism as to be unwilling to intervene in 'co m m u n ity affairs'. This is illustrated by an alternative explanation of the 1995 d isturbances put forw ard by you ng M uslim w o m e n , w h ich is that the d isturbances w ere used by rival gangs as part of the battle for control of territory, drugs and prostitu tion with the aim of m aking M a n n in g h am a 'n o -go' area for the police. These you ng w o m e n also offered an alternative e xplanation to the usual 'ra cism ' one of the d isproportionate use of 'sto ps and searches' against black and Asian you ng m e n (H o m e Office 2000a). O ne w o m a n laughed at m y questio n about the police targeting you ng Asian men for searches, saying: 'Well, they w o uld , w o u ld n 't they? After all they know it's these lads w h o 're doing the dealing.' Finally, in response to a question a b ou t racism in the police as a cause of the 1995 rioting, one w o m a n stated that 'the lads' had planned to accuse the police of racism b ecau se this had w orked in the past. Sim ilar points are being m ad e in relation to the 2001 disturbances. Writing in the local paper, G reenhalf (2001) com m ents: 'there are y ou n g M uslim men in Bradford for w hom rioting is an expressio n of power, not anger.' He quotes A llan Brack, a fo rm er race relations w o rk e r and director of Bradford Festival, as saying:

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T he M uslim d istu rb ances of 1995 were about territory; the M uslim rioting over the w eek end was about male chau vinism and, it has to be ad m itted, M uslim racism. These lads w an t to drive out non -M u slim s; it's a form of ethnic cleansing. The white m iddle class, w h ich has b een in a state o f denial about this trend, will be appalled that this has hap p ened ; but, after seven years of inaction by the authorities and softly-softly policing, this has b een brew ing up (ibid.). In sum , the West Yorkshire police force un do ub tedly contains both institutional racism and som e racist officers. H ow ever, the factors noted above need to be considered befo re police racism is too readily accepted as a m ajor cause of Pakistani M uslim y o u n g m e n 's in volve m e n t in public disorder. Racism and Isla m o p ho b ia

As with racism in the police, there is clear evidence of racism, institutional racism, racial d isad vantag e and discrim ination in British society and, by definition, in Bradford. These extend across all spheres: the criminal justice system , education, e m p lo y m e n t, health, h ou sing and social services. Racism also inclu des verbal harassm ent, physical violence and m urder (for an overview of racism in Britain, see M o d o o d et al 1997; for discussion of the situation in Bradford, see Allen and Barratt 1996; Ratcliffe 1996; O usley 2001). T he extent and im pact of racism should never be underestim ated: w h eth er overt or cover, it is a pernicious force that blights the lives of all British citizens - and results in the deaths o f so m e of them. Because of this, racism is too im portant to be trivialised by the indiscrimin ate use of the concep t to 'e xplain' every situation in w hich black or Asian people are disad vantag ed relative to w hite ones. D isad vantage is not the sa m e thing as discrim ination and it is not always the result of racism. S om etim es, the cultural a n d / o r religious practices of minority ethnic groups are implicated in their d isadvantage. Sim ilar points apply to the cu rrently fashionable term 'Islam op h o bia' (C onw ay 1997). There is no d ou bt that m a n y people in Britain view Islam through the stereotypical lens of m edia representatio n as a monolithic religion that is cruel and barbaric, h o m o p h o b ic and m isog y nist - and profoundly anti-w estern.12 W h e th e r the extent or m a gnitu de of this justifies the term 'p h o b ia' is d ebatable, as is the utility of the c oncep t in the struggle ag a inst racism. T he stage has been reached w h ere the accusation of 'Is lam o p h o b ia' is levelled at any on e w ho appears to criticise Islam or M uslim behaviour. At the risk o f being labelled Islam opho bic, I discuss below som e aspects of Islam, or its cu ltural interpretation, w h ich m ay be

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In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

im plicated in the crimes com m itted by M u slim s, specifically you ng M uslim m en in Bradford.

Is l a m , c u ltu re an d c r i m e

It can be suggested that the link b etw ee n Islam and crim e is both direct and indirect: the form er w h en M u slim s co m m it (or justify) crim e in the n a m e of Islam , the latter w h en Islam ic doctrine (or its cultural interpretation) operates to put M u slim s in situations c o m m o n ly seen as p red isposing people to criminal activity. E xam ples of the form er include physical violence against w o m e n , gay m en, lesbians and prostitu tes and speeches and w ritings that com e close to incitem ent to racial hatred. O f these, only acts of physical violence against w o m e n are specifically stated in the Q u'ran to be acceptable within limitations (M ather 1998); the others involve cultural interpretations of Q u r a n ic edicts that carry the p oten tial to be translated into violent action. These include con d e m n ation of h om ose xu ality and definitions of approved gender relatio nships and appropriate sexual behaviour. They also inclu de the proselytising (or m issionary) requ irem ent that is a logical ou tcom e of defin ing Islam as the only true faith. Islam is not, of course, the only religion that believes it has a m o nopo ly ov er truth and salvation. It is, as far as I am aw are, the only faith that d iv ides the world into good and evil, D ar al-Islam (the D om ain of Islam) and D ar al-H arb (the D om ain of War, i.e. the n on -M u slim world). Arguably, this im pacts negatively on b oth inter-faith and inter-ethnic relations and is im plicated in the ad option of anti-w estern attitu des and b eh av io u r by som e M u slim s. For e xam p le, I listened to a visiting Imam to the University of Bradford Islam ic Society telling his au d ien ce that w esterners 'prom o te indecency and im m orality ' and are 'responsible for starting and continu in g the A ID S e p id e m ic' (M acey 1999a). T he M an ifesto o f the M uslim P arliam en t o f G reat Britain refers to the difficulty for M u slim s of leading a niuttaqi (God-fearing, pious) life in a 'c o rru pt' en v iro n m en t and speaks of the need to 'arrest the "in te g ra tio n " and "a s s im ila tio n " of M u slim s them selv es into the corrupt boglan d of Western culture and supposed civilization' (cited in N ew b igin et al 1998). O ther Islam ic publications m ak e such co m m e n ts as 'there is nothing in Western societies that rem otely resem bles good b e h a v io u r ' (Islamic Party of Britain); 'The West's aggression tow ards M u s lim s is w e ll-d o cu m e n te d ' (A l-S a h w a); and '[the USA and Britain] speak h on eyed w ords publicly, and sow corruption and injustice stealthily. A M achiavellian practise that is at the very heart of m o d e rn Ju d aeo-C hristian culture' (A l-H u jjat) (cited by the L ond on Bible

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Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

College, 1999). More im m ediately relevant to this chapter, perhaps, is L ew is's (2002: 16) observation o f ' . . . . the failure o f the generality of the ulam a to relate to British M u slim s and take their questions serio usly'. This leaves you ng m en open to the influence of extrem ist groups w h ose ideology is profou nd ly anti-w estern and hence antagonistic to integration of any kind. It also renders them beyon d the control of co m m u n ity elders and Im am s.' A t a different level, there is a sense in w hich Islam exerts an indirect influence on criminal activity via aspects of its teaching (or their cultural interpretation) that affect the structural location of M u slim s in British society. As noted ab ove, large n u m b e rs o f M u slim s live in materially deprived, ethnically segregated areas in o v ercrow ded , inadequate hou sing; m ale children u n d erachieve in school; and there are high levels of un em p lo y m en t, ill-health and poverty. Such areas are associated with crime, illegal drugs and violence and were the sites of the 1995 and 2001 public disturbances in Bradford. Som e of this is explicable in socio­ econ om ic terms and som e is a c o nseq u ence of racism. But it can be suggested that Islam itself contributes to the situation in a n u m b e r of ways. For exam p le, poor, ov ercrow ded hou sing is not only due to racism by build in g societies and hou sing authorities, b ut is also connected to the Islamic prohibition on m o rtg ag es as usury. This, to gether with the cultural tradition of extended family living, goes som e w a y tow ards explaining M uslim d isad vantag e in housing. It also help s to explain residential segregation by ethnicity, since buying a hou se w itho ut access to a m o rtg a ge tends to limit purchasers to poorer-quality, older hou sing, often located in particular parts of cities. This is exacerbated by chain m igration and the tendency to establish birad ari g ro ups in close proxim ity to each other w here the system s, structures and cultures of, for instance, rural Mirpur, are played out against the backdrop of urban Bradford (Ballard 1994). Educational u n d e rach ie v e m en t is not explicable in terms of racism alone, b ut is affected by such cultural factors as the preference for b oy s that leads to extrem e p erm issiveness in their u p bringing and the religious re quirem ent for m o sq u e attend ance and the learning of Arabic. Long hours in m o sq u es m ean that m any M uslim boys are extrem ely tired in school. T he learning of Arabic im pacts negatively on y ou n g b oy s' d ev elop m en t of English language com p eten ce m ainly b ecau se their hom e language is co m m o n ly not English (Farooq 2000). The situation is exacerbated by the cultural practice of rem ov in g children from school to spend extended periods in Pakistan. Poverty itself is partly a co nseq u ence of Islam ic definitions of

40

In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

appropriate gender roles, particularly the expectation that w o m e n 's prim ary fo cus should be h u sb an d s, h o m es and families. This som etim es leads to the denigration of education for girls and yo u n g w o m e n and even the p e rm a n e n t rem ov al of M uslim girls from school - with obvious con se q u e n ces for their entry to the labour market. Som etim e s w o m e n are d iscou rag ed , or actu ally prohibited, from w o rk ing outside the h o m e and this, together with the M uslim preference for large fam ilies, contributes to familial poverty, particularly given high m ale u n e m p lo y m e n t due to low educational qualifications and lack of skills. A n other cultural tradition that has a m ajor im pact on all the above factors is that of intercontinental m arriages betw ee n British and Pakistani partners. In Bradford as m any as 50 per cent of all m arriages in the Pakistani M uslim co m m u n ity fall into this category w h ich results, as O usley (2001: 11) observes, in a constan t intake of residents to the c o m m u n ity w h o have little, or no, access to English and frequently no edu cation or skills to enable them to participate in British society. It also results in the tend ency for a particular, h ighly traditional, variant of Islam from rural Pakistan to be constantly replicated in urban Bradford (M acey 1999b). Taken in conjunction w ith Islam ic definitions of w o m e n 's roles and g eog raphical segregation, this has both short- and long-term co n ­ sequ ences for individuals and families, particularly in relation to M irpuri brides. Young w o m e n w ho com e to this country with no language or educational skills are prevented from participating in w id er society, un d erstand ing the English edu cation system or subsequently being aware of, or able to control, their sons' crim inal activities. It is notable in this context that arranged inte r-continental m arriages are strongly op posed by you ng M uslim w o m e n , b u t requested by their m ale cou nterparts on the ground s that 'M irp uri w iv e s are more obedient and easier to control than English ones' (Beckett and M acey 2001: 312). In the w hite com m unity, the correlation b etw een s ocioecono m ic status and crim e is well established and this is un do ub tedly applicable to the Pakistani M uslim c o m m u n ity in Bradford, w h ich is p red om inantly w o rk ing class (Samad 1991). In other w ords, Pakistani M uslim you ng m e n 's in volve m e n t in crim e is partially explicable in class, rath er than ethnic or religious, term s. How ever, this raises the questio n of w hy Pakistani M u slim s are not achieving social m obility and extricating them selv es from poverty after half a century in Britain. And on this questio n, I am forced to conclude that w hilst one of the answ ers is un d o u b ted ly racism, this is not the w h ole explanation; that there are elem ents o f religious and cultural tradition w h ich militate against the progress of the M u slim com munity. These sam e elem ents are im plicated in M uslim male crime, b oth directly and indirectly, and it is difficult to see

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Islam , c r im e a n d c rim in a l ju stice

how change can be brou ght a bout unless the co m m u n ity itself is willing to adapt in w ay s it currently sh o w s no signs of doing. Policy-m akers, at both the national and local state levels, need to a ck n ow le d g e that incid ents of 'rioting' and public affray are not sim ply a response to deprivation, m arginalisation and w hite racism, but are the result of com p le x inter­ sections and interaction betw ee n a large n u m b e r of variables, som e of them specifically related to cu ltural interpretations of Islam.

C o n clu sio n

In this chapter I have analysed Pakistani M uslim yo u n g m e n 's involve­ m ent in crime, particularly violent public disorder, in Bradford. A lthough these you ng m e n constitu te only a tiny m inority of the Pakistani M uslim population in Bradford, their criminal and neo-crim inal b ehav io ur is having a m assive negative im p act on the city and, indeed, on wider society. In Bradford, they are significantly ad ding to the city's already high level of poverty in a n u m b e r of w ay s - both social and m aterial - that have harm ful short- and long-term conseq uences. These include exacerbating already high levels of ethnic division and tensio n; preventing young Muslim w o m en from fulfilling their potential; 'driving out' you ng people from all ethnic groups (including white); increasing expenditure through policing bills and property repairs; and creating a negative im age of the city that not only d iscourages inward investm ent and job creation, b ut is also cau sing established b usin esses to relocate. In term s of w id er society, there is little d ou bt that the public disorders of 1995 and 2001 have exacerbated negative im ages of Islam in w a y s that could have long-term con se q u e n ces for inter-ethnic and inter-faith relations. For all these reasons, it is im perative that social science analyses of young Pakistani M uslim m e n 's involve m e n t in crime, inclu ding violent public disorder, are as com p re h en sive as possible. It is im portant, therefore, to consid er the influences of gender, generation and social class, along with those of ethnicity and religion. We have to m o ve on from explanations that focus only, or mainly, on racism and discrim ination, whilst not negating their effects. We have to realise that ignoring cultural and religious influences on y o u n g M uslim m e n is perilously close to racism, first, in d enying the strength and p o w er of Pakistani culture and Islamic beliefs and, secondly, in a ssum ing that these y o u n g m e n define them selv es and situations only in relation to white institutions and structures. O verall, this can only produce inadeq uate accounts that arc of little utility to changing the situation. And change the situation w e must, for e v e ry o n e 's sake, but particularly

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In t e r p r e t in g Islam : y o u n g M u s lim m e n ’s in v o lv e m e n t in c rim in a l activ ity in B r a d f o r d

that of the children. For criminal you ng m en are role m odels for you ng b oy s w h o are increasingly involved in anti-social and criminal behaviour: 'We m a d e petrol b o m b s at my hou se, M iss' and 'M y son looks at me, earning an honest living ru nning this shop, and he looks at m y car, w hich is n ot a good car - it's an old car. Then he looks at the you ng m en on the street with their B M W s [from selling d rug s]' (M uslim parent). But the question o f how the situation can be changed for ev e ry on e 's benefit is one to w hich there are no sim ple answ ers. I suggest, how ever, that Mitchell and Russell's (1994: 1 5 3 -4 ) c o m m e n t should form the b ed rock of any proposals: . . . . the right to be different can never be uncond itional . . . . No society can m aintain a position in w h ich 'anything goes' at the cu ltural level within its various com m unities. O n the one hand, substantial sectio ns o f the population still appear to be unw illing to accept as citizens m inorities that are culturally distinct and visibly different from themselv es. O n the other hand , som e elem ents within the black and m inority ethnic com m u n ities apparently w ish to live apart, rejecting the view that the internalisation of so m e shared values and co m m o n co m m itm e n ts is the duty of every citizen. This, together with research on Bradford and the ob servations of local people noted above, contains salutary lessons for individuals, c o m m u n i­ ties and decisio n-m ak ers at both local and national levels. Many, if not most, of these lessons carry radical im peratives to chang e and they are directed particularly at central gov ern m e n t, the local authority, M uslim co m m u n ity leaders, m o sq u es and M uslim parents. H ow ever, before change can take place the need for it has to be a ck now led g ed and there are few signs this is the case in relation to young Pakistani M u slim m e n 's in volve m e n t in crim e in Bradford.

Notes

1

This position is apparently shared by the Foreign Office who recently threatened to remove funding from a research project unless a white researcher was replaced by one of Bangladeshi origin. Social scientists studying racialised relations in both Britain and the USA have long struggled with ethical and ideological issues to a degree that, I would suggest, has impacted adversely on the quality of research produced. As a black American sociologist commented: 'It is apparent that much of our thinking about race and ethnicity is convoluted and otherwise blurred by

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ideological intrusions encou raging the use of folklore (Stanfield 1993: 3 3 -4 ). For exam p le, there have been m ajor battles around the questio n of who has the right to research w hom and this has led, at times, to the notio n that one should only research, and write about, o n e 's ow n ethnic group, or gender, or . . . . A nother convention in this field is the pressure to focus only on white

2

3

4

44

racism and to avoid analysing minority cultures and their possible impact on disadvantage. Problem s have also been created by the adoption of the generic term 'b lack' that, for a long time, d om inated theory and research. Even the term 'A sian' was frowned up on for its potential to detract from w h at was seen as a c o m m o n black cause and was thus labelled racist. Currently, anyon e who insists on the necessity of disaggregating the category 'A s ian ' in the interests of know led g e and accuracy is accused of Is lam ophobia. These issues are discussed in som e depth elsewhere (Allen and Macey, 1995; M acey 1999a, 1999b). W hilst my accou nt will also be partial, its aim is to highlight a n u m b e r of issues that are co m m o n ly ignored. To this end, w h erever possible I use empirical research focused particularly on Asian w o m en in Bradford (M acey 1999a, 1999b), material from local sources and data from Asian academ ics. Indiv iduals, groups and institutions are all affected by Muslim youth crime: white young people are harassed on foot or in cars and suffer increasing levels of physical assaults; stones thrown through bus w ind ow s have resulted in services being w ithd raw n. A frican-Caribbean youth clubs are regularly vandalised, their m e m b ers are taunted with shouts of 'slaves' and they are subjected to serious physical assault that has inclu ded murder. They view these actions as designed to drive them out of the city - a view confirm ed by the perpetrators. Hindu and Sikh elderly day centres have been attacked and vandalised and these groups, too, view Muslim violence as aimed at drivin g them out of Bradford. The university's stud ent re cruitm ent has been adversely affected by media coverage of 'rioting' and recent events resulted in the w ithd raw al of a group of Indian (Hindu) stu dents due to concern for their personal safety. More generally, white stu dents report increasing levels of hara ssm ent and physical assault. All this has a negative impact on a city that is already am ong the m ost depriv ed in Britain. The university, for exam p le, is one of the b iggest em ploy ers in the city, in addition to which a great deal of local busin ess is d ep en d e n t on it. A n oth e r aspect of the cu rrent situation that has potentially serio us lo n g ­ term conseq uences is the city's loss of its most talented young people. W hite and Indian youths have spoken to me of their plans to leave Bradford as soon as possible and several white youngsters have said that they do not ad m it to 'o utsiders' that they live in Bradford. A recent survey of sixth-form stu dents in the city found that only one-third of them th ought that the city would have improved in five years' time; one-third also thought that racialised relations would have fu rther deteriorated (W ainwright 2001). B iradaris are patrilineal kinship groupings. In M irpu r these are linked to status in a w ay that ow es more to Hindu than Muslim ideology. In Britain, social

In t e r p r e t i n g Is la m : y o u n g M u s l i m m e n ’s i n v o l v e m e n t in c r im in a l a c t iv it y in B r a d f o r d

5 6

7

8

9

10 11 12

exchanges, organised by and through female m em b ers of the family, are crucial to the m aintenance and extension of biradaris (Shaw 1994). This section rests heavily on the Bradford C o m m issio n report (Allen and Barrett 1996). See also Ratcliffe (1996) and Sam ad (1992). 1) 'W h ite ' is, not, of course, an ethnic group, despite its use as such in most official statistics; 2) the white populatio n in Bradford inclu des sizeable populatio ns of people of, for exam p le, Polish and Lithuanian origin; and 3) the populatio n of Bradford also includes people defined as Black African, Black Other, Ch inese, O ther-A sian and Other-Other. I have not included these groups in the table b ecause I do not refer to them in this chapter. These statistics are likely to underestim ate the Pakistani population, both currently and in terms of predicted nu m bers. O ne of the reasons for this is the g o v ern m e n t's w aiving in 1997 of the 'p rim ary p u rpose rule'. T his has resulted in a significant increase in the n u m b e r of intercontinental m arriages and around 700 m arriages a year involve partners from Bradford and Pakistan (C BM C 1996b). Less publicly, local politics have long been m anipulated as male family m em b ers tell non -E nglish-speaking w o m e n how to vote. This has been exacerbated by the extension of postal voting and one of m y Pakistani w o m en students innocently related how she w as prevented from voting 'G reen' at the general election by her uncle's collection of all the fa m ily's votin g cards to support the Conservatives. To categorise such exam ples of hara ssm ent as a 'm in o r n u isa n ce ' is, o f course, to ignore the distress caused to victim s, as well as the im pact on their behavio ur. I know of cases where telephone abuse has resulted in parents subsequently restricting d aug hters' freedom. In the case of ha rassm ent in public places, a large n u m b e r of w o m e n stu dents change their routes to avoid k now n gathering places of you ng Muslim men. This section rests heavily on the Bradford C o m m issio n report (Allen and Barrett 1996). More detailed accounts of the 1995 public d isorders can be found in Taj (1996) and F ou nd ation 2000 (1995). Such stereotypes have, of course, been reinforced by the recent terrorist attack on the USA. The situation is not help ed by those M u slim s w h o have stated on television that they are not British M u slim s, b ut M u slim s in Britain and that their loyalty is, therefore, to M u slim s in other parts of the world.

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In t e r p r e t i n g Is la m : y o u n g M u s l i m m e n ’s i n v o l v e m e n t in c r im in a l a c t iv it y in B r a d f o r d

Taj, M. (1996) A 'Can Do' C ity: S u pplem en tary O bservation s, C om m en ts and R ecom m en dation s to the B radford C om m ission R eport. Bradford: Taj. Virdee, S. (1995) R acial V iolence an d H arassm en t. London: Policy Stu dies Institute. W ainw right, M. (2001) Youth survey offers hope to battered city. G uardian 11 July. West Yorkshire Police (2001) C h ief Constable's A n n u al R eport 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 . Wakefield: West Yorkshire Police Authority. W om en Against F un dam entalism (1998) Free Z oora Shah! Lond on: WAF.

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Chapter 3

M uslim w o m e n ’s safety talk and their experiences o f victimisation: a study exploring specificity and difference Basia Spalek

In t r o d u c t io n

Within the discipline of criminology, a large amount of research has been conducted into both the fear of crime and victimisation. Nonetheless, much of the work here has failed to capture the particularities of individual experience. Surveys have often been carried out in which individuals have been grouped according to very general categories such as gender, class or race and yet there may be important differences betw een the persons who have been grouped together within a general category. This is particularly significant when looking at the issue of race, since the categories used to define individuals are in many cases so general that they obscure significant religious and cultural differences. So, for example, the category 'A sian' glosses over the differences in experiences between individuals practising different faiths. Indeed, the issue of religion has rarely, if ever, been raised by criminologists, due in part to the privileging of scientific and so-called objective discourses over less rational, less easily quantifiable knowledge claims. This chapter presents the results of a study that explored the fear of crime and experiences of crime of a group of Muslim w om en of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian origin living in Birmingham who wear the Hijab. It is argued here that greater specificity is needed in criminological work in order more fully to document individual experience. The results reported in this chapter illustrate that, for the wom en who took part in this research study, the Muslim religion they practise is intimately bound to their

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experien ces of crim e and their m a n a g e m e n t of anxiety around crime. The main th em es raised here include an analysis of veiling and its relationship with the w o m e n 's safety talk, the im pact of veiling upon m e n 's b ehav io ur in public space in terms of h a rassm e n t and intim idation, and w o m e n 's e xperiences of religious and racial h a rassm e n t and abuse.

F e a r o f c r i m e re s e a r c h

As a result of its m o dern roots, crim inological d iscourse has traditionally im posed specific p a ram eters on how w e are to understand crim e and victimisation. The issue of religion has often b een ignored because p eop le's beliefs do not easily fit into a fra m ew o rk that seeks to be so-called 'objective' and 'ratio nal'. Taking a look first at the issue of fear of crim e, this is a particular d iscourse that em erged in crim inology during the 1960s in A m erica and 1980s in E ngland. Since that time, ov er two hundred articles, conference papers, m o n o g ra p h s and book s (Hale 1992: 1) have b een written on this topic, illustrating how fear of crime has b eco m e a problem in its ow n right, over and above the study of crime. Research into fear of crim e first appeared in public opinion polls in A m erica, which asked citizens to pick out the social p ro blem s they paid m o st attention to. For exa m p le , a Gallo p poll in 1963 revealed that out of a list of 39 p roblem s, juvenile d elinquency w as the second m o st p o pular choice (P resid ent's C o m m issio n on Law E n fo rcem en t and A d m inistration of Ju stice 1967: 50). Fear entered the crim inological d om ain in 1967, w h en the President's C o m m is sio n on Law E n forcem en t carried out a crim e survey asking people a bout a range of crim e issues, including fear of crime. According to this com m ission, fear of crim e w as a fear of stranger attack: 'T he fear of crim es of violence is not a sim ple fear of injury or death or even of all crim es of violence, but at botto m , a fear of strangers' (ibid.: 50). T he c o m m is s io n 's survey first appeared at a time of civil unrest a m o n g st black citizens in A m erica, w h en m ass riots occurred. The Watts riot in Los A ngeles in 1965 killed 34 people, injured 1,032 and property was destroyed to the sum of approxim ately $40 million (ibid.: 32). T he stranger w h o was feared was the black rioter protesting against racial injustice, w h o attacked 'policem en , w hite passers-by, and w h ite-o w ned com m ercial establishm ents' (ibid.). Fear of stranger attack ca m e to be ad opted by m an y other crim inologists, so that this b ec am e the m ain paradigm th rough w hich fear of crim e w as view ed. T he question m o st com m on ly used in surveys to try to quantify fear levels is: 'Is there any w here around here - that is within a mile - w h ere you would be afraid to w alk at night?' (Eve 1 9 8 5 :4 0 4 ).'

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Fem inist w ork has m ad e a significant contributio n to fear of crime research. Fem inist studies illustrate that, w h en exam ining w o m e n 's fear of crime, it is im portant to transcend the p u b lic / p r iv a te distinction (Walklate 2001). In particular, radical fem inist research reveals that un derpinning w o m e n 's anxiety about crim e is a fear of m en, since w o m e n often have to live around daily h arassm ents and threats to personal security from male intimates, acq uaintances and strangers (Stanko 1985). The root of fear of crime is the fear of sexual danger. W om en routinely learn to negotiate their lives around harassm e n t, incest, violence and rape. T hese experiences cannot be separated according to a public and private distinction. Femin ist analyses have therefore broad en ed the lens through w hich fear of crime has been view ed within crim inology in order to inclu de private as well as public violence and intimidation. Clearly, then, an im portant aspect of fem inist w ork has b een to highlight the extent of male violence against w o m e n and to show that un derpinning w o m e n 's fear of crim e is a fear of sexual violence and harassm ent. How ever, it m ight be argued that feminist analyses have insufficiently taken into a ccou nt the notio n of difference. Although black feminists have argued for increased a w areness of religious and cu ltural differences (M a m a 1990), the pred om inant focus of w estern feminism has been upon w hite w o m e n (M aynard 1994). Even where research has inclu ded w o m en of colour, this has largely b een done to h ighlight the shared experien ces of w o m e n in general - that of m ale violence and its potential. A lthough implicit in fem inist accounts may be an a ck n o w le d g e m e n t of there being differences betw ee n w o m e n , there is little discussion of w h a t difference m eans and o f how this m a y be incorporated into em pirical research (ibid.). It seem s that studies with female researchers and w o m e n as the researched group have largely omitted differences a m o n g st w o m e n (B havani 1994). Walklate (2001) argues that a p o stm od ern fem inist position on w o m e n 's fear of crim e avoid s m a k ing any claim s or statem ents on w o m e n in general. Rather, the specificity and diversity of experiences is recorded, w hilst ack n ow le d g in g that there m ay be certain sim ilarities betw een different groups of w o m en. For e xam p le, it m ight be argued that the fear of rape or sexual assault u n derpins m o st w o m e n 's anxiety to w ards crime (ibid.). D ifferences m ay stem from race, ethnicity, class, age, sexuality and so forth (M aynard 1994). Targeting one particular aspect of difference is problem atic since the m a n y dim ensions to difference ov erlap. For exam ple, discrim ination based on race m ay intersect with discrim ination based on religion, sexuality and so on (Franks 2000). Indeed, a recent study on religious discrim ination by Weller et al (2001: 12) found that interview ees w h o were m e m b er s of m inority ethnic groups often felt that

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in practice religious and racial discrim ination w ere not separable. N one the less, individuals w h ose appe ara n ce w as an expression of their faith (as in the case of M uslim w o m e n and Sikh m en) w ere able to establish clear differences b etw een racial and religious discrim ination. Taking a look at the present research study, the race, age, gender, class, etc., of the w o m e n w h o were interview ed, as well as the religion they practise, are all im portant factors u n derpinning the w o m e n 's experiences. The research study reported here essentially focused up on three m ain 'structures' im pacting upon the w o m e n 's experiences: race, religion and gender. It is im portant to stress that m o st of the w o m e n w h o were interview ed w ere of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin. This is b ecau se the main M uslim group in Britain consists of people from Pakistan and B anglad esh (Joly 1995). This m eans that instances of racial, as well as religious, hara ssm e n t and abuse w ere d ocu m en ted by the researcher. Ten M uslim w o m e n living in the B irm ing h am area w h o w e a r the Hijab were interview ed at length and questions w ere asked about their personal safety, their view s on crime, and any experiences of victimisation. The w o m e n w ere aged b etw een 19 and 30. T he interview s took place b etw een M ay 2001 and D ece m b e r 2001. Importantly, on 11 S e p te m be r a series of terrorist attacks w ere com m itted in the U S A , w h ich w ere linked to an Islam ic terrorist organisation, alQ aid a. These attacks had serio us repercussions upon M uslim c o m ­ m unities in the western world in that m any individuals were attacked (som e w ere killed) or subjected to abuse, and m o sq u es also b ecam e the targets of hate crime. The interview data as presented here, therefore, include experiences of h a ras s m e n t and violence in the afterm ath of the attacks in A m erica. The data reveal that the M uslim faith not only inform ed individ uals' perceptions of crime, risk from crim e and victimisation, but it w a s also a fu nd am ental aspect of this group of w o m e n 's experiences of crim e and victimisation.

R esearch m e th o d s

A qualitative research approach w a s taken through the use of in-depth interview s. In-depth interview s allow a subject to express him or herself m o re fully, with answ ers not being as d ep en d e n t up on categories constructed as part of the creation of a questio nnaire (M ayk ut and M o re h ou se 1994). There are several aspects to the research study reported in this chapter that m ight be defined as feminist. First, the focus of the research w as that of w o m e n and, as the study w as exam in in g fear of crime and victim isation, how w o m e n 's lives are constrained by the actions of m e n (Kelly et al 1994). At the sam e time, how ever, an im portant aspect of

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the research study reported here w a s that of a fo cus up on w o m e n 's agency. In other words, how did the w o m e n w ho w ere interview ed m a n ag e their lives around violence (or the threat of violence) from men? This focus upon how w o m e n resist and challenge m asculinity and male dom in an ce has been highlighted by other researchers as an im portant e lem ent of fe m inist research (B havani 1994; Kelly et al 1994). T he issue of difference w as also tackled in this research study as a response to the criticism targeted at fem inist research that it has failed to address difference sufficiently, fo cusing research alm ost exclusively on white w o m e n . The study reported here tried to d o cu m en t the victimisation e xperien ces and the fear of crim e of a group of M uslim w o m e n of Pakistani and B angladeshi origin in order to introduce greater diversity and specificity into these tw o im portant areas within criminology. T h ro u g h looking at the specific experiences of a group of M u slim w o m e n , as op posed to the experien ces of Asian w o m e n in general, it w as found that particular aspects of their victimisation and fear of crim e were explored w h ich w ould otherw ise not have been. F em inist researchers call for the researcher to a ck n ow le d g e that he or she m ay b e in a position of p o w e r over the researched as participants m ay be asked to reveal s e n s itiv e /in tim a te information (Renzetti and Lee 1993). The researcher herself w as a 'w h ite', 'n o n -M u s lim ' w o m an . 'B eing w h ite' w as problem atic since it m ig ht be argued that this placed the researcher in a position of p o w er and privilege over the interview ees as a result of being in a social system w hich n orm alises racial inequality (Brown 1999). Being w hite is 'constituted in opposition to its subordinated other, the not-w hite, the not-privileg ed' (Lewis and R am a za n o g lu 1999: 23). As a result, the researcher considered it to be im portant n ot to reproduce d om inant (m is)representations of M uslim w o m e n and to present the stories of the w o m e n w ho took part in the study as accurately as possible. The in-depth interview s that w ere cond u cted took the form at of a tw o-w ay conversation in w hich the interview er w ould reveal inform ation about herself. This was done in order to try to re duce the p o w e r differential through self-disclo sure, which involves being open to any questions the interview ee m ay ask (Renzetti and Lee, 1993). As will be highlighted later on in this chapter, d o m in an t m edia and social re presentations of M uslim w o m e n w h o w e ar the Hijab have tended to consist o f the view that M uslim w o m e n are repressed and controlled by M uslim m en. The findings of this research study illustrate that M uslim w o m e n w h o veil m ay actively choo se to do so, and that veiling m ay be a liberating experience for them as this can free them from the m ale (sexual) gaze. The researcher also cast a critical gaze over the issue of 'b eing w h ite' in terms of any differences b etw een her ow n experien ces and those of the

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interviewees. It m ight be argued that 'w h iten e ss' can provide protection from racial h ara ssm e n t and discrim ination, since w h iteness brings the privilege of inclusion (Lewis and R a m a za n o g lu 1999). As one you ng Sikh m an is reported to have said, 'You can't appreciate racism unless y ou 've experienced it' (Weller et al 2001: 20). Since the researcher had not directly experienced racial discrim ination, it m a y be the case that som e of the interview ees did not disclose the full extent of their discrim ination, particularly w h e n the researcher held a privileged racial identity. Similarly, the full extent of h ara s s m e n t and abuse as a result of being M uslim m a y not have been disclosed to the n on -M u slim researcher. N one the less, the researcher felt an intim ate connection with the interview ees with respect to the issue o f m en. It seem s that actual and potential violence and hara ssm e n t from m en fram es m o st w o m e n 's lives and so these experiences can transgress race and religious identities.2 A t the sam e time, how ever, it is im portant to ack n ow le d g e the racial and religious differences betw een the researcher and the researched, and to be aware that the writing in this chapter is fram ed by w estern acad em ic standards and conventions. Fitting M uslim experiences into w estern fram ew ork s of un d erstand ing is in itself problem atic (Said 1981), and the research presented here can be criticised on this basis. A further point to m ak e is the difficulty experienced by the n on -M u slim researcher in un derstand ing theological interpretations of aspects of Islam. The researcher relied heavily on the M uslim w o m e n 's ow n interpretations of Islam, b u t also incorporated religious and cu ltural te x tb o o k s /re s e a rc h papers on Muslim experien ces in order to help fram e the research findings. Frequently, M uslim w o m e n and organisations were consulted regarding the natu re of the various arg u m ents d eveloped in this study.

Is l a m , veilin g a n d self-id entity

A plethora of studies h ave e xam ined the role that veiling plays in the lives of M uslim w o m e n (Watson 1994; M o h a m m a d 1999; Franks 2000; Ghazal Read and Bartow ski, 2000). These studies highlight the com plexity of m eaning s conveyed by the Hijab, w hich suggests that different w o m en have different interpretations regarding w h at veiling m eans to them. For the w o m e n taking part in the research study reported in this chapter, there are m any d im en sion s to the issue of veiling. O ne aspect of veiling is that the Hijab itself is sym bolic of Islam, and therefore represents an im portant facet of the w o m a n 's self-identity. As an exam p le of this, the following quotatio n from an interview can be used here: 'It's like w e s h o u ld n 't have to say w e are M u slim , people should know autom atically that you are

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M u slim . That's also w h y they say you should w ear a scarf and veil so that people can differentiate you from other religions and other identities.' The interview ees also spoke about a 'hierarchy of identities' in w hich the M uslim identity occu pies the d o m in a n t position, followed by the cultural b ackgrou nd of the w o m an. This is becau se Islam is seen as uniting different cultures. Thu s, one w o m a n argued that 'T here is a hierarchy of identity with M uslim being at the top, but you present that in the w ay you look'. A n other w o m a n clearly stated that she would not classify herself as being British A sian, such was her connection to Islam: I think that I would ju st classify m y self as a M uslim b ecau se in Islam w e are n ot supp osed to have a nationality. We're not supp osed to be nationalist. T hat is haram for us, w e're not allow ed to do that. United through Islam, d o e sn 't m atter w h at colour you are, w h at country you co m e from. So I w o u ld n 't classify m y self as British Asian. The a b ove interview extracts sug g est that for these w o m e n the category 'A sia n ' is far too general and does not include the identity they connect m o st strongly to. Lazreg (1988) argues that difference has, in general, been extrem ely pro blem atic for w estern social science from its very inception. G eneral categories have often been created w hich have obscured specific identities and therefore experiences. In both national and local crime surveys, religion has rarely featured as a w ay of grouping individuals together; rather, ethnic identity ha s been the p re d o m in an t method of classification. For e xam p le, the British C rim e Survey, w h ich docu m en ts the extent of victim isation and (a m ongst other things) the level of fear of crim e a m o n g st individuals, classifies people as belong ing to Indian, Pakistani or B angladeshi ethnic identities. In this way, the issue of religion is largely bypassed. As a result, the issue of religious discrim ination and h ara ssm e n t is n ot directly raised (only indirectly within a general d iscussion a bout racial harassm ent) and the findings of the British Crim e Survey are relayed p red om inantly in terms of a general 'A sian experience'. For e xam p le, in terms of anxiety related to crime, 41 per cent of Asian and 37 per cent of Black respond ents w ere found to be very w orried about their h o m e being b urgled, com pared to 18 per cent of white respondents, in the British C rim e Survey 2000 (K ershaw et al 2001: 48). Sim ilarly it has b ee n found that, in general, Asians are m o re likely to feel unsafe b oth out alone and in their h om es after dark (Fitzgerald and Hale 1996: 3). Through using such a general category as 'A sian', the research m ay be reprodu cing the assum p tio n that 'w h ite' experiences constitute the norm w hereas the individuals w h o lie outside the 'w h ite' category constitu te the 'O th e r'. As Brah (1996: 24, in M o h a m m a d 1999: 2 2 1 -2 ) has

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noted, in Britain Asians have been regarded as being 'o utsiders', as 'u nd esirable ' w h o practise 'strange religions'. T he use of the general category 'A s ia n ' in research m ay therefore serve to reproduce prejudices and d om in an t assum p tions. At the sam e time, this classification groups together people w h o m a y h av e very little in c o m m o n in terms of religion; thereby it has the effect of obscuring specific experiences. The findings of the study reported here sug gest that if the w o m e n had been defined purely as 'A sian', a core e lem en t of their lives w ould have been m issed out from any analysis of their fear of crim e or victimisation. As Islam is part of the every d ay life of these w o m e n , it plays a significant role in the w ay s in w hich they negotiate their personal safety, as will now be discussed in greater detail.

Veiling, th e n e g o t i a t io n o f differen ce a n d th e m a n a g e m e n t o f m a l e h e t e r o s e x u a li t y

M uslim w o m e n in Britain have often been seen as oppressed w o m e n who are u n d er the control of m en (Franks 2000). Ind eed , som e M uslim clergy and Islam ic elites currently prescribe veiling as a custom in which 'g o od ' M uslim w o m e n should e ng ag e as they are held responsible for their fam ilies' h o n o u r (Ghazal Read and Bartow ski 2000). In som e com m u n ities w o m e n are directly policed by m en. Pressure m ay b e placed upon w o m e n for them to stay at h om e, searches m ay be organised to find you ng w o m e n w h o have ru n aw ay from hom e and Islam m ay be cited as a justification for subjecting w o m e n to abuse and violence (M acey 1999). N onetheless, the w o m e n taking part in this stud y had all chosen to ad opt the Hijab by them selves. They are therefore an exa m p le of an increasing n u m b e r of y ou ng M u slim people in Britain w h o resort directly to the Q u r 'a n and hadiths as a resource in Islam rather than accepting the traditional view s passed d ow n to them from their parents (Joly 1995). The interview data elicited two im portant, related, d im en sion s to the issue of veiling in relation to the negotiation of safety. First, the Hijab was regarded by the w o m e n as being liberating since it freed them from the male (sexual) gaze and indeed in som e cases it led to a reduction in the level of h a rassm e n t from men. This illustrates that the threat of male violence is part of the eve ry d ay lives of these w o m e n as it is a part of m ost, if not all, w o m e n (see Stanko 1997). At the sa m e time, implicit within the w o m e n 's accounts of veiling were ideas a b ou t how a G oo d W om an should behave so as to reduce risk of being the victim of m ale violence. E m b ed d ed within these w o m e n 's safety talk were social ju d g em en ts about how w o m e n should behav e, since w o m e n are ultim ately held responsible for m e n 's

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behaviour. Links can be m ad e here w ith the religious beliefs of the w o m e n w h o took part in this study, since m an y of the w o m e n view ed veiling as a w ay of m a nag ing male sexuality. It seem s that the w o m e n 's safety talk was intim ately connected to the Islamic faith they follow. Turning to the issue of veiling being a liberating experience, m an y of the w o m e n interview ed argued that the Hijab frees them from the male gaze, thereby m aking them feel m ore confid ent. For exam p le 'I feel more confid ent w alking around b ecau se the w h ole point of the scarf is that people d o n 't look at your body, they look at your m ind , that is the whole conc ep t behind the Hijab, they d o n 't have to look at you.' W hilst a significant proportio n of w o m e n argued that w earing the Hijab m ak es them stand out in public places b ecau se they look different, this w as considered to be preferable to experien cing a male (sexual) gaze. M a n y of the interview ees agreed that, w hilst the Hijab m ight m ake them look different, this w as preferable to them being harassed and feeling intim idated by men: If you take that aw ay from the equatio n, the w o m a n 's body, that's one less thing for m en. If they do look at you they are not looking at y ou in the bad sense, they're looking at you b ecau se of w h at y ou are w earing as in a scarf or a veil or whatever. So does that m ake you feel safer in public spaces? Yes. U n d erp inning the w o m e n 's a ccounts of veiling w as a particular view po int tow ards m en. M en are ultimately to be feared b ecau se of the physical and sexual threat they pose. This finding further substantiates fem inists' claim s that a fear of violence and rape p ervad es the lives of m ost (if not all) w o m e n , regardless of age, class or race (G ardner 1995; Stanko 1997). O ne interview ee argued 'I think I'm d ressing like this b ecau se I d o n 't trust m en but I also feel confid ent and com fortable in m y clothes. . . . I think that m o st m en, all m en are like potential rapists. You ca n 't trust any m an, I w o u ld n 't trust them .' W hilst another stated: M o st w o m e n , I m ean if I w as w alk ing d ow n a dark alley and I saw a m an I w ould instantly feel scared, I'd fear for my life. M o st w o m en feel like that and I feel like that. It's alw ays in the back of you r mind. E ven in the daytim e not n ecessarily in the dark so I do have that fear all of the time even tho ugh I have never had a bad experience. It's probably all the stories that you hear. A n other interview ee related w earing the Hijab to protecting herself from m en:

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It's religious in the sense that w o m e n are supp osed to hide th e m ­ selves, it's not right if a w o m a n goes out into the streets w earing tight-fitting clothes. So it is religion-orientated, you should protect y ou rself by w earing these loose-fitting clothes . . . . It's like eh you know w h at m en are like so you have to cover yourself. A few of the w o m e n interview ed believed that by veiling they perhaps reduced their risk of being the victims o f h ara s s m e n t or physical and sexual assault. O ne interview ee said: 'I think that if I said that clothes had a great im p a ct on rape and stuff I would be incorrect b u t I do actually b elieve that the w a y you dress that has a m ain influence on w h eth er y ou 're attacked or not.' And another argued: I think that I feel quite safe as in confidence wise, but you also feel insecurity as norm al people w ould w alking alone. It gives m e a sense of that m ay b e they w o n 't attack you b ecause I am covered. B ecause you are less exposed? Yes. T he above quotations raise tw o im p ortan t issues. O n e is the extent to which these w o m e n m ay h ave internalised co m m u n ity and societal values regarding w h at the Good W om an (Stanko 1997) should do to avoid physical and sexual violence. Bartky (1998: 30) argues that w o m e n 's m o v e m e n ts are m ore restrictive than men's: Fem in ine faces, as well as bodies, are trained to the expressio n of deference. U n d e r m ale scrutiny w o m e n will avert their eyes or cast them d o w n w a rd ; the fe male gaze is trained to ab an d o n its claim to the sovereign status of seer. The 'nice' girl learns to avoid the bold and unfettered staring of the 'l oo se ' w o m a n w h o looks at w h atev er and w h o m e v e r she pleases. It m ight be argued that u n d er the d o m in a n t system o f male heterosexuality, w o m e n stand before the m ale panoptical gaze (ibid.). Certain expectations are therefore placed on w o m e n in terms of how they look and how they b ehav e, w hich in turn translate into w o m e n 's ow n self­ policing. Stanko (1997: 486) argues that in terms of avoid ing h arassm e n t and violence from m en, the G oo d W om an (w hich implies a law-abid ing, middle-class w o m a n ) is expected not to 'w alk d ow n d im ly lit alleyw ays . . . . carry her h and b ag close, hitchhike'. W om en w ho do not conform to these b ehav io urs m ay be ju d ged as un deserving of societal protection and therefore un deserving victims (ibid.). T h u s, the G ood W om an will dress

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sensibly and be risk averse. Linked to this them e is the notion that e m b e d d ed within w o m e n 's safety talk is b lam e from both the self and the w id er c o m m u n ity if a w o m a n should fall victim and be found to be b ehav ing in a particular w a y not consistent with that of the G oo d W om an (ibid.). The idea often expressed by the w o m e n w h o took part in the current research study, that w earing the Hijab m a y reduce their risk of victimisation, m ay reflect expectations from their local c o m m u n ities a bout how w o m e n should dress and b ehav e in order to avoid h ara s s m e n t and violence from m en. M a n y M u slim s believe that the Q u r 'a n is the actual Word of God that w as recorded by M u h a m m a d d uring the early part of the seventh century (Watson 1994). In the Q u r 'a n w o m e n are told: and tell the believing w o m e n to low er their gaze and guard their modesty, and not to display their ad orn m en t, except that which ordinarily appears thereof; and to draw their veils ov er their necks and b osom , and not to reveal their ad ornm ents except to their own hu sb and s, fathers . . . . (24: 31) (Yacub 1994: 32). W om en are also re m inded that m en have aggressive natu res and so the Hijab is also seen as a form of protection against molestation: 'O Prophet, tell y ou r w ives and d aughters and the believing w o m e n , that they should cast their outer garm ents over their persons (when out of doors): T hat is m o st convenient, that they should be k n o w n (as such) and not m o lested ' (33: 59) (ibid.). Veiling is seen to be a safeguard for w o m e n against m e n 's sexual desires. S o m e interview ees also spoke about their schooling in Islam, w hich involved discussions a bout m en and male sexuality: If you present you rself in a w ay that is not very m o d e s t then in a way y ou 're m ak ing them cause sin of looking at you with bad intentions so if you protect y ou rself you protect them from sinning. Is this w h a t y ou 're taught as y ou 're gro w ing up? Yes. So w h e n the te achers talk a bout the head scarf they also talk about w h at m en are like? Yes. For the w o m e n taking part in the study, the representation of male and female sexuality in the Q u r 'a n and the responsibility placed up on w o m e n

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to m a nag e m e n 's sexual beh a v io u r m ean their safety talk cannot be separated out from their religious beliefs since the two are intim ately connected. At the sa m e time, how ever, it appears that the act of veiling can act as a threat against w estern male heterosexuality, since the Hijab m a y reduce the potential for m e n to sexualise w o m e n . For so m e of the interview ees, w earing the Hijab has actu ally m e an t a reduction in the level of h a rassm e n t experienced at the h a n d s of m en, so that in this sense the Hijab has acted as a protective cocoon. O ne interview ee decided to w e a r the Hijab at the age of 23, and im m ediately she noticed a difference in the w ay s in w hich m en treated her: I think that the m ain a rg u m e n t is, in a way, you 're supp osed to be covering the m ost attractive part of the body w h ich in the Q u r'a n , our holy book, it says w hich is the hair, w e ar m o dest clothing you know d o n 't reveal yourself, not exposing y ou rself too m uch. So I can actu ally see w h y because I'm not saying you know, every one should cov er their hair it's entirely up to the individual b ut I see the differences myself. I am actually causing less attraction to people covering my hair. It's quite am a zing , really, the difference. I used to get approached quite a lot before, hassled on the street by men laughing, not laughing b ut pointing and shou ting n am e s and all that sort of stuff. But since I'v e w orn the veil I'v e n ot had any problem s. Really? N one at all, absolutely non e, it's been two years. I m ean even in the street w h en I used to w alk d ow n I used to get Asian m e n w histling or pointing fingers or w h a tev er it w as and I h a v en 't had that since two years . . . . Yes definitely, M uslim m en because they ob viou sly know why, they're looking at it from a religious point of view, yeah she m u st be covering for this religious reason and b ecau se they follow the sam e religion, m ay b e not as practising as I am but deep inside they know yes s he's doing it for that reason so w e'd better n ot hassle her. W h a t a b ou t w h ite men? I've never really had a problem with white m en, I used to with work men. It's quite co m m o n for them to hassle anyone but since I've w o rn a he a d sca rf I h a v e n 't had a problem with them either. It appears therefore that in som e situations veiling m ay act as quite an effective deterrence to intim idation from men. This clearly illustrates two im portant aspects of veiling: veiling as a form of liberation w h ich can prevent men from harassing w o m e n and w h ich can reduce the capacity

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for the m ale (sexual) gaze; and veiling as incorporating social and theological expectations of how the Good W om an should b ehav e in order to m a n ag e male sexuality, thereby im plying that w o m e n are responsible for m e n 's behaviour. It seem s that the w o m e n taking part in this study have incorporated both notio ns into their accounts of veiling in relation to safety and protection. O f course, the w o m e n chose to w ear the Hijab for religious reasons, but it seem s that implicit within religious accounts of veiling are notions about m ale heterosexuality and its m anag em ent. In addition to exam in in g the role of veiling in the w o m e n 's safety m a n a g e m e n t, the issue of w h eth er or not the w o m e n believed that God protected them w as raised. The responses provided here sug g est that, w hilst the w o m e n m ig ht pray to God to ask for protection, they n o n e th e ­ less a ck n ow le d g e that crim e and violence m ay hap p en to them: I d o n 't think religion really protects you in a way. I m ean w h en we pray w e do ask God to protect us. But in terms o f crim e to be com m itted against you I d o n 't think that you can be really protected. It m ight hap p en to you one day, you d o n 't know. It s eem s that m any of the w o m e n interview ed had also been the victims of a w id e variety of offences, in clu ding race attacks, religious abuse, car theft, burglary and dom estic violence. T he study reported in this chapter took a closer look at the process of victim isation for these w o m e n , where it w as found that the religion practised by them acted as a supp ort m echanism yet, at the sam e time, was a focus of abuse. It see m s that the acts of violence and intim idation com m itted against som e of the w o m e n w h o were interview ed conv eyed the m essage that British M u slim s are 'o utsiders' and 'u n w a n ted ', and seen as a threat by w hite territorialists and r a c ia l/ religious abusers, particularly in the afterm ath of the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 S e p te m b e r 2001.

H a t e c r i m e s a g a i n s t et h n ic m i n o r i t y an d r e lig io u s g r o u p s

Violence against ethnic m inority groups is a long-stand ing feature of British society (B ow ling 1998). S urveys have been cond u cted w hich indicate the extent of abuse and ha rassm e n t experienced. For exam ple, according to the N e w h a m C rim e Survey, one in fo ur of N e w h a m 's AfroC aribbean and Asian residents had been the victim s of som e form of racial h ara ssm e n t in the previous 12 m onths (ibid.: 155). A ccord ing to a study cond u cted in Plaistow, th ree-quarters o f all victim s w h o reported racial incidents to the police were Asian, one-fifth African or A fro-C aribb ean , 3

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per cent w ere w h ite and 1 per cent M ed iterranea n (ibid.: 183). These incid ents included verbal abuse, harassm ent, d a m a ge to property and serio us physical violence. It is also im portant to note the persistent nature of racial victim isation, since racial h a rassm e n t is likely to be a co m m o n , recurring feature of individuals b elonging to ethnic m inority groups. Racial crim es are also likely to be under-reported, due to the severe impact on victim s (Rai and H esse 1992). Unfortunately, b oth the national and local crime survey s tend largely to b y p ass the issue of h ara s s m e n t and violence being com m itted against individuals as a result of the religion they follow. This m eans that very little information is available regarding the extent and nature of violence com m itted against particular religious com m unities. S o m e of the abuse and ha rassm e n t experienced by M uslim w o m e n w h o veil has, how ever, b een d ocu m en ted . It seem s that veiling can s o m e tim e s arouse hostility from both the w o m e n 's ow n com m u n ities and also w id er society (C onw ay 1997; Franks 2000). T he act of veiling ad ds to the 'visible difference' of M uslim w o m e n , w h ich can intensify the extent of unfair treatm ent and hara ssm e n t experienced (Weller et al 2001). T he w o m e n w h o took part in the study w ere asked w h eth er they had ever experienced racial or religious abuse. A significant proportio n indicated they had. For e xam p le, one w o m a n said: O nce this guy in a w h eelch a ir starts yelling at m e get out o f the way and go back to your ow n country. I was pretty shocked by that. Paki he used . . . . I w as pretty shocked , cos it w a s m y first experien ce and I was like gob sm ack e d and I d id n 't really a nsw er him back or anything like that and I just sort of stood there staring at him. W hilst nam e-calling and verbal abuse m ig ht at first be consid ered to be m erely a 'n u isa n ce ', if d one often e nou g h it can have a very severe im pact on the victim. Verbal hara ssm e n t and intim idation m a y challenge a victim 's sense of security and restrict her future m o v e m e n t (Garnets et al 1992). E xclusionary language such as 'g o h o m e ' or 'g o back to your ow n co u n try ' m a y u n d e rm in e the victim 's sen se o f belonging. The m essa g e to the individuals here is that they are un w e lco m e in the social space they occu py (Rai and H esse 1992). Since the terrorist attacks in the U SA on 11 Se p te m be r there have been m an y reports of attacks taking place against M uslim w o m e n . For exam ple, the C h airm an of the Islamic H u m a n Rights C o m m is sio n reported that an Islamic h u m a n rights ca m p a ig n e r has been attacked in her hom e on at least fo ur occasions since the terrorist atrocities in Am erica. She has had bricks, firecrackers and eggs throw n at her w ind ow s. Two M uslim w o m e n

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in C a m b rid g e have also been reported to have had their head scarves ripped off w hilst they w ere w alking along a street. In Sw in d on , a you ng w o m a n w h o w as w ea ring a Hijab w as attacked by two u n k n o w n males w h o re peatedly beat her around the head with a baseball bat. In Glasgow, a 20-year-o ld stud ent was called 'you M uslim bastard' by a w hite m an sitting behind her on a bus, w ho then w ent on to hit her head with a glass bottle (Sheriff 2001a). O ther w o m e n have been yelled at or had guns pointed at them (Islamic H u m a n Rights C o m m is sio n 2001). These sorts of experiences h av e resulted in heightened anxiety am o ngst s om e M uslim w o m e n and yo u n g M uslim girls. For e xam p le, in the G uardian (17 O ctob er 2001: 9) a M uslim father is quoted to have said that one of his d aughters is in fear since the attacks in A m erica: 'S he w ears the Hijab, she w as scared to go to school, she feared being attacked .' Increased anxiety is also evidenced in that safety tips h av e been recently issued to M uslim w o m e n in order to try to reduce the risks of being attacked. These tips include the following: alw ays be aw are of y ou r surrou ndings; travel in groups; chang e the route you n orm ally travel; look confid ent; note 'safe h ou ses' along your route; and tell others about you r w hereabouts (Siddiqui 2001). M uslim w o m e n have been inform ing their co m m u n ity leaders and the police a bout the ha rassm e n t they have b een experiencing. Despite statem ents m ad e by politicians, inclu ding the Prim e Minister, c o n d e m n in g negative stereotypes of British M u slim s, it seem s there has b een a w idespread backlash a g ainst M uslim com m unities. The w o m e n taking part in this study all indicated that in the im m ediate afterm ath of the attacks on 11 Se p te m be r they felt m ore v u ln erab le to hara ssm e n t and b eco m in g the victims of violence. This increased sense of vu ln erability often m e a n t that w o m e n chang ed their routines, avoiding places that previously they w o u ld have gone to. For e xam p le, one w o m a n said: During the first few days after the attack on A m erica my family was very cautious. M y m o ther b egan to pick m e up from w o rk as I work in the city centre and w h en I am g oing h o m e I pass by m any pu bs and clubs w h ere people go to spend their evenings. My m o th e r was also w ary that the people w h o m I w o rk with m igh t also b eco m e preju diced, b ut thankfully this has not happened . . . . T he event has definitely changed the w ay m y fam ily and I m o ve around. M y m o ther avoided going into central tow n to shop until she had no choice. This w o m an also turned to her faith to help her cope with her fam ily's increased sense of vuln erability: 'I h ave taken it in my stride and hope that

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God will protect me and my family.' A n other w o m a n said the following: 'A sensible person stays aw ay from places w h ere there is a potential to entice abuse.' Security around m o sq u es has also increased since the events of 11 S eptem ber: 'O u r m o sq u e c o m m ittee had to hire security p ersonnel to patrol the m o sq u e at night. A C C T V cam era is d ue to be installed to give 2 4-ho ur surveillance.' O ne pro m ising finding of this study is that, a few w eek s after the attacks in Am erica, so m e of the w o m e n indicated that their heightened feelings of insecurity had abated b ecau se they had not directly experienced any h ara s s m e n t or violence: Since the attacks on A fghanistan the situation has changed again. I d o n 't feel vu ln erab le an ym o re , it could be d ue to the fact that it is n ow over a m o nth since the attacks on A m erica and nothing has h appened to me or any on e I know. Plus it seem s as tho ug h A m erica has identified its e n e m y as A fg hanistan so attention is d raw n aw ay from M u slim s e v eryw here else. N onetheless, they re m ained w ary o f the im p a ct that future political d ev elop m en ts m ig h t have on their daily lives: 'A s the " w a r " progresses each day is uncertain. The ou tcom e of the previous day dictates our lives in the outside world. H ow safe w e feel, how com fortable we feel and the gro w ing concern of w h at will h a ppen if it all goes w rong.'

V i c t i m i s a t i o n an d th e issue o f relig io n : in p a rticu la r, Isla m

A large a m o u n t of research has been cond u cted into d ocu m en ting the process of victim isation (G ittleson et al 1978; M agu ire 1982; Jano ff-Bu lm an 1983; Jano ff-Bu lm an and Frieze 1983; Miller and Porter 1983; Shapland et al 1985; M ezey 1988; Lurigio and Resick 1990; Resick 1990; Stanko and Hobdell 1993; In d erm au r 1995). A rising at a time w h en the 'v ictim s' m o v e m e n t' w as em erging , victimisation studies reflect an increasing attention show n tow ards victims of crime. These studies illustrate how different types of crime, inclu ding rape, robbery, burglary and incest, have substantial p sychological, em otional, behav ioural, financial and physical effects. This inclu des im m ed iate effects, as well as those lingering over w eeks, m o nths and years (Stanko and H ob d ell 1993). For instance, a co nseq u ence of being burgled is that individuals experience a com plete loss of faith in people (M aguire 1982). Indiv id uals experien cing violent property crim e reported b eco m in g m ore suspicious of people in general (Ind erm au r 1995). W hile in Kelly's (1988: 202) study of w o m e n with

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e xperien ces o f rape, incest or dom estic violence, over 90 per cent felt that their attitu des to m en had b een affected by the assaults. C o m m o n e m otiona l experiences m ay also be shared by victim s, inclu ding shock, confusion, helplessness, anxiety, fear and depression (Gittleson et al 1978; D obash and D obash 1979; Katz and M a zu r 1979; Ja no ff-B u lm an and Frieze 1983; Shapland et al 1985; Brown et al 1990; Ehrlich 1992; Stanko and Hobdell 1993; In d erm aur 1995). For instance, male victim s of assault displayed s hock, fear, anger a n d / o r d isbelief during the event (Stanko and Hobdell, 1993), while in In d e r m a u r 's (1995) study of victims of violent property crim e the individuals experienced feelings of shock, surprise, fear or horror w h en initially confronted by the offender. In m a n y cases of victim isation, individuals report a chang e in their behaviour. The changes can involve avoiding a specific location perceived as being potentially harm ful, or can be c om posed of a m ore p ervasive, general lifestyle change. Despite the proliferation of studies about the victim s of crim e and the accu m ulation of kn ow le d g e about the process of victim isation, it appears that the issue of religion and its relationship to victimisation has largely been om itted. For individuals w ho practise a particular faith, there m ay be aspects of the process of victimisation that have n ot b een d ocu m en ted by researchers and yet these m ay constitu te an im portant part of their experiences. For e xam p le, m ig h t b eco m in g a victim o f crim e cause a person to question his or her religion? O r in so m e cases, could it lead to a person reaffirming his or her beliefs? D oes follow ing Islam act as a s upp ort system to the individual in terms of providing that person with som e com fort from both his or her ow n p ra y e rs /m e d it a tio n or from the w id er religious co m m u n ity of w hich he or she is a part? A significant proportion of w o m e n w h o were interview ed had been the victims of a w id e variety of offences, inclu ding harassm ent, burglary and car theft. H ow ever, it appears that an experience of victim isation did not lead these w o m e n to question their beliefs. Rather, their religious beliefs supported them in their plight. For exa m p le , one interview ee had experienced burglary on m ore than one occasion, w hich had left her feeling 'v ery s h ak e n ' b ecau se h er 'safety net had been violated'. As well as buying a burglar alarm , her father w e n t to the local Imam to ask for special prayers o f protection: 'M y dad did get from the Im am som e p apers with prayers on it and you stick it in certain places of the house. We also got an alarm .' Rather than the burglaries causing her family to questio n their faith, the crim es actu ally b rou ght the fam ily closer to Islam: 'We prayed more and asked God to protect us more. Th a t's w h e n m y parents w e n t into religion m ore.' P rayin g w as also a strategy used by another w o m an: 'W h e n these people say things to me [harassm ent] I just pray to m yself and I d o n 't give back. I ju st ignore t h e m /

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And another interview ee argued: The w ay I look at religion, in life generally w h at our religion tells us there is good and bad. You can't have a perfect life. 1 ca n 't really expect to sail through life w ithout having any pro blem s or nothing to h a ppen to me, if it does 1 have to face it really and that's w h at religion tells us, there m ay be bad things there m ay not be. It d ep end s on the individual, how G o d 's given you you r life really so I'm not g oing to turn around if som ething does happen to me and b lam e it all on God you know w h y did you do this to m e? I think it's ju st a m atter of dealing with the issues day by day . . . . I m ean obviously w e all need protection, w e turn to Allah for protectio n b u t even if som e th in g bad does happen to me I ca n 't say God you d id n 't help me. The above q uotations clearly illustrate how the centrality of faith in these w o m e n 's lives m eans they are able to draw up on spiritual and practical resources to help them cope. Indeed, Islam m ay be help ing these w o m e n m o v e from 'v ictim ' status toward s 's u r v iv o r ' statu s through e m phasising the transitory natu re of a crim e or an injustice. Passages in the Q u r 'a n provide perspectives on the trials that h u m a n s can go through in life and the opportunities for learning and grow th such trials provide. In this respect, M uslim w o m e n m ay not necessarily require help from agencies such as Victim S u p p o rt (Sheriff 2001b). N onetheless, s u p p o rt from friends and family m ay not alw ays be fo rthcom ing. The w o m e n taking part in the study illustrated that in certain circum stances their local com m u n ities were supportive, yet in other cases they were less so. O n e w o m a n w ho had been the victim of burglary argued: 'But in our co m m u n ity w e probably rely on each other for support, go to family m e m b er s and stuff like that. We live close to m y d a d 's parents and m y m u m 's parents aren't that far away.' O ne interview ee w h ose fath er had assaulted her m o ther on a n u m b e r of occasions described how her uncles would not allow her m o ther to divorce her father through fear of bringing sham e to the family: M y father w as quite violent. As a child I saw all of that, abusive to m y mother. O nce he attacked her so bad that she w as so close to death. H e w as beating her up. M y m o ther w e n t to hospital and the docto r said that she was that close to dying. I think that he m issed a serious vein, using a knife. She had a n u m b e r of stitches, 3 0 . 1 w as about 6 at the time . . . . M y uncles w ere sayin g w e will n ot allow you to h ave a divorce. She w as at the p o int of getting a divorce but the uncles

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stepped in and said no. But my m o ther d id n 't w an t to take him back. M u m 's brothers d id n 't w a n t a divorce, cultural thing becau se in Islam you can div orce as a last resort. S h am e if you have a divorce, sh a m e on y ou r family. W ha t does sham e actually m ean ? Fam ily honour. They can't keep their heads high. Would m e m b ers of the co m m u n ity criticise y our m u m for divorcing? Yeah definitely, very n a rro w -m in d e d com munity. It's the w ife's fault. W h a te v e r he does, attacks h er with a knife no it's the w ife's fault. The ab ove quotatio n clearly illustrates how som e w o m e n m ay be ju dged by their families and com m u n ities in terms o f how closely they fit 'ideal victim ' status (Christie 1986). This is perhaps unsu rprisin g, since other research has s how n that m any victimised individuals m a y n ot be given victim status by their local com m u nities, state agencies and w id er society as a result o f their behavio ur, their race and gender, or as a result of the lifestyles they lead (Christie 1986; Elias 1990; M a w b y and Walklate 1994; Lees 1997). Indeed, H end erso n (1992: 105) argues that: 'V ictim ' suggests a non -pro vok ing individual hit with the violence of street crim e by a stranger. The im ag e created is that of an elderly person robbed of her life savings, an innocent b y sta n d e r injured or killed d uring a hold-up . . . . Victims are not prostitu tes beaten senseless by pim p s or clients, drug addicts m u g g ed and robbed of their fixes, gang m e m b ers killed during a feud, or offenders raped by cellmates. The research study outlined in this chapter illustrates that w o m e n w ho are abused by their hu sb and s m ay not necessarily be view ed as being the victim s of crime. A study by C h ou d ry (1996) on Pakistani w o m e n 's experiences of d om estic violence fu rther illustrates how w o m e n m ay experience great pressure to m ak e their m arriages a success. M a n y of the w o m en w ho took part in that study felt they were autom atically ju dged to be at fault should they choose to leave a m arriage. A chieving victim status for w o m e n in these sorts of situations m ay therefore be very difficult. It is likely that w o m e n here find su p p ort from relatively few family m e m b e r s / friends. With respect to the services provided to victims of crim e by voluntary and statutory services, these have been criticised on the basis of holding dam ag ing stereotypes o f M uslim w o m e n as being oppressed and vulnerable (Sheriff 2001b). Very few agencies, it seem s, have taken into accou nt religious diversity in their practices. Social services d ep artm ents,

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solicitors and the ju diciary have been accused of not offering religious sensitivity, w hich m ay have the effect of adding further traum a to victims. T he lack of fu nding o f ad eq uate resources also needs to be pointed out. For exam p le, the lack of funding of shelters for M uslim w o m e n m eans that w o m e n w h o experien ce dom estic violence are placed into secular refuges which are insensitive to their religious needs. A s a result, m a n y M uslim w o m e n decide to rem ain in abusive dom estic environm ents rather than going to these re fuges (ibid.). D ue to the cultural insensitivity displayed by m any statu tory agencies and m ainstream volu ntary services, the M uslim W om en's help line was established in 1990 in order to help M uslim w o m e n with pro blem s such as divorce, dom estic violence, arranged m arriages, sexual abuse and incest. Since its launch, the help line has provided a listening service, em otional supp ort and face-to-face counselling (including the provision of Islamic spiritual counsellin g) to thousands of M uslim w o m e n . The help line also receives referrals from mainstream organisations such as the police, W om en's Aid and Victim S u p p ort due to the quality of care it can provide. T he help line is run by volu nteers, althou gh it does have a paid c o ­ ordinator. So far, the help line has not m anag ed to secure local authority or national g ov e r n m e n t funding, partly b ecau se it is a M uslim service rather than a race-b ased agency. This m eans that the help line is run on the basis of m o n ey received either from fu nd-raising or from Muslim philanthropists. D uring the year 2000, contact w as m a d e with 3,000 w o m e n . So m e 20 per cent of all the calls m ad e to the help line were for general inform ation a bout issues such as abortion, b e re a v e m e n t and fe male circum cision, and also requests for help in finding a refu ge or hostel. M arital problem s consisted of 14.5 per cent of all calls, w hilst forced m arriages and ru naw ay girls accounted for alm ost 3.5 per cent of all calls m ad e (M uslim W om en's H elp line 2001). Clearly, the help line provides an in valuable service and, as such, should receive g o v ern m e n t funding. Tu rnin g directly to the issue of Victim S u p p ort schem es, these offer a range of services to help the victims of crime, from providing practical and em otional su p p ort to operating witness su p p ort schem es. A study which exam ined the im p a ct of a visit from Victim Su p p ort sc h e m e volunteers found that the m ain objective had been to e ncou rag e the victim to express his or her feelings a b ou t the crime. A lm o st tw o-thirds of the victim s said that the visits had m ad e s om e difference, and 12 per ce nt had said they had m ad e a 'very big difference' to how they had coped with the em otional im p act of the crime. The authors of the study conc lu de that a group of individuals w h o w ere visited by Victim S up port s chem e volu nteers, w h en m atched against a group of individuals w h o w ere n 't visited, tended to recover better. The visits seem ed to show people that at least 'som eb od y

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cared' (C orbett and M aguire 1988). M ore recently, findings from the 1998 British Crim e Survey reveal that of those individuals w h o had som e contact w ith Victim Sup port, 58 per cent rated the service 'v ery' or 'fairly help ful' and, of those w h o had received visits, the proportion rose to 80 per cent (M aguire and K ynch 2000: 3). This w ould therefore suggest that it w ould be usefu l for an individ ual to seek help from Victim Support. How ever, so m e of the interview ees w h o took part in the study reported here argued that there m ight be co m m u n ica tio n barriers preventing certain w o m en in their local com m u n ities from seeking advice from Victim S u p p o rt in terms of illiteracy or being unable to speak in English: Did your m u m go to any of the victim services? N o b ecau se she's illiterate. C o m m u n ica tio n problem , c a n 't read or write English b ecau se she w as b ro u g h t up in Pakistan. W hen she w as y ou ng girls d id n 't go to s c h o o l . . . . A lot of Asian w o m e n d on't go to the police, som e of them can 't speak the language, also sham e and family honour. And they have this m isconception that their kids will be taken aw ay from them. This reflects C h o u d ry 's (1996) study in w hich so m e of the Pakistani w o m en w h o had experienced dom estic violence were not able to te lephone for help b ecau se they could not speak English. The p roblem of a lack of a m e an s of com m u n ica tion m ay further be exacerbated by the finding that there are few Victim S u p p ort volu nteers w h o b elong to ethnic m inority gro ups. According to recent statistics released by the National Office of Victim Support, approxim ately 10 per cent of volu nteers are from m inority ethnic groups. H ow ever, in som e areas w h ere re cruitm ent problem s are particularly severe this figure is drastically lower. Moreover, findings from the 1998 British C rim e Survey reveal that Victim Support schem es are less likely to contact 'b la ck ' and Asian victims than 'w hite' victim s (although these findings m u s t be read with care b ecau se in the 1998 British C rim e Survey the n u m b e r o f people from ethnic minority groups w as low as a result of it containing no ethnic booster sam ple) (M aguire and Kynch 2000: 2). Victim S u p p ort is currently trying to address race-related issues. In the afterm ath of the Stephen L aw rence inquiry, Victim S up port's N ational C ouncil set up a w o rk in g party to look at Victim S u p p o rt's services. A new good practice d o c u m en t has bee n produ ced, entitled S u pportin g V ictim s o f R acist C rim e fo r Local S chem es and W itness S ervices, in order to try to provide effective services to victim s of racist crime. Victim S up port is d eveloping a new specialist training p ro g ram m e for volunteers w h o will supp ort victims of racist crime. Victim Sup port is also m o v in g tow ards having a better un derstand ing of religious m inority

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gro ups. It liaises with the M uslim W o m en 's Help line in order to respond m o re positively to the Islam ic identity of M u slim s w h o have been the victims of crim e (Sheriff 2001b).

C o n c lu sio n

This chapter has illustrated the im portance for crim inolog y to e m brace the notio ns of diversity and specificity. Crim inological w o rk in the areas of both fear of crim e and victimisation has often glossed over significant differences b etw ee n individ uals' experiences through the use of rather general categories. In particular, researchers have rarely considered the religions that are practised by the p eople classified as 'A sian'. H ow ever, as the study reported in this chapter has show n, religion can be a part of the every d ay lives of individuals, and so m ay be intim ately connected to the w a y s in w hich people experien ce crim e and the w a y s in w h ich they m a n ag e their personal safety. The study presented in this chapter has show n that for the Muslim w o m e n w h o w ere interview ed, the practice of veiling is deeply rooted to the m a n a g e m e n t of sexuality (in particular m ale sexuality) and is as such connected to the w o m e n 's safety talk. O ne a spect of the act of veiling is that it seem s to have e m p ow ered these w o m e n in public places since it has limited the extent of the male (sexual) gaze. A t the sam e time, how ever, and particularly in the afterm ath of the terrorist attacks in A m erica, veiling has aroused hostility and abuse and led to attacks being com m itted against M u slim w o m e n . G reater attention now need s to be paid b y po licy­ m a kers and statu tory and volu ntary agencies to the issue o f religious diversity, in order to provide m ore ad equate re sponses to the religious (as well as racial) h ara ssm e n t and abuse w h ich is routinely experienced.

Notes

1 Criticism has been levelled at the wording of this question, the general consensus being that it fails to measure adequately fear of crime. For instance, whilst 'walking in the dark' might be a measure of fear, it cannot be a measure of fear of crime since it does not relate specifically to any sort of crime. The question is, in effect, too global, as no crime is referred to specifically and therefore very little can be gleaned from this regarding what it is that individuals do actually fear. 2 For example, I have been called abusive names by men, I have experienced physical intimidation and teenage boys have thrown stones at me.

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M am a, A. (1990) The H idden S tru ggle: S tatutory and V oluntary S ector R espon ses to V iolence again st Black W omen in the H om e L ondon: London Race and Housing Research Unit. Mavvby, R. and Walklate, S. (1994) C ritical Victim ology. Lond on: Sage. M aykut, P. and M orehouse, R. (1994) Beginning Q u alitative R esearch: A P hilosophical and P ractical G uide. L ondon: Falm er Press. Maynard, M. (1994) 'R ace ', g end er and the concept of 'd ifference' in feminist thought. In H. A fshar and M. M aynard (eds.) The D ynam ics o f 'Race' an d G ender L ondon: Taylor & Francis, pp. 9 -2 5 . Mezey, G. (1988) Reactions to rape: effects, counselling and the role of health professionals. In M. M aguire and J. Pointing (eds.) Victims o f C rim e: A Neiv D eal?, M ilton Keynes: O pen University Press, pp. 66 -7 3 . Miller, D. and Porter, C. (1983) Self-blam e in victim s of violence. Jou rn al o f Social Issues 39(2): 1 39-52. M o h a m m a d , R. (1999) M arginalisation, Islamism and the production of the other's 'o th e r' G ender, P lace and C u ltu re 6(3): 2 2 1 -4 0. Muslim W om en's Help line (2001) h t t p : / / w w w . a m m e t .d e m o n .c o .u k / r e la t e d / m w h l/ President's C o m m ission on Law Enforcem ent and A d m inistration of Justice (1967) The C hallenge o f C rim e in a Free Society. W ashington, DC: US G o v ern m e n t Printing Office. Rai, D. and H esse, B. (1992) Racial victimisation: an experiential analysis. In B. H esse et al (eds.) Beneath the Surface: R acial H arassm en t. Aldershot: Avebury pp. 1 58-95. Renzetti, R. and Lee, R. (1993) The problem s of researching sensitive topics. In R. R enzetti and R. Lee (eds.) R esearchin g S en sitive Topics, pp. 3 -1 3 . Resick, P. (1990) Victims of sexual assault. In A. Lurigio et al (eds.) V ictim s o f C rim e: P roblem s, P olicies an d P rogram s. Lond on: Sage, pp. 69 -8 6. Said, E. (1981) C overin g Islam : H ow the M edia an d the Experts D eterm in e H ow We See the Rest o f the W orld. L ondon: Routledge. Shapland , J., Willmore, J. and Duff, P. (1985) V ictim s in the C rim in al Ju stice System . Aldershot: Gower. Sheriff, S. (2001a) M o sq u es fire b o m b ed , M u slim s assaulted, British Muslim s u n der Siege. The M uslim N ew s 19 O ctober (h t t p : / / w w w .m u s l im n e w s .c o . u k / - m u s n e w s / p a p e r / in d e x .p h p ? a r t i c le = 4 0 8 ) . Sheriff, S. (2001b) Presentation to the Victim S up port A n nual C o nference, University of W arwick, 3 July. Siddiqui, S. (2001) The Islamic H u m a n Rights C o m m issio n (h t t p :/ / w w w .i h r c .o r g / file7.htm). Stanko, E. (1985) In tim ate In tru sion s: W omen's E xperien ce o f M ale Violence. London: Routledge. Stanko, E. (1997) Safety talk: conceptualising w o m e n 's risk assessm ent as a technology of the soul. T heoretical C rim in ology 1(4): 4 7 9 -9 9 . Stanko, E. and H obdell, K. (1993) A ssau lt on men. British Jou rn al C rim in ology 33(3): 4 0 0 -1 5 . Walklate, S. (2001) G ender, C rim e and C rim in al Justice. Cu llom pton: Willan.

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W atson, H. (1994) W om en and the veil: personal responses to global processes. In A. A h m ed and H. D onnan (eds.) Islam , G lobalisation and P ostm odern ity. L ondon: Routledge, pp. 141-59. Weller, P., Feld m an, A. and Purd am , K. (2001) R eligiou s D iscrim ination in E ngland and W ales. H om e O ffice R esearch Study 220. Lond on: H M SO . Yacub, A. (1994) The w o m an m ust veil herself but not so the man. Defend the case of Islam. In M uslim Stu den ts S cholarship A w ards. Lond on: Fosis, the Islamic Found ation, pp. 25 -58 .

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Chapter 4

Policing after M acph erso n : so m e experiences o f M uslim police officers Douglas Sharp

In t r o d u c t io n

The police and policing are subjects of enorm ous interest to the general public. This is reflected in crime reporting, drama and soap opera on the television and the ever-popular detective novel. As a consequence, most people think they know something about the police. The media and the crime story generally present to the public a glorified image of policing and even the deviant cop in programmes like the Sweeney or the Dirty Harry movies is portrayed ultimately as serving the community, the ends having justified the means. The press may be more probing and, from time to time, more critical, but even here the perception must be that, for many, the police and police behaviour are not particularly problematic in today's society. We should be, however, aware that there is no universally shared experience and this generally positive picture is in sharp contrast to the beliefs and experiences of some sections of our society. People who live in the poorer areas of our cities suffer social and economic disadvantage and people from black and Asian communities are disproportionately represented as victims of crime. Add to this the fact that people from these communities are also more likely to com e into conflict with the police and to suffer negative experiences within the criminal justice system. One of the consequences of this is a perception in those communities of a police service whose policies and behaviours are informed by prejudice and racial stereotypes. Whilst it would be unfair to suggest that these views

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have been ignored, it is not difficult to see that the negative effects of racism have not been eradicated and it is easy to understand w h y som e sections of our society feel alienated from the police. H ow ever, in the 1990s the clim ate seem ed to change sharply w h en the M a cp herso n report (1999) into the m u rd er of Stephen Law rence b rought the problem of racism in the Police Service m o re sharply into focus than at any other time in history.

P o lic in g a n d et h n ic m i n o r i t y g r o u p s

Until relatively recently, there w as little a cad em ic interest in the police or in policing and it w as not until the early 1960s that a literature b eg a n to emerge. Criticism of the police and their relationship with minority com m u n ities is not new, and the influx of West Indian im m ig rants in the 1950s created tensio ns within British society w h ich were com plicated by accusations that the police w ere failing to deal effectively with com plaints of racist violence and intim idation. These allegations b eca m e particularly strident during the race riots in N otting ham and N otting Hill in 1958. H ow ever, this w as the period which has b e co m e k now n as the G old en Age of policing and there w as no serio us a cad em ic stud y of the police until the 1960s. The first im portant published w o rk on policing ca m e from the U SA , w h ere early studies reported suspiciousness and hostility a m o n g st police officers tow ards m e m b er s of the black c o m m u n ity (Skolnick 1966). Similar results were obtained in the first studies in England and Wales. C ain's study, cond u cted in the 1960s, com pares urban and rural policing and d escribes the negative view s that police officers held of m e m b e r s o f the b lack com m unity. In particular, she observed the tend ency of officers to characterise Asians as d evious liars (Cain 1973). Since that time the literatu re on police culture has g ro w n consid erably and references to race and racism abound . Perhaps the best and m ost relevant description is p rovided by R einer w h o, u n d er the title of 'C op C u lture', describes an occu pational culture characterised by a sense of mission, a desire for action and excitem ent, an authoritarian conserv atism , suspicio n and cynicism . It fosters a sense of isolation and solidarity and contains a significant ele m e n t of racism (Reiner 2000: 8 5-1 0 7 ). M ore im portant perhaps is R e in e r's (ibid.) assertion that the police characterise black and Asian people as lower-status individuals w ho tend to be problem atic. Further evidence of this negative stereotyping can be found elsew here in the literature. In their im portant study of the M etropolitan Police, Smith and G ray (1983) noted the pervasive nature of racist language, findings w hich are also confirm ed by H o ld a w a y (1983). Perhaps even more w o rry in g is B ow lin g 's (1999) observation that, whilst they m ay not

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actually con d o n e racism and racist violence, m any police officers are prepared to ad m it they understand how it arises and to express som e s ym p ath y with the perpetrators. The study presented in this chapter is, how ever, not prim arily about race: it is a bout policing and the experiences of a small group of M uslim police officers. H ow ever, within the context of co m m u n ity and race relations in England and Wales it is extrem ely difficult to d isentangle issues of race, culture and religion and any study m u st take accou nt of the natu re and role of the British police. In Britain w e have taken pride in the British police m o del w hich is described as one o f 'policing by consent'. The police system in this cou ntry w as not designed but, rather, developed during the nineteenth and tw entieth centuries and has its roots in the relationship b etw een the police and the com munity. Within this context it has for long been a contention of police leaders that the Police Service in England and Wales is representative of the population they police. Indeed, it w as a principle upon which Peel established the M etropolitan Police in 1 8 2 9 . 1 have argued elsew here that in fact this never was the case (Wilson et al 2001) and the g row th of ethnic m inority p opulations w hich began in the 1950s has cast serio us d ou bt on that assertion. Today the relatio nship betw ee n police and the co m m u n ity is more fragile than it has been in the past and the police can no longer rely on the unconditional sup p ort of the public. The reasons for this are not difficult to find. The period since 1960 has been characterised by rapid social change and rising crime. The police have been the subject of critical scrutiny and have faced accusations of inefficiency, corrupt practices, political partiality and e nd em ic racism. There is a very real sense in w h ich w h ole sectio ns of the public have lost faith in the ability of the service to protect them and the fear of crim e is at an all time high. It w o uld , however, be unfair to claim that the police have m ad e no effort to beco m e m ore representative and during the 1960s and 1970s small n u m be rs of black and Asian officers did join the service. How ever, they only ever represented a very small proportio n of the total n u m b e r of officers and m any left the service prematurely. The report by Lord Scarm an fo llow ing the inner-city d isturbances in 1980 and 1981 raised the profile of ethnic m inority re cruitm ent to the police (Scarm an 1981). Th a t report was the catalyst for a n u m b e r of very significant changes in policing but, n onetheless, the pro gress of the service to w ards b eco m in g m ore representative of the population has continu ed its slow pace. O v e r the last decad e the proportio n of recruits d raw n from minority cthnic p opulations has increased, but the m ost recent figures from H er M ajesty 's Inspectorate of C o nstabu lary (H M IC ) indicate that only 2.2 per cent of the service is m a d e up of officers from m inority

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communities against about 6 per cent in the population as a whole (HMIC 2000: 3). This slow progress can be explained by two inter-related factors. First, a reluctance of people from minority communities to join the police and, secondly, the fact that ethnic minority officers are disproportionately represented in the statistics of those who leave the service prematurely. This second point is particularly problematic because it sends important messages to the community as a whole and must inevitably raise questions as to how the service can be trusted when it says it is committed to providing a fair and equitable service. Two recently published reports commissioned by the Hom e Office provide clear evidence of the reluctance of minority populations to join the police and together they give some indication of the scale of the problem. Stone and Tuffin (2000), researching the attitudes of people from minority ethnic communities to a police career, give eloquent testimony to some of the problems the service faces. To quote: 'Police culture itself was felt to be at the root of many problems. The culture of the police was thought to encourage racist attitudes' (ibid.: 45). While Weller et al (2001: 52) in a study of religious discrimination in England and Wales note: 'Two-thirds or more of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu organisations reported unfairness both in the attitudes and behaviour of police officers, and in the practices of the Police Service.' It is clear from these reports that there exists a strongly held belief that the Police Service embraces a culture which is at best unsympathetic to and ignorant of minority populations, and at the worst racist. In the face of the evidence it is difficult to disagree with that view. While such allegations are not new, until recently it was com monplace to locate the problem with individual officers rather than the service as a whole. Lord Scarman (1981), for example, in his report on the Brixton riots, explicitly ruled out suggestions that the police as an organisation was racist. Post-Scarman the police introduced significant changes and began to raise the profile of ethnic minority recruitment. The police discipline code was strengthened to enable senior officers to deal more effectively with allegations of racist behaviour and new training and personnel policies were developed. However, these have not produced the sort of im provements that were intended. The disproportionate representation of young black men in relation to the operation of police powers to stop and search suspects, a worrying number of deaths of black and Asian men in police custody and a failure to deal adequately with racist incidents combined to confirm the impression of cndemic racism. In addition, a number of high-profile cases involving allegations of sexual and racial discrimination in personnel policies and practices have resulted in considerable criticism and have

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created a picture of unfairness based on prejudice and stereotyping. The subsequent award of significant damages against a number of police forces only serves to confirm that view. The racist murder of Stephen Lawrence dramatically raised the profile of the debate about racism in Britain. The Macpherson report (1999) into the murder explicitly rejected the suggestion that racism was restricted to a small number of officers and accused the service as a whole of being institutionally racist. Macpherson (ibid.: para. 6.34) defines institutional racism as 'unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantages minority ethnic people'. As soon as it was published the report began to have an effect with promises of revised training programmes, new policies and an increased com m itm ent to recruit officers from minority communities backed by challenging targets set by the Hom e Secretary. The service now acknowledges that racism is a problem which affects not only its ability to provide a proper service to the com munity but also to recruit and retain minority ethnic officers. Som e progress has already been made and HMIC (2000) is optimistic that the service is now show ing the com mitment to equality of opportunity that is necessary if it is to meet the challenge posed by the Macpherson report. However, there is a further complicating factor, a factor which we have only recently become aware of but which is undoubtedly creating difficulties for the police. This is the problem of religious intolerance. There is, of course, a long history of mistrust and conflict between differing religions - we have only to look to Northern Ireland to understand something of the deep-rooted hostility that can divide communities - but we have only recently become aware of the problems and difficulties caused by the phenom enon known as Islamophobia. The term is relatively new having first been used in the USA in the late 1980s, but it was more recently brought to our attention in the work of the Runnym ede Trust (C onway 1997: 1) which defines it as 'a dread or hatred of Islam - and therefore a fear or dislike of all or most Muslims'. It is often difficult to identify specific instances of religious intolerance and hatred. Incidents of desecration of places of worship (the temples and mosques of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims) can all too easily be classified as racial rather than religious in origin. In fact, the original motivation of the offender may have been racist but the impact often has much greater significance for the community. In recent years Britain has become a predominantly secular society, church going and devout worship are practised by only a minority of those who nominally describe themselves as Anglicans and it is perhaps difficult to appreciate the deep offence that is caused by crime targeted at religious practice and belief. Britain claims to be a multicultural society and yet we are generally ignorant of the belief systems and practices of

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other cultures. We know in a general sort of w a y that different religions celebrate different festivals, that they w orship in different ways, that their religion and culture im poses different rules regarding diet, dress and fam ily relatio nship s but w e m ust questio n w h eth er w e really understand. Despite the efforts of police trainers in the years since the Scarm an report, there is little d ou bt that sim ilar levels of ignorance exist within the Police Service. A gainst this b ackgrou nd a M uslim w h o m ak es the decision to join the Police Service m u st then face and deal w ith the kn ow le d g e that he or she will b eco m e a m e m b e r of an organisation which is facing the challenges posed in o v ercom ing institutional racism b u t w hich is also largely un educated about the basic tenets of Islam.

T h e pre sen t study

This study is an attem pt to understand som ething of the experiences of a small sam ple of M u slim officers serving in police forces in England and Wales. It does not claim to be representative of the experiences of all M uslim officers b ut it does highlight som e of the p ro blem s faced on a re gular basis by officers w h ose cultural b ack g rou n d is different from the majority o f police officers. The police are not required to keep and report data on the religious affiliations of officers and w e can only estim ate the religious beliefs they hold. We k now that m o st w hite officers would nom inally at least refer to them selv es as Christian and that m ost minority ethnic officers share a heritage from the Indian sub continent and are m ost likely to be either Sikh or M u slim , b ut b ey on d that w e know very little. Religion and race are not invariably linked and both Islam and C hristianity draw their m em b ersh ip from all races and m ost continents; indeed, the C h a irm a n of the recently form ed Association of M u slim Police Officers in the Metropolitan Police is a white chief inspector. How ever, race is invariably identified as an area o f concern in this study b ecause all the officers involved hap p en to be from minority ethnic com m unities. In m ak ing a decision to join the Police Service all potential recruits must w eigh their m otivation which m a y involve a desire to contribute to the well-being and security of society, a desire for excitem ent or action, a desire for job security or any com bination of these and other factors against the reaction of friends and family, and against the perceptions of their ow n w orlds as to the role and fu nctions of the police and the culture of ordinary police officers. All recruits m ust do this but the pressures on those from ethnic m inorities or those w h o hold strong religious beliefs arc likely to be m u ch m ore significant. We know very little a bout the e xperien ces of m inority officers in the Police Service. We do have som e

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accounts w h ich are d ra w n from the proceed ings of e m p lo y m e n t tribunals and som e a necdotal accounts from disillusioned people wrho h ave decided to leave the service b ut to date there is a dearth of research data on this im portant area. This is a report of a piece of qualitativ e research w h ich aims to illuminate s om e of the experiences of a sam ple of 14 serving police officers. It involves in-depth interview s exploring com plex issues relevant to the w o rking lives of the subjects. The interview is an invaluable tool for researchers w ho wish to explore areas w here sensitive and deeply held beliefs and experiences are being e xam ined . Q ualitativ e research does not produce statistics and tables b ut it can yield rich insights into p eople's experiences, their attitudes, their motivations and their reactions. The 14 officers w h o took part are not a random sample. Indeed, as there is no data on the religious beliefs o f police officers, none of the recognised rand om sam pling m etho d s could be e m ployed. N or is there any claim that this sam ple is representative of M uslim police officers. However, w h en e v e r possible attem pts have been m a d e to triangulate the results using published reports and d ocu m en ta tion, to gether with unrecorded conversations with a n u m b e r of police officers of various ranks. The officers w h o took part w ere contacted using a sam pling technique k n ow n as snow ball s a m pling w here 'one observed subject passes the researcher on to another, vo uching for him or her and acting as a s p o n s o r ' (Foster 1996: 81). The first p o int of contact was an officer with just over 12 m o n th s' service w h o was k n o w n personally to the author. T he other 13 officers ranged in service from 18 m o n th s to 16 years. Eleven w ere constables and two were sergeants. All are currently engaged in uniform ed duties in a variety of police forces throug ho ut E ngland and Wales. The interview method chosen w as for a free-flowing unstructured conversation. Interview s of this nature can be problem atic w h en analysing their content but they can also provide an extrem ely rich source of data. The interview s took place in locations c o nv enient for the subjects; m o st were at police prem ises. T he original intention had been for all the in terview s to be tape recorded and later transcribed verbatim for analysis. How ever, only two of the subjects consented to this and the other 11 in terview s w ere recorded in note form contem poraneou sly. All the officers involved were prom ised com plete an o n y m ity and no d em og rap h ic inform ation has been recorded. W h a t this stud y reveals is som ething of the reality of every d ay life for a sam ple o f M uslim officers serving in a variety of locations throu gho u t the country. O n the positive side, none of the officers involved voiced any deep-seated dissatisfaction or disillusionm ent. They voiced only a clear c o m m itm e n t to their chosen profession. H ow ever, these w ere m en w ho

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w ere determ ined to m ak e their w ay in the service. O thers less com m itted or with less effective supp ort m e ch a n ism s will no d ou bt have a different tale to tell. The interview s also illustrate som ething of the co m p ro m is e the officers have had to m ak e in order to follow their careers and som e of the additional problem s m inority officers face in their day-to-day role. A n u m b e r of them es em erged during the course of the interview s, each of w h ich w as explored in depth. T he m ain themes were: the central im portance of religion; the im portance of belonging; the pressures of policing; and the experience o f ra c is m .

T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f r e lig io n

W h a t is abu n d a n tly clear is the central im portance that Islam plays in the lives of M uslim s. We know that M u slim s are likely to be more o bservant of the tenets of their faith than Anglicans (M odood 1997) and that finding is confirm ed in this study. Th at in itself raises som e significant questions for the Police Service and it quickly b eca m e ap p arent that Islam played a ce ntral role in these officers' lives: Being a Muslim is very im portant to me. . . . I am actually fasting at the m o m en t. [It was R am ad am at the time this interview was conducted.] It is very im portant to me being a M uslim and in police term s with colleagues it has never been a problem to me. It's of p a ram o u n t im portance to me. A ltho u gh m ost of the officers did not describe them selv es as being devout: 'I d o n 't practise as I should, I d o n 't go to the m o sq u e very often and I know I am quite lax in practising m y faith but I still regard it as very im portant, it gives m e a fo cus.' A n other officer com m e n ted on how im p orta n t his religion had been in his u p bringing and how he considered it im portant for his ow n family, even though he h im self did not claim to be particularly devout: 'It's som ething that has been d ru m m e d in through parents and has been passed d o w n obviou sly through m y se lf to m y children. We are a practising religion althou gh I ca n 't say I am a lw ay s actively practising like I should be.' In other cases officers reveal the tensio ns that the d em a n d s of police w ork can create w h en they conflict with religious observance:

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You know m y wife is m o re religious than I am and she thinks I should go to prayers m ore often than I do but you k now I w o rk shifts and it is difficult. M y faith is im portant b ut I have to m ak e choices. M y m o ther w a n ts me to be m ore traditio nal with prayer and things but 1 h av e to explain to her 1 m ay not be d ev ou t but I am a M uslim inside myself, it gives m e strength. Prayer and the observance of religious festivals play a central role in the lives of m o st M u slim s. N one of the officers interview ed expressed any dissatisfaction with their im m ed iate superiors' attitudes to religious festivals and they accepted the restrictions that police w o rk inevitably imposes. All expressed the view that they w o u ld n orm ally be allow ed to take leave should they w ish to on im portant festivals. P rayer w as more problem atic and w hilst there w as a general view that in most circum stances they could pray at appropriate tim es there were som e reservations as to how acceptable that w ould be to som e of their nonMuslim colleagues. There was also som e surprise expressed that, while there were pray er room s set aside at force head qu arters, non e existed in operational police stations and one officer did sug gest that som e festivals should have the sam e status as Christian celebrations: It's not a problem this year [2000] b ecau se R a m a d a m is at the same time as Ch ristm as, b u t I think it is a bit unfair that if I w anted leave I would n o rm ally have to take it as part of m y holiday w hereas for Christians Easter and C h ristm as are public holidays and they do not have to take annu al leave. I s upp ose it balances out though b ecau se I can w ork on those days and get paid overtim e and it usually does not conflict with m y religion. Others agreed that superv isors w ere generally sy m path etic to requests to take leave for particular religious pu rposes and none reported situations where they had ever b een refused perm ission: 'M y sergeant is very good, he s om etim es asks m e a b ou t festivals and a b ou t my religion b u t it is never a problem to get time off if I really w an t it.' Islam is clearly very im portant in the lives of these officers despite the fact that none of them claim ed to be devout. Indeed, it is d ou btful if a d ev ou t fo llow er of any religion could easily find an acco m m o d a tio n betw een the d em an d s of their faith and the co m m itm e n t to policing. All the interview ees a ck now led g ed that service to the public m u st com e first and it w as generally agreed that requests for facilities to attend religious activities w ould be received sympathetically. The only discord in tone was struck w h en addressing the questio n of prayer:

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I d o n 't think practising my religion would be a problem . If I really w an ted to do m y prayers at w o rk I w ould not see that as a problem for me to go along and grab a prayer mat and sort of do it at work. I know that there is a p rayer room set aside at H Q w h ere p eople can go to pray if they wish but there is not really any w here here. I d on't think any on e w ould m ind but 1 w ould not feel very relaxed. A nd this view was confirm ed by a n u m b e r of others. T he fo llow ing was typical in tone of a range of com m ents: At H Q there is a prayer room. I agree with that, there are a lot of people, not ju st police b u t civilians, w h o use it b u t I can 't go there it is about 10 miles aw ay and there is n ow here here. I c ou ld n 't just pray in the report room , I think there should be a room w h ere I could go.

M e m b e r s h i p o f th e p o lic e c o m m u n i t y

Despite the generally negative view o f police culture portrayed in the literature, there are those w h o see it in a m o re supportive light. W ad dington (1999), for exam p le , asserts that the culture help s to d evelop a sense of esprit de corps and a close sense of identity, both of w hich are po w erfu l features of the service. Police officers rely on their colleagues for help and advice in dealing with incidents and facing hostile and difficult confrontations. T hey need to k now they can rely on other officers should they find them selves in situations they cannot effectively deal with on their own. T hat sort of trust is only d eveloped as a result of close personal and professional relationships fostered both in the w o rk p lace and in social interactio ns during off-duty hours. M o st (but not all) o f these social netw o rk s are formed in public houses and restaurants and often, if not usually, involve alcohol. This is im m ediately pro blem atic for a M uslim becau se Islam not only forbids the c o n su m p tio n of alcohol b ut also forbids any contact with it. As one officer put it: 'From a religious po int of view people w ould see it as bad me ju st going there but from my po int of view I have got to draw a b and betw ee n religious and w ork as well as socialising.' How ever, m o st of the officers interview ed were prepared to visit licensed prem ises and c o n su m e non-alcoholic drinks. A ltho ug h there was also som e evident tension in the decisio n for som e of them: 'You have got to be seen to socialise and be there, and if you d o n 't I think that's w h en p eople start thinking y ou 're not mixing etc.' W hile others seem to be more relaxed and perhaps m ore confid ent in both them selves and their beliefs: 'I

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ca n 't see the harm in mixing. I can 't see the harm in going to premises that's licensed, okay people are there and they are d rinking, fine that's up to them. M y religion is that I d o n 't and I w o n 't.' But som e tim e s fam ily m e m b ers are unwilling to m ak e c o m p ro m ise s with their beliefs: 'M y wife is m ore observant than 1 am and she will not go to anything where there is even alcohol on the tables. We d o n 't go to social fu nctions becau se there will alw ays be drink there.' D ecisio ns about the c o n su m p tio n of alcohol are relatively straightforward and the officers generally felt they w ere perfectly able to choose w h eth er or not they should take part in social activities. However, there are aspects o f religious ob servance w h ere the ele m e n t of personal choice is constrained and, in Islam, as in m any religions, one of the m ost significant of these relates to food. The evidence from these interview s indicates that Halal food is generally not available in operational police stations. This m ay not a lw ay s be perceiv ed to be a problem and officers either b rou ght their ow n food or ate vegetarian options. In the w o rd s of one officer: 'I usually bring m y ow n food in, you can 't get Halal food here.' O f course that is not unusual; m any police officers take packed food to w ork, b u t usually they do that b ecau se they choo se to. For a M uslim there m ay be little choice. As one officer said: 'You ca n 't get H alal food here but I can eat vegetarian baked potatoes, things like that, but there isn't that m u ch choice so I often bring my ow n food.' Policing like much of life is full of inconsistency and the availability of food is no exception. O n e young officer highlighted ju st such a problem : 'W h a t surprised me w h en I cam e from the Training College w as that w e h av e special food for M uslim prisoners in the cells but I can 't get it in the canteen.' W h e n officers are w o rk ing at their ow n police stations they can always m ake appropriate a rran g em ents to eat, but that is m ore difficult w h en they are required to work away, for exam p le, at a dem onstration or a special event. O n those occasions they will often be supplied with a packed meal pre pared or supplied by the force catering contractor. These packed meals will usually contain m e at (often pork) pies. As one of the sergeants said: I eat vegetarian w h en I'm here b u t w h en w e go to public order or s om e other sort of event w e usually get a packed lunch. They nearly a lw ays have a m eat pie and it is often pork. It is very hard to find vegetarian and I have to search around and sw ap with the others to get things I can eat. T hey could easily do m ore vegetarian meals and I d o n 't w an t to eat things that have been packed with a pork pie. It d oesn't h a ppen often that w e get packed meals but there should be things that I can eat.

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This is clearly an e xam p le w h en m o re tho ug ht and a little planning could avoid problem s and w ould not be difficult. The H M IC report highlights, for exam p le, that Lancashire C o nstabu lary provides Halal food in its canteens, so it should not be b eyond the capabilities of force catering establishm ents to provide appropriate packed m eals. Such an obvious failure m ay not be the result of deliberate d escrim ination but it is at least insensitive, and all force catering d ep artm ents can and should review their policy.

P o lic in g

Policing is w h a t these officers joined to do. They jo ined the service for a variety of reasons, as do all recruits, b ut m a n y of their ob servations about police w o rk and policing w ere really positive reflections of the attraction of police w ork. T h e y confirm ed the excitem ent inherent in police w ork: 'I love it, it is a job I alw ays w an ted , it gives m e a real buzz. W hile others reported a rath er m ore altruistic approach: 'It's great you know, you really get a picture that you are doing som ething useful, valuable you know.' So m e officers, nonetheless, reflected on the frustrations o f police w ork, w hich were often ab ou t the inability of the police to get to the root of social pro blem s and provide real help: It's fru strating som etim es, w h en you ca n 't really help, you can go so far b u t people have real problem s and you ca n 't help them. We go to things and w e ca n 't do anything, there is no one to help so m e of these people. So m e officers also co m m e n ted upon the sheer v o lu m e of w ork: 'T here's never e nou g h time, like today I'm here d oing p a p e rw ork . T h a t's ju st catching up, we have had som e really b usy days and I h a v e n 't had time b ut w e have to get it done and it's too m u ch really.' As another put it: 'I was on the van the other night and it never stopped, w e w ere going from call to call all night.' A n other reflected on the difference betw ee n his expectations and reality: W h e n I w as at school I rem em b ered this PC com in g to tell us about the police, he sh ow ed us his tru ncheon and things b u t he talked a b ou t helping people. I supp ose som e of that w as for us becau se we w ere kids but I thought it w ould be a bit like that. But it's not, you d o n 't have time, the radio never stops.

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Being a police officer can be stressful and dangerou s Th at d anger is deriv ed not from the risk of injury and assault, althou gh that is un d o u b ted ly present, b ut rather a d anger in the sense of uncertainty n ever k now in g w h a t situations are going to be faced and w h a t problem s can arise. Police officers require su p p ort and e n c o u rag em en t in the same w ay that anyone else w o uld , but the culture of m a ch ism o identified by Reiner (2000) as a characteristic of police culture tends to restrict the ability of officers to talk openly a m o n g s t their colleagues. A s a con se q u e n ce, they either suppress their em otions or rely heavily on friends and family for that support. N ot everyone survives unscathed and the service suffers a high rate of marital b reak d ow n and ill-health. Som e of the problem s can be magnified for officers from ethnic or religious m inorities w h ere cu ltural n orm s can exert a po w erfu l influence on personal behaviour. It is an unfortunate fact that police culture can be in w ard -looking and resistant to change, and it can serve to isolate and reject rath er than to include and support: 'We d o n 't talk about it m u ch at w ork, you sort of pu sh it to the back but m y fam ily is a great supp ort.' S o m etim e s that su p p ort com es in the shape of the religious com m u n ity : 'T hey have alw ays been very positive and e n cou rag ing to me at the m o sq u e and in the com munity. I d o n 't discuss w ork w ith them b u t I know I could if I w an ted and that gives m e supp ort.' And: 'I am lucky I supp ose, I do go to the m o sq u e and talk about the pressures and I do get support. They are very supp ortive.' But for an officer from a visible m inority b ackgrou nd there can be other problem s, problem s w h ich highlight som e of the tensio ns and stresses they face over and above the frustrations of their w hite colleagues. O ften they highlight an u n sp ok en suspicio n that their loyalty m ay be suspect and w hilst no one was able to give specific reasons as to w h y they should feel that, it w as clearly an issue. O ne specific exa m p le of this type of tensio n is provided by language. It is not unusual for people from m inority c o m m u n ities to try to c o m m u n icate with the police in the easiest w ay possible, and this will often involve using a m inority language. This w as clearly seen as a problem for officers w ho were concerned to d em onstrate to their colleagues that they dealt fairly and impartially with all incidents. They anticip ated disapproval and suspicion if they did not co m m u n ica te in English. W hilst that is undesirable in itself, it also has the potential to lead to insensitive and ineffective policing. People at times of stress m ay c o m m u n icate m u ch m ore effectively in their native language and for m any in the Asian co m m u n ity a m inority language may be their first language. A ttitud es of this nature only serve to create distance betw een police and the co m m u n ity at a time w h en they should be w o rking together:

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You know w e deal with all sorts and so m e tim e s people expect m e to take their side or protect them. T h e y will speak to m e in an Asian language. I speak three languages, and they will say things like 'they will not k now w h at w e are saying' - they are referring to white officers, 'c a n 't w e sort this ou t' that's hard you k now not becau se I d o n 't know w h at's right and I alw ays try to do m y job properly, but becau se I think my m ates m ight be suspicious b ecau se they d o n 't understand w h at we are saying. This w as the experien ce of not one isolated officer - as another pu t it: S o m etim e s people do try, you know speaking to me in another language b ut I alw ays say 'speak English'. I w a n t every one to know w h at is being talked about. Th at s om etim es causes anger, but it is m o re im portant to m e that other officers know that everything is above board. The final point to be m ad e a bout police w o rk is that all officers, irrespective of their race, religion or colour, are subject to the risk of u n fou nd ed allegations and often race is a co nv enient way of attacking the police: 'S o m e tim es people accuse m e of being racist, m o re racist than white officers, they say, you 're Asian you should help us - I just reply that w h a t they have done is w ro n g , it is nothing to do with my race.' And while they receive som e solidarity from their colleagues, that s om etim es is not enough: 'It's funny, people s om etim es say I am racist b ecau se I am an Asian police officer and I am supp orting a w hite law. M y m ates on the job laugh and they say "b u t you 're black, how can you be racist?" ' A s a nother officer notes, this in itself can cause additional stress: 'T hey d o n 't really understand the p ro blem s and the pressures, and there is no one in the job that I can explain it to.'

Racism

The M acp h erso n report established for the first time the existence of institutional racism in the Police Service, and w e know that racism is one of the principal factors w h ich discourage people from m inority ethnic populations from jo ining the police (Stone and Tuffin 2000). It is particularly depressing to note that racially insensitive and offensive rem arks arc still a feature of canteen life. T he situation seem s to have im pro ved on earlier years and there are indications that the im pact of the M a cp herso n report has been to suppress the jo kes and inappropriate

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c o m m e n ts, but they are still there and that is a matter of considerable concern. This type of report was confirm ed by a n u m b e r of the officers with five or more y ears' service: 'It is different now but not so long ago there w ould often be jo kes and co m m e n ts that used language and terms that 1 considered to be offensive. I d id n 't feel that 1 could challenge them, but they w ere racist.' And another: 'O ver the years yes, things h ave got better, people have sort of learned a b ou t religions.' But som e of the negative aspects of canteen culture still exist and racist c o m m e n ts are still unfortunately an ele m e n t of the conversations w hich take place in police stations. The y ou ng er officers particularly try to ignore the racist nature of som e of the exchang es and to treat it as g o o d-hum oured banter: You've got to get into the p ro g ra m m e of sayin g I'm one of you now. I'v e got the sa m e uniform on and w h ere there's a bit of bantering we have a laugh and a jo ke and so m e o n e w ould m a k e a co m m e n t tow ards me. R ather than thinking they're being racist or som ething against m y family or m y religion I'll actu ally throw one back at him. It's a bit of give and take. A n oth e r officer, ad dressing the issue of racism, co m m e n ts on the effect of the M acp herso n report in suppressing racist language: 'It is definitely different now, I think som e officers are afraid since the report.' How ever, not every one w as so positive: 'O b viously since the M a cp h ers o n report has com e out there have b een questions about institutional racism. It d id n 't help because p eople were thinking he's ju st going to ju m p on the band w ag o n.' A further d isappointing note relates to the quality of training in equal opportunities and co m m u n ity and race relations. Even befo re the M a cp h erso n report the Police Service had been ad opting training p ro g ra m m e s and policies w hich w ere intended to elim inate racism. H ow ever, these initiatives are not a lw ays received with unbridled enthusiasm and there w as a co m m o n ly expressed belief that the training w as ineffective and could even prove cou nterprodu ctive (although it was also a cknow led g ed that such training was necessary). There is a suspicio n that training in this im portant area is too traditional and insufficiently linked to operational police w ork to be effective. W hat seem s to be h ap p e n in g is that police officers are increasingly learning from their M uslim colleagues. Som e of the M uslim officers in this study report

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exch a n ge s of inform ation and d iscussions about religious and cultural practices w h ich are inform ing and educating their colleagues. How ever, there is still a hu ge g ulf o f ignorance about other cultures and training should, and must, address that gap: We deal with different people every single day and it's a very im portant issue. Som etim e s you go to peop le's hou ses not know in g. I actually w alked into a Sikh hou se and into their prayer room with my b oots on and I d id n 't know I w a s n 't supposed to. I think my colleagu es tho ught 'You're Asian you should k now these things you know b ut I'm M uslim and I d o n 't k now anything about other religions'. T he training these officers had received, how ever, failed to deal with issues both in term s of quantity: 'There is m ore being done now through training to try and get that a w areness over, officers are being given inform ation but it's only a sm all input.' A nd quality: We w ere given lessons in EO [equal opportunities] b ut they were m a d e to be long and boring basically. You go ov er the sam e thing over and over, yes you have to do this, yes you can say this b u t you c a n 't say that, so no one w a n ts to pay attention even though it's a serio us issue. And there is considerable sy m p a th y for the police trainers: It's not their fault really, I d o n 't think they really k now how to do this sort of training. It seem s to be a lesson or a n u m b e r of lessons that they h ave to do b ut they d o n 't fit in. We all k now how im portant it is but it d o e sn 't seem to be real the w a y it's done. The ov erw h e lm in g view of these officers w as that w h ere there had been im p ro v e m en ts in police culture they w ere largely b ro u g h t about by the influence of m inority ethnic officers rather than official policies and training. In the w o rd s of one officer: 'This is partly b ecause of the fact that there have b een incentives to recruit officers from the various ethnic b a ck g ro u n d s . . . . there's been a sort of general edu cation from that point of view.' W h ile another echoed this point: 'So th rough re cruitm ent drives, etc., th rough people like m y self and m y colleague that you spoke to earlier, the aw areness is getting better and people are genuinely interested in w h at Haj is for exam p le .' And that sort of interest and the value of

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discussions a b ou t different cu ltures and religious practices are a c k n o w ­ ledged by others: 'Like here I explain to people w h y at six o'clock in the m o rnin g w e have to pray - w e had this d iscussion three d ays ago w ith one of the Sergeants here about w h y w e d o n 't drink alcohol.' Som e reported w h at they felt to be a g enuine interest am o n g st white officers as they are expo sed to different cultures and practices: Som etim es they [other officers] ask m e w h y I do this or w h y I d o n 't do that, they are interested and they listen.' And: On one occasion I re m e m b er a few w eek s ago w e had this discussion ab ou t w h y w e d o n 't eat pork. So m eo n e said it was b ecau se in the hot sun in Asian countries it w e n t off very quickly and I said no, it was because the pig is an unclean animal. They were interested. So m e officers were able to recount very positive e xa m p les of the effect that kno w le d g e and un derstand ing can have: 'You k now the people on my relief are very good. It's R am ad a n at the m o m e n t and they even said that as I w as fasting they w o u ld n 't take their refs [refreshments] that day. There seem s to be little d ou bt that it is through these personal interactions that the b eneficial effects d escribed take place but, if things go w rong and inappropriate rem arks are m ad e or racism and d iscrimination b eco m es an issue, there is a reluctance to resort to official policies: 'I'v e never personally felt like s o m e b o d y 's actu ally been racist or prejudiced to w ards me, h o w e v e r I know that if I ever felt that, rath er than going to a senior officer and m ak in g an issue of it I'd deal with it m yself.' O r b ecau se som e feel that there w ould be further negative co n s e q u e n ­ ces: A n y w a y 1 w o u ld n 't use them, they are a bout getting people into trouble and that's not the point, people need to understand. If they see p eople getting into trouble it ju st puts ev e ry on e 's backs up and you get labelled a troublemaker. I would rather ju st confront so m e o n e w ho was causing m e problems. For som e it is only the su p p ort of others in a sim ilar position w h ich enables them to continue: T he best thing is k n ow in g that there are others like you w ho experien ce the sa m e things. You can like talk to them, m entioning you know and that puts things into a better view. I d on't think I would carry on if I w as the only Asian or the only M u slim in the force.

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And despite the efforts that have been made recently and the publicity given to the assertions of senior officers that policies and practices will change, there is a depressing note of scepticism: 'You know since the report by Macpherson there have been things happening but I think they are only about being PC [politically correct]. 1 don't think anyone really wants to understand what the job is like for us.' Confidential, anonym ous phone lines and the various grievance procedures inspired little confidence. We should not be too surprised at this finding for, as Reiner (1991) points out in his study of chief constables, most of the people he interviewed spoke about race as a problem and in so doing often used negative stereotypes of people from minority populations. As a police sergeant with 15 years' service recounted his early experience, one can only w onder that anyone remained in the service: My first day in the police was a frightening day. It was the first contact with my sergeant in 1986 - the first thing my sergeant said to me when I walked into the room was 'National Front' and he laughed. I thought oh my God what's going on here? It did worry me.

C o n c lu s i o n

No job can be expected to live up to all the expectations and idealistic notions that those aspiring to them hold dear. Adaptation to a new role and lifestyle invariably involves compromise, but in a multicultural society that compromise should be a two-way process. The Police Service has undoubtedly changed, but the results of this study indicate that much of the compromise and accom modation has been m ade by Muslim officers rather than by the service as a whole. This finding is very similar to the conclusions drawn by Wilson (2000) and Spalek and Wilson (2001) in their studies of the experiences of Imams visiting Muslim prisoners within the English penal system. There is of course a legitimate question as to what extent an organisation should be expected to change to accommodate the beliefs and cultural practices of staff, and there is little doubt that a really devout m em ber of any religious group would have difficulty in accepting the restrictions and expectations a police career involves. The officers in this study do not describe themselves as devout; Islam plays an important part in their cultural identity but they are prepared to compromise and they show remarkable tolerance in the face of adverse conditions. Other less

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com m itted officers, w h o may be less resilient or less strong willed, do not survive. T hat is a tragedy for those officers. It is an ind ictm ent of the Police Service, it is a loss to the co m m u n ity and it ad ds to a perception that c o m m u n ity policing is a slo gan rather than a reality and that policing by consent has been consigned to the m ythical G old en A g e of policing. Senior officers h av e for long been aw are of the need to ensure that policing operates in w ays w h ich are n ot only fair and honest b ut w h ich are also a ck n o w le d g ed to be so. A ltho ug h it w as u n d o u b ted ly initially slow to e m bra ce a culture of equal op portu nities, the service has m ad e consid erable strides since the passing o f the Sex Discrim ination A ct 1972 and the Race R elations A ct in 1976. All forces have equal opportunity policies, and a good deal of w o rk has already been done to ensure that recruitm ent, selection for p ro m otion and specialist posts are free from cultural, ethnic or g e n d e r bias. The progress the service has m ad e is ack now led g ed in the H M IC th em atic inspection report entitled W inning the R ace: E m bracin g D iversity (H M IC 2000). Unfortunately, how ever, despite years of effort, in n um erab le w o rk ing parties and a n u m b e r of high-profile critical reports, there remains a convictio n particularly within som e sectio ns of the minority ethnic c o m m u n ity that the service has not changed or at least that it has not changed sufficiently. A n d the police are still failing to recruit sufficient officers from m inority c o m m u n ities and, rather m ore worryingly, they are failing to retain those w h o do join. M o st of the pro blem s identified by this research no d ou bt arise from ig norance rather than from deliberate and malicious intent. To that extent they a m o u n t to institutional discrim ination and institutional racism. That is itself a traged y b ecau se m ost of the points raised could be rectified with very little effort and alm ost no financial cost. It is surely in cu m b e n t upon the Police Service to d em onstrate that c o m m itm e n t in actions, policies and words. There is evidence that things are m o ving slo wly and the recent a n n o u n ce m e n t by the M etropolitan Police that female officers will in future be permitted to w ear the Hijab is a w e lcom e step fo rward. There is no reason w h y that and other equally im portant steps cannot be taken by all police forces throug hout England and Wales. Despite the progress identified by H M IC in recruiting m ore police officers from the minority ethnic com m u n ities, there are still too few police officers occu pying superv isory and m anag erial positions and the worst aspects of canteen culture are still present. T h e y are, how ever, suppressed and more subtle. That in itself is a danger; any u n dercu rrent of racism is dam ag ing to the service and will inevitably affect the m orale and co m m itm e n t of y o u n g e r officers w h a tev er their backgrou nd. The 14 officers w h o took part in this study and their colleagues from the M uslim and often m inority com m u n ities face hurdles and pressures w hich are

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a d d i t i o n a l to t h o s e f a c e d b y all p o l i c e o f f i c e r s a n d a ll t h o s e a d d i t i o n a l p r e s s u r e s a r e u n n e c e s s a r y . It is n o s u r p r i s e t h a t o f f i c e r s f r o m

eth n ic

m in o ritie s lea v e th e serv ic e p re m a tu re ly . W e s h o u ld p e rh a p s b e m o re s u r p r i s e d t h a t a n y o f t h e m stay.

References Bow ling, B. (1999) Violent R acism : V ictim isation, P olicing an d Social C ontext. Oxford: Oxford Univ ersity Press. Cain, M. (1973) Society an d the P olicem an's Role. L ond on: Routledge. Conway, G. (1997) Islam ophobia: A C hallen ge f o r us A ll. L ondon: The R u n n y m ed e Trust. Foster, P. (1996) O bservational research. In R. Sapsford and V. Jupp (eds.) Data C ollection an d A nalysis. L ondon: Sage, pp. 8 1 -1 00 . H er M ajesty's Inspectorate of C onstabu lary (2000) W inning the R ace: E m bracing D iversity. L ondon: H M IC. H oldaway, S. (1983) In side the British P olice: A Force at W ork. Oxford: Blackwell. M acp h erso n , W. (1999) T he Stephen Law ren ce Report. L ondon: H M SO . M o d o o d , T. (1997) Ethnic M in orities in B ritain : D iversity an d D isadvantage. London: Policy Studies Institute. Reiner, R. (1991) C h ief C onstables. Oxford: O xford University Press. Reiner, R. (2000) The P olitics o f the Police. Oxford: Oxford Univ ersity Press. Scarm an , Lord (1981) T he Scarm an R eport: The Brixton D isorders. L ondon: H M SO (Cm 8427; reprinted in 1982 by P enguin Books.) Skolnick, J. (1966) Ju stice w ithou t Trial. New York: Wiley. Sm ith, D. and Gray, J. (1983) P olice and P eople in London. Lond on: Policy Stu dies Institute. Spalek, B. and W ilson, D. (2001) N ot just visitors to prisons: the experiences of I m am s w h o work inside the penal system . T he H ow ard jo u rn a l o f C rim in al ju stice 40(1): 3 -1 3 . Stone, V. and Tuffin, R. (2000) A ttitu des o f P eople from M in ority Ethnic C om m u n ities tow ards a C areer in the P olice Service. R esearch Fin din gs 136. L ondon: H M S O . W addington, P. (1999) Police (canteen) sub-culture: an appreciation. British jou rn al o f C rim in ology 39(2): 2 8 6-30 8. Weller, P., F eld m an, A. and Purdham , K. (2001) R eligiou s D iscrim in ation in E ngland and W ales. H om e O ffice R esearch Study 220. Lond on: H M S O . Wilson, D. (2000) Prison Im am s - an E thn ographic Study. London: IQRA Trust. Wilson, D., Ashton, J. and Sharp, D. (2001) W hat E veryon e in Britain should Know abou t the Police. L ondon: Blackstone.

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Chapter 5

Racism and religious discrimination in prison: the marginalisation of Im am s in their w o r k with prisoners Basia Spalek and David Wilson

In t r o d u c t io n

A great deal of research has been generated examining the experiences that Caribbean, African and Asian people have of the criminal justice system (Hood 1992; Fitzgerald 1993; Kalunta-Crumpton, 1998). These experiences have been predominantly documented in racial or ethnic terms, placing religion as a feature of difference in a somewhat minor role (Beckford and Gilliat 1998). For example, direct and institutional racism by the police, the courts and the penal system has been discussed, yet discrimination on the grounds of religion has rarely been addressed. Nonetheless, reflecting the changing nature of British society, people from a variety of different faiths are increasingly coming into contact with the criminal justice system. It is important, therefore, to consider the extent to which criminal justice agencies have catered to the religious needs of these individuals, and the extent to which particular religions are marginalised by the criminal justice system. This chapter examines the penal system in order to discuss how well it responds to the needs of Muslim prisoners. Christianity, in particular the Church of England, has traditionally provided religious care to prisoners. However, over the last 25 years the religious affiliations of prisoners have been changing. In particular, whilst the num ber of Muslim prisoners has significantly increased, those registering as Christians has steadily declined (Beckford and Gilliat, 1998). A report issued by the Runnymede

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Trust stresses that Islamophobia is endemic within British society, whereby practising Muslims are often disadvantaged and discriminated against and are often the targets of abuse as a result of the religion they follow (Conway 1997). A question that arises, therefore, is to what extent do prison authorities consider and include the voices of Muslims? In other words, how well have the spiritual and practical needs of individuals who practise Islam been responded to by HM Prison service? This chapter is based upon a study which explored the experiences of a group of Imams who visit Muslim prisoners. The findings of this study suggest that, although many obstacles lie in the way of the Imams when attempting to provide religious care, the Imams have quite clearly employed extraordinary methods in order to gain greater acceptance by prison authorities, thereby improving their positions within the penal system.

P riso n statistics

The religious affiliations of prisoners have changed over recent years. British prisons today are incarcerating an increasingly diverse ethnic and cultural population. Prisoners are now following a wide range of religious beliefs, including Hinduism and Buddhism and the Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faiths. According to Beckford and Gilliat (1998: 52), since 1975 prisoners registering as belonging to these religions have increased by just under 10 per cent, whilst those registering as Christian have decreased by 31 per cent. Taking a look specifically at Islam, this is currently the fastestgrowing non-Christian religion in British prisons (ibid.). In 1999 approxi­ mately 4,000 prisoners were registered as Muslim in the penal system of England and Wales, sufficient to fill ten average-sized prisons (Wilson 1999). Partly in response to these figures, the Prison Service appointed a Muslim adviser in 1999, and he has recently written that he has since 'visited over 100 establishments where I established contacts with Imams, local Muslim community groups, community leaders and Muslin prisoners' (Ahmed 2001: 19). He describes his work as being 'focussed on three main areas: Friday prayers, access to Imams and Halal diets' (ibid.). From how he describes his work, and in informal interview, the Muslim adviser seems to be adopting a managerial approach to his work, based largely on influencing Prison Service policies. His success in all this can only be measured by interpreting some of the words he uses in his writings and thus it is, for example, still a 'vision of the Muslim A dvisor's office that under a multi-faith Chaplaincy the Imam will be a full member of the Chaplaincy' (ibid.: 20). Similarly, perhaps revealing the difficulties

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he is facing, he is still 'considering', 'advising' and 'w orking closely' on such issues as prayer rooms, the strip searching of Muslim prisoners and com munal showers. He also admits there are difficulties in recruiting Imams due to 'ad hoc recruitment, lack of proper contracts, uncertain employm ent status, alongside other problem s' (ibid.). Thus, it is perhaps fair to conclude that those Imams who are seeking to improve their work in ministering to the needs of Muslim prisoners are still going to have to rely on their personal skills and abilities rather than changes to penal policies.

P riso n legislation

The Prison Service has a public policy statement about race relations, which is displayed in every prison: The Prison Service is committed to racial equality. Improper discrimination on the basis of colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, or religion is unacceptable, as is any racially abusive or insulting language or behavio ur on the part of any m em ber of staff, prisoner or visitor, and neither will be tolerated (Leech 1999: 267). M em bers of other religious groups have the same right to practise their faith as Christian prisoners. The Prison Act 1952 states that the prison chaplain should ensure that every prisoner is able to practise his or her faith (ibid.: 269). A D irectory and G uide on R eligious Practises in HM Prison Service has also been issued (HM Prison Service 1996) to enable staff to cater to the religious needs of prisoners more thoroughly. The directory describes matters related to worship, sacred writings, diet, dress, ministry and 'aspects of social functioning' such as the role of families, personal hygiene and race (Wilson and Sharp 1998: 19). None the less, it can be argued that the introduction of this kind of legislation and these types of texts has not led to a significant shift in power relations betw een Christian and non-Christian faiths. In other words, Christianity continues to occupy a hegemonic position within the penal system. This is because in most penal institutions today, Church of England chaplains have overall responsibility for chaplaincy matters although they might liaise with Roman Catholic and Methodist chaplains. The Prison Service Chaplaincy has a statutory duty to provide prisoners with religious care, and this is run by Church of England clergy together with small numbers of Methodist church and Roman Catholic

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clergy (Beckford and Gilliat, 1998). This m eans that instances of religious and racial discrim ination continue to occur, and in m a n y prisons the providers of non-Christian religions continu e to be m arginalised from key d ecisio n-m ak ing processes. Instances of discrim ination and abuse, am o u n tin g to a form of 'institutional racism ', have been d ocu m en ted . In the M ac p h ers o n report (1999: s. 6034) 'institutional ra cism ' is defined as consistin g of: the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and pro fessional service to people b ecau se of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitu des and b eh av io u r w hich am o u n t to discrim ination through unwitting preju dice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping w hich d isad vantag e m inority ethnic people.

T h e s tu d y

N ine Im am s w ere interview ed at length ov er several m onths. W hilst not a representative s am ple, these nine Im a m s w orked in 22 prisons, inclu ding locals, a dispersal, m ale and female prisons, and y o u n g offender institutions. The Im a m s w h o were chosen for interview w ere rand om nly selected over a period of m o nths during training events and conferences facilitated by the IQ R A Trust - a M uslim charity based in L on d on and founded in 1987 to prom ote a better un derstand ing of Islam in Britain. Working in a variety of penal settings, the Im a m s w h o were interview ed varied in term s of the a m o u n t of experien ce they had, ranging from a few m o nths to as long as 12 years. So m e m inistered to ju st a hand fu l of prisoners, w hilst others m igh t have to cope with up to 200 prisoners at prayer. Sem i-structured interview s were cond u cted outside prison, enabling the Im am s to develop them es and issues they found to be im portant. Each interview ee w as prom ised anonymity, w h ich m e an s their n a m e s have not been included here, nor the n a m e s of the prison establishm ents at w hich they carry out their w ork. S o m e m e asu re of triangulation w as attem pted by using official d ocu m en tation, and facilitated by conference attend ance and inform al interview s with several prison race relations liaison officers and the new M uslim adviser to H M Prison Service. In particular the findings that are presented in this chapter have been further inform ed by an unpublished M A thesis conc erning the w ork o f an Im am w h o visits prisons, com pleted by Kashan A m a r (2000).

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R e ligio u s h e g e m o n y

As previously mentioned, in most prisons, overall responsibility for chaplaincy matters lies with Church of England chaplains who might closely liaise with Roman Catholic and Methodist chaplains (Beckford and Gilliat 1998). Other religions have therefore to be facilitated within prison via the prison chaplaincies. This often constitutes a site of tension and negotiation betw een the prison chaplains and the providers of other (nonChristian) faiths. Although the Im ams taking part in this study argued that the prison chaplaincy teams are 'friendly' and 'helpful', they claimed that the structural imbalance between Christian and non-Christian religions disadvantages them and the prisoners they serve. In short there is a form of dependency. For example, one Imam revealed that: They [the chaplaincy team] are all welcoming. They all have a desire to do things, but I think it is mainly on goodwill rather than a com mitment to do things. For example, we are asked to go in to give a two-hour lecture on finding a career and that's what it's limited to. I think the aspect of equal opportunity and the welfare of prisoners is disregarded. We are not at the m om ent getting involved in writing reports, pastoral care, counselling. It's all activities, teaching, lessons for the prisoners and this is all at the m om ent needing to be negotiated. M any of the individuals in this study argued they are marginalised from key decisions that are made within prisons as a result of not belonging to any decision-making processes within the prison system. It seems that the majority of Imams interviewed are not members of race relations m anagem ent teams, nor have they been invited to attend any race relations meetings that take place. For example, one individual said: I think it's a stereotype. The fact that we are not seen as a mem ber of staff. Therefore, we are not given access to information. I am not treated as a m em ber of the chaplain team, which I am supposed to be. Therefore, I am not invited to meetings, I am not invited to race relations meetings. I do not know when they are taking place. Most of the representation of Muslims is done through the chaplain, which is the Anglican Church. I am not allowed sufficient time to participate in events. Neither do the prison governors take advantage of the Imams in terms of informing the prison staff about Islam and Muslims within the prison system.

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So, are you just used for specific events rather than involved in the life of the jail? Yes. For rituals, information, that's it. Another argued: The tangible sign would be from my point of view to involve me in the consultation processes, to involve me in being able to contribute to various forums and focus groups and also to have a continuous liaison. At the m om ent I find myself going into the prison as a solitary figure carrying my business in my own way. There appear to be no encounters betw een myself and the management. Another Imam, also not belonging to any race relations m anagement teams, revealed: 'I think it's an unknow n area where people are unsure how much they might get involved. Obviously all the prisons are Christian dominated and a lot of effort is put into the Christian aspect of care. There are not policies as such to what a Muslim needs.' A factor that was often mentioned which prevented the Imams from attending race relations meetings was that of time. As the Im am s attend each of their prison institutions only a few hours each week, many argued there is not the opportunity to become involved in decision-making. For example, while one of the Imams was actually a mem ber of the team in one particular prison establishment, he argued he could not attend the majority of the meetings because he was often attending a different prison on the day of the meetings: 'I am a member, but unfortunately, most of the meetings are on the same day that I am working in different prisons. It is very difficult to attend them.' And another pointed out: 'I'd love to be, but the time I'm allowed into those establishments does not give me time to attend the meetings.' The quotations above should cause considerable concern. Race relations m anagem ent teams are responsible in ensuring that the Prison Service's race relations policies are being carried out. The teams check that prisoners are not being discriminated against in terms of access to work, education, religion and so forth (Leech 1999). It would be beneficial for Muslim prisoners to gain representation on the race relations m anagement teams if not directly, then indirectly via their Imams. At present, however, inmates are not involved in such meetings and Imams face many obstacles to attending race relations meetings. Many Imams are employed by the prison system on a nom ina l/p a rt-tim e basis and therefore arc not integrated into the system as adequately as they should be. Prison service records reveal that the number of prisoners being classified as following an Islamic religion has been steadily rising. Between the period 1991 and

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1997, the M uslim faith accounted for 86 per cent of the rise in nonChristian religions within the prison system (A nnual R eligio us Censu s, Prison Service Chaplaincy, in Beckford and Gilliat 1998: 48). N onetheless, the increase in the intake of M uslim prisoners does not seem to be reflected in the n u m b e r of hou rs w orked by the Im am s. It is crucial for prisons to increase the n u m b e r of hours the Im am s w o rk in order to integrate them more fully into the prison system . In this way, they m ig h t have more time to attend race relations m eetings. The related issue of pay is also im portant since the I m am s spend consid erable su m s of m o n ey travelling to visit their prisoners. Im am s often live in urban locations, far aw ay from the rural locations of m a n y prisons. Prison chaplains m a y not w ish to a ppo int a visiting m e m b e r w h ose travel expenses will use up a consid erable a m o u n t of their budget. Moreover, so m e gov ernors limit the am o u n t of travel expenses a visiting m e m b e r can claim (Beckford and Gilliat 1998).1 A lack of fu nding and supp ort is also a problem for other religions that are practised in prison. For e xam p le, Beckford and Gilliat (ibid.) note the difficulties experienced by individuals representing the Sikh faith, who receive no H o m e Office fu nding. As a result, the treatm ent of Sikh prisoners is not considered to be as good as the treatm ent provided to Christian prisoners.

D i r e c t a n d i n d ir e c t r a c i s m

T he issue of racism in prisons has long been a feature of academ ic literature (Penal Affairs Co nsortiu m 1996; B ryans and Wilson 1998; G end ers and Player 1989). Racism in prison can occur directly in the form of racial harassm ent, abusive language, assault and so forth. Racist incid ents can take place b etw een prisoners, b etw een prisoners and staff and betw ee n staff and other individuals visiting the prison. Racism am o n gst prison officers is particularly im portant to explore, since officers have a lot of direct contact with prisoners and visiting m e m b ers as they are responsible for the security, control and day-to-day care of the inmate population (G enders and Player 1989). A research study carried out by G end ers and Player (ibid.) found that prison staff held in co m m o n a n u m b e r of view s about the character and beh a v io u r of ethnic minority inmates. Racial stereotypes e m erg ed w h ich stigmatised prisoners. More recently, Burnett and Farrell (1994: 9) have found that significantly m ore ethnic m inority prisoners com plained of racial incid ents than white inmates. A third of Asians and nearly half of blacks said they had been racially victimised by staff. These incidents included assault, bullying, theft, verbal abuse and harassm ent. In term s of indirect discrim ination,

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m eals were found to be the m o st controversial area as they w ere seen by inm ates to discrim inate against ethnic m inority groups. M uslim prisoners criticised the absence or dearth of Halal m eat in so m e prisons: 'T hey do provide halal m eat but I d o n 't think it's true halal. It is very po or quality and it is pre pared w ith ordinary m eat dishes and served in the sam e dishes as other food. Islam ic religion has very strict rules about diet and food preparation s' (ibid.: 21). O ther pro blem s associated with practising the M uslim faith in prison included concern about the place and times of w o rship , or the provision of a suitable minister (ibid.). A significant proportio n of racial incidents are, how ever, unlikely to have b een recorded or reported due to the largely hidd en natu re of racism in prison. P risoners m ay be unw illing to talk about instances of h arass­ m e n t and abuse from either other prisoners or prison staff due to a fear of retaliation. R eturn ing to the study reported in this chapter, m an y of the Im a m s w h o w ere interview ed also described that both prison staff and prisoners have behaved in a racist m an n er to w ards them . The Im a m s taking part in this study occu py a structurally more po w e rfu l position w ithin the prison system than the M uslim prisoners they serve. This m eans their experiences of direct racism are perhaps m ore easy to reveal than those of the prisoners. For exam p le , one individual explained: O nce they [prison officers] w ere checking the inm ates and they asked us to stand in the sa m e line as the inmates. We refused. How did they react to that? Th e y didn't. T h e y s h o u ld n 't h av e asked us to stand in the sam e line as the inmates. A n oth e r said: Sly rem arks a b ou t Islam and M u slim s, the w ay w e pray. N a m e s that are not polite are used. As a parson you get remarks. With Im am s, myself, with M u slim s it is to a greater extent. Even now it is still prevalent a m o n g certain officers. T he privileges of the M u slim s have been depriv ed. Can you give an exam p le of the rem arks that would be used? O h like 'c o ons' 'A rabs'. O ne Im am was also called racist n am e s by the prisoners: S o m e seven m o n th s ago I w as shouted at through a w ing by som e inm ates and called a Paki. I heard it once, tw ice, three times. It w ent on a bout ten times. I w as so annoyed that I actually w e n t into that

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particular w ing and I stood surrou nded by inmates. An officer of that w ing w as stood quite a few steps aw ay from m e and I stood in the m iddle of the inm ates and said, 'H ere I am. W h o w an ts to kill m e?' T h e y all denied. T hey all said, 'N o '. T hey all apologised basically, but no one took the personal flak. The language used by individuals is quite startling, particularly when taking into consideration the fact that it is a disciplinary offence for staff or prisoners to use racially abusive language (Leech 1999). Ignorance over the spiritual and practical aspects of Islam has led to insensitive treatm ent of prisoners by the prison authorities. For e xam p le, one Im am relayed the follow ing incident to us: I could be called a n a m e, b ut I could laugh with it. W hen a person is distu rbed w h en he is praying, it is through ignorance becau se there is an Islam ic w ay w here you go into a form of m ed itation w h ere you do not turn left or right. O nce you have e m braced y ou rself you are in the presence o f the Lord and nothing in the world would m ak e you turn round. O n e particular incident com es to m ind w h ere an officer k ept d isturbin g an inm ate within his cell w hilst he w as praying. He k ept com in g back, k ept com ing back. W h e n I approached him , he said that he tho ught the inm ate was playing a g am e with him by not w an ting to respond w h en he w as calling his nam e. It w as taken very offensively. W hile another Im am argued that having to share a multi-faith room with other religions is undesirable: R egarding the usage of the pray er ro om, w e do h av e in m ost of the prisons, actu ally th roughout the UK w e have a multi-faith co m m o n room, now to a certain extent it is okay. But I think it is advisable, that if they allow us a separate room for M u slim s to w orship, then it w ould be more beneficial for the Imam and the inm ates b ecause s om etim es w e do need to stick our religious artefacts and posters and things like that. So, if we h ave any pictures to do with h u m a n s or s om ething that has a life inside and it's placed on the w all w hich we have to face then in Islam it is not desirable, so the prayers b eco m e undesirable. I think that the g o v ern m e n t or authorities should provide us with a separate room rath er than a multi-faith room. In s om e prisons, there is a separate room in w h ich they can carry out their daily duties.

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The findings above reflect the results of a recent H o m e Office Study, which indicates that organisations from m o st religious traditions reported unfair treatm ent by the prison authorities. O ut of 38 M uslim organisations, 34 reported physical abuse from prison staff, as well as a lack of provision of Halal food and w h ite favouritism (Weller et al 2001: 53). M oreover, thirtyfour out of 38 M uslim organisations indicated unfair treatm ent from prison staff, com pared to only 21 out of 125 Christian organisations (ibid.). In spite of the Prison Service's race relations policy, w hich m ak e s it an offence to discrim inate on grounds of religion, it see m s that anti-M uslim sentim ent, discrim ination and overt racism continu e to be a c o m m o n p la ce feature in a penal setting. Discrim ination against other religions is also a co m m o n p la ce feature of prison. Unfair treatm ent in prison has also been reported by individuals fo llow ing other religions. B ud d hists have argued that their chaplains are under Christian control; H ind us have accused prison authorities of ignoring their cu lture; Je w s have experienced hostility and have criticised the lack of provision of k osher food; whilst Sikhs have argued that in prison there is a lack of k no w le d g e about their religious cu stom s (ibid: 53).

Im p ro v e m e n t

Despite the m any p ro blem s encou ntered by the Im am s w h en visiting prisoners, the majority of those interview ed non etheless claim ed that over the years they have been visiting prisons, their w o rkin g cond itions have im pro ved. For som e, there has been an im p ro v e m en t in their access to keys and other facilities, w hilst others argued there is now a greater acceptance o f the M uslim faith by prison staff m e m b ers and authorities. O ne Im a m , w ho has been visiting prisons over the last ten years, revealed: In the ten years that you have been going into the jail that you go into, do you find that attitu des tow ards you from the staff have chang ed ? Yes, it is better now than before. Give me exam p les of how it's better. The fact that w e have the keys. T hat has m ad e it easier. A n oth e r Im am , w h o has been visiting prisons over the last fo ur years, argued that: The tangible difference that I have been able to observe is that currently we have a better w o rk ing relatio nship with the e stablish­

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m ent and with the m an a g e m e n t. H ow ever, m y feelings are that it has taken a very long time for the e sta blishm ent to com e ro und to the idea of accepting m e as a figure w ho is not an alien within the s urrou nding s of the prison. While another Im am observed: I think prison staff are b e c o m in g m ore aw are of Islam and M u slim s, and the basic needs of M u slim s. Socially, interaction has improved. This stereotyped racist attitu de that I encountered in the first five years is not as prevalent, although it is still there to a certain extent. It is not as prevalent as it used to be. The greater acceptance o f Islam ic religions by the prison authorities w as partly attributed to the increasing nu m bers of M uslim prisoners. O ne Imam thus argued: A grad ual acceptance, w hich unfortunately had to be done b ecause there are so m a n y M u slim s now w h o are com in g into prison. I think e very one is getting w orried. E ven s o m e of the staff have told me that w h en they first started it w as unheard of, b ut now there are so m any on a daily basis. So it's som ething that they have to address. O thers argued that an im proved acceptance of the M uslim faith w as also due to the w o rk of other outside organisations, such as the Islamic Cultural Centre, the IQ R A Trust and black aw areness groups: I think it [the im pro vem en t] was inter-personal and from w o rk that the organisation has been doing outside the prison. Civilian organisations to im prove relatio nships and cause aw areness a m o n g st the prison staff a bout the need s and aspirations of M u slim s in prison. IQ RA Trust, Islam ic Cultural Centre, black aw areness groups. These people have m ad e a contributio n. By far the m o st frequent reason provided by the Im am s for the greater acceptance of Islamic practices within prison w as that of the role o f their ow n actions. Interview data revealed that the Im a m s h av e actively attem pted to ch a n g e a negative stereotype w h ich they b elieve w as held by prison staff tow ard s M u slim s. Thu s, one Im am w ho has visited prisons over the last three and a half years argued that: I'm trying to show people more ab ou t Islam. Especially so m e of the

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officers before who may have had a bit of a negative attitude, the more they are learning about Islam they are appreciating and we are getting on better as a result of that . . . . Now, the more I am going there and they are seeing that we are open to talk and discuss, the relationships are getting more fruitful. While another said: I think this is probably because I have been effective in the way that I present myself; in the way that I correspond with various personnel within the prison, in the way that I represent the Muslim female prisoners, but I think that the prison has a long way to go in terms of creating the warmth and the goodwill betw een myself and the establishment, so that my work is recognised as a key feature within the infrastructure of the prison. I think that the recognition has to come from the hierarchy of the prison. For one Imam, a way of gaining greater acceptance by the prison authorities was to change the way he dresses: [I wear] western [clothing]. I like to be open-minded. When I go to prisons I don't wear a tie. I wear normal clothes, but not traditional clothes. Do you think that's made it easier for you? It will make it easier. If I wear different clothes I think a lot of people are not going to feel comfortable. Traditional dress might draw unwanted attention, leading to an intensification of unfair treatment. Individuals whose faiths make them visibly different have reported increased discrimination and harassment (Weller et al 2001). For example, the following com ments from a Hindu and a Sikh have been documented: If you're a Hindu, you have problems. If you're a Hindu with a dot, you have more problems. You have to let people know; you have to be strong enough not to conform - like cut your hair in order to be accepted, (ibid.: 14). The Imam reported in this study has thus acted to reduce his visible difference in order better to fit in within the prison system. The Imams also talked about how they have 'learned about the prison

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s y stem ', and how this kn ow le d g e of 'h ow to w o rk the system ' has enabled them to achieve their desired goals. O ne Im am referred to this as 'playing the gam e': 1 w ould say that I'm a very stub b orn chap. If I'v e w an ted som ething, I'v e alw ays exaggerated w h at 1 w an ted to get the n u m b e r of things that I w anted. It's having to play the g am e - the hu m ble requests for certain things. The requ irem ents were not being met, they were being passed on to the individual d ep artm ents and then from the individual officer ranking right d ow n to the inmates. I'm a very pu sh y character, b u t in a nice way. I do try to create friendships with officers and staff, and do try to m eet them after w o rk as well, ju st to break that ice . . . . W h a t I actu ally did w as, w h en they issued m e ju st with the two keys to open the gates, I refused them. I said, I d o n 't w an t y ou r two keys. I w an t an officer with me all the time. 'We can't afford that'. T h e n I think it's ch eaper for me to have a bunch of keys. I got them provided. A n other Im am spok e about good com m u nication: It's com m u n ica tion . You can 't get everything you need, b ut when you know the system and how it works you can get every thing in the right w a y w itho ut ferreting around and pu sh ing too m u c h . . . . I had to find out from my ow n w o rking and in volve m e n t in the prison system . . . . It's m ore im portant if you w o rk with the chaplain, a worker, that they are positive with you. You can get a lot of things b ecau se the chaplain has got a lot of supp ort from the prison system . Im a m s take time to understand the system and their rights . . . . I had to find out from m y o w n w o rking and in volve m e n t in the prison system . The above q uotations reveal that the Im am s were not the 'passive victim s' of direct and institutional racism but, rather, struggled against their m aterial contexts in order to gain greater acceptance by the prison authorities. This clearly highlights how the Im am s have often had to be resourceful and act upon the situations they have found them selves to be in in order to produce change. H ow ever, w hilst their initiative has led to i m p ro vem en ts, m an y Im a m s argued that the prison system itself m u st im plem e n t chang es as its approach to visiting m e m b ers places severe restrictions on them. For e xam p le, one Im am spoke about how he e ncou nters difficulties w h en trying to gain greate r time in prison: I have difficulties if I try to negotiate extra time. T h e y say they d o n 't have the

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resources, they can 't afford to do this or the prisoners are at w o rk and we cannot have access to them. It's alw ay s excuses. It see m s that the duties the Im am s carry out in prison require more hours than the prisons in w h ich they currently w ork allow. For exam ple, one Im am explained that his role in prison is m ultifaceted and timecon su m in g , yet there is insufficient time to fulfil his duties and serve the M uslim prisoners in his care: The reason is b ecau se of the restrictions of time that is allowed within the prison, the Imam is a listener, he is a preacher, he is a caterer, he is a problem -solver, he is salvation, he is family. There are so m an y titles that I can continue with. It is very difficult. As far as the prison is concerned , the Im am com es in and does his Friday prayers - it is th ank you very m u ch and g oodbye. But it d o e sn 't stop there. A s soon as you go in, you get all the problem s that the g uy s h av e faced in the previous w eek. O ne thing leads to another. There are office problem s, racial abuse, the food problem s, the fam ily problem s outside. G u y s not being unlocked b ecau se they are u n em p lo y ed , so they stay bang ed up. O h, the running around is unbelievable. The time that is w asted ju st gathering people, chasing people up. A n other said: It would help a lot [to be em ploy ed full time]. I'v e been told that it's difficult to get this full-time, but w e need more hours. I need more h ou rs to give a lot of support, a lot of the things that they need. Two to three hou rs in each prison is not enough . . . . For me it's a part-time job. I do 4 prisons for 16 hou rs a w eek. T h at's not e nou g h time. We need m ore. I d o n 't have the time to visit inm ates in their cells to talk m o re about their private life, about private things, about w hich they d o n 't like to talk in front of others. Would that extra time also allow you to get m o re involved in the life of the prison? Yes, I attend m eetings, even som e of the things the chaplains do. There are a lot of m eetings that I c an 't attend, so I am cut off from things that are going around and happening. I have no input tow ard s that from m y side. So, I feel that I am not fulfilling m y job properly. So the hours that I am doing are hard ly e nou g h to do the services, do the activities. T he Im am s are therefore arguing that in order to e ng ag e in the public life of the prison to a greater degree, it is necessary for the prison authorities to

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increase their w o rkin g hours within the prison system and to increase their pay. This w ould benefit the prisoners both in terms of having m ore quality time from the Im a m s for their spiritual and practical needs, and also in terms of the Im am s b eco m in g m ore actively involved in m anagerial decisio ns that ultimately h av e an im pact on the lives of prisoners.

R e c e n t re s e a r c h

Kashan A m a r 's recently com pleted but unpublished MA thesis, u n d e r­ taken at the University of Central England in B irm ingh a m , throws further light on to the findings w e have presented above. D escribing his w o rk as a 'naturalistic case stu d y ', w h ich involved both fo rmal and informal interview s and participant observation, A m a r - him self a M u slim accom panied an Im am for s o m e 14 m o nths as he visited fo ur prisons. The objective w as to 'generate a narrative that explored the issues affecting the Im am in his role as a Visiting M in ister' (A m ar 2000: 27). His research is rich and detailed, and the narrative he generates w ould confirm the findings that have been presented above. In particular A m a r concentrates on the need for better c o m m u n icatio n b e tw ee n the Imam and the Church of England chaplain s, and the I m a m 's request for greater time to do his job. Indeed the Imam described feeling 'like an in tru d e r' (ibid.: 30) in the jails he visited, and that this w a s partly exacerbated by the lack of c o m ­ m u nication that existed betw ee n the Im am and the chaplaincy team. The Im am - w h o is anon y m ised throughout the study, as are details of the prisons - had visited one prison for over tw o years, b u t had still not m et the Church of England chaplain becau se Friday w as the chaplain's day off! A m a r conclu des his thesis that the I m a m 's w o rk w a s 'w holly dep en d e n t on the co-operation of the Ch aplain, and this was often m issing' (ibid.).

C o n clu sio n

This chapter has explored the issue of religion in prisons, particularly focusing upon the experiences of both M uslim prisoners and the Im am s w h o cater to their spiritual and practical needs. This chapter has highlighted the extent to w hich the penal system is orientated to wards Christianity, since the Ch urch of E ngland clergy are primarily given responsibility to provide religious care within prison. A s a result, the Im am s are often marginalised from decision-m ak ing m echa nism s, w hich ultim ately im pacts up on the kinds of religious care provided to M uslim

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R a c is m a n d r e li g io u s d is c r im in a t io n in p r i s o n

p r i s o n e r s . A t th e s a m e ti m e , it a p p e a r s th a t a s ig n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n o f p r i s o n e r s a n d I m a m s e x p e r i e n c e b o t h d ir e c t a n d i n s t it u t i o n a l ra c is m an d a n t i - M u s l i m s e n t im e n t . A n y r e d u c t i o n in th e le v e l o f h a r a s s m e n t a n d d is c r i m i n a t i o n e x p e r i e n c e d by M u s l i m s w i t h i n th e p r i s o n s y s t e m h a s l a r g e l y a r i s e n fro m th e w o r k o f M u s l i m o r g a n i s a t i o n s as w e l l as the d ir e c t a c t i o n s o f M u s l i m s t h e m s e lv e s . It s e e m s th a t th e I m a m s w h o c a t e r to th e

needs

o f M u slim

in m ates h av e

w orked

h a rd

to i m p r o v e

th e ir

r e la t io n s h ip w i th th e p r i s o n a u t h o r i ti e s . It is now' i m p o r t a n t fo r the p r i s o n a u t h o r i t i e s to r e m o v e th e i m b a l a n c e b e t w e e n C h r is t i a n a n d n o n - C h r is t i a n r e li g i o n s , g r a n t i n g a m o r e e q u a l s ta tu s fo r n o n - C h r i s t i a n fa ith s s u c h as Is la m .

N ote s

1 Of note, the privately operated HMP Dovegate has been the first to recruit a full­ time Imam on to its staff (Ahmed 2001: 20).

R eferen ces

Ahmed, M. (2001) Muslim religious provision in HM Prison Service. The Prison Service Journal 137: 19-21. Amar, K. (2000) Ministers or visitors? A report examining the perceptions and experiences of a Muslim Imam in his role as a visiting minister to HM Prison Service. Unpublished MA thesis, UCE in Birmingham. Beckford, J. and Gilliat, S. (1998) Religion in Prison: Equal Rites in a M ulti-Faith Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bryans, S. and Wilson, D. (1998) The Prison Governor: Theory and Practice. Leyhill: Prison Service Journal. Burnett, R. and Farrell, G. (1994) R eported and U nreported Racial Incidents in Prisons. Occasional Paper 14. Oxford: Centre for Criminological Research, University of Oxford. Conway, G. (1997) Islam ophobia: A Challenge fo r us All. London: The Runnymede Trust. Fitzgerald, M. (1993) Ethnic M inorities and the C rim inal Justice System. London: HMSO. Genders, E. and Player, E. (1989) Race Relations in Prisons. Oxford: Clarendon Press. HM Prison Service (1996) Directory and Guide on Religious Practices in HM Prison Service. London: HM Prison Service. Hood, R. (1992) Race and Sentencing. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Kalunta-Crompton, A. (1998) The prosecution and the defence of black defendants in drugs trials. British Journal o f Crim inology 38(4): 561-91. Leech, M. (1999) The Prisons H andbook (3rd edn). Winchester: Waterside Press.

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Is la m , c r im e a n d c r im in a l ju s t ic e

Macpherson, W. (1999) The Stephen Law rence Inquiry: Report o f an Inquiry London: HM SO (Cm 4262-1). Penal Affairs Consortium (1996) Race and C rim inal Justice. London: N ACRO. Weller, P., Feldman, A. and Purdam, K. (2001) Religious Discrimination in England and Wales. H om e Office Research Study 220. London: HMSO. Wilson, D. (1999) Muslims in prison. In S. el-Hassan (ed.) Practising Islam in P rison, London: IQRA Trust, pp. 5-12. Wilson, D. and Sharp, D. (1998) Visiting Prisons: A H andbook fo r Imams. London: IQRA Trust.

Chapter 6

W o r k i n g with M u slim s in prison the I Q R A Trust Salah el-Hassan

I n t r o d u c t io n

This short chapter seeks to describe the work of a charity - the IQRA Trust - which aims to promote a better understanding of Islam in Britain. As such, the chapter has no greater goal than describing some of the historical milestones of IQRA and some of the work we have undertaken. Of note, the chapter describes how IQRA became involved with HM Prison Service, offering advice to that agency about the increasing numbers of Muslims being incarcerated in England and Wales, and thereafter how it sponsored research and held conferences with prison service personnel and other professionals working in the criminal justice system. Iqra

Iqra is an Arabic word that means 'read' or 'recite'. It was the first word of the Q u r'a n to be revealed by God, to Prophet M u ham m ad (peace be upon him). Surah 96 (1-5) of the Q u r'an begins with this revelation: Read: In the name of thy Lord who createth, Createth man from a clot! Read: and thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, W ho teacheth by the pen, teacheth man that which he knew not!

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Islam , c rim e and crim in al justice

T h e I Q R A T rust

The IQRA Trust is a Muslim educational organisation dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of Islam among Muslims and nonMuslims alike in the UK so as to promote greater mutual understanding. It also aims to encourage Muslims to participate positively and fully in all aspects of life in Britain, and to practise the teachings of their religion. IQRA is a non-political organisation. It does not represent any group within Islam but works on behalf of the Islamic faith as a whole. Islam encourages the brotherhood of humankind and works for the peace and prosperity of all Creation. It is in this spirit that the IQRA Trust was established. With almost two million Muslims living in Britain, Islam is now the largest non-Christian religion in the country. It is important, then, that Muslims and non-M uslims in the UK gain a greater understanding of, and respect for, each other's way of life, and come to appreciate the many values they hold in com mon. Since it was founded in 1986, IQRA has developed a wide programme of events and publications encompassing all areas of life in Britain. Som e of its earliest publications included a presspack for journalists, suitable for inclusion in a Filofax, containing useful information about Islam. A newsletter was also published and circulated to M embers of Parliament, containing some of the findings of the first IQRA research report (see below).

I Q R A d a ta b a se essays

M ost books on Islam of any academ ic standing are written in Arabic and other Islamic languages. Therefore, IQRA set out to build up a database of Islamic knowledge in English. Muslim scholars were commissioned to write essays on a wide range of topics covering aspects of the religion of Islam, its history and civilisation, its contributions to science and other fields of arts, philosophy and learning. Other writers were British experts in their fields. All these essays were keyed into a computer. The intention behind this project was to provide an information resource that could be accessed via com puter by anyone at any level requiring information about Islam. They would provide tasters and links to more information. At present (2002) these data, covering around 200 topics, are used as a resource to answer inquiries but it is hoped eventually to make it available on the Internet via the IQRA Trust's website. Meanwhile, many of these essays have been abridged as short factfiles, and 18 of them so far have been published as leaflets and booklets in the IQRA essays series.

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W o r k i n g w ith M u s lim s in p r is o n - th e I Q R A T ru s t

Research rep orts

A n oth e r early IQ R A project was to c om m ission a series of research reports, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as P u blic A ttitu d es to Islam , Islam in LEA S chools, F acilities fo r M uslim B urial and N H S H osp ital F acilities fo r M uslim P atien ts. The latest to be published in this series is D isaffection am on gst M uslim P u pils: E xclusion an d Truancy, com m issioned in the year 2000 by the N ational F ou nd atio n for E du cational Research. This study is the first step in a new IQ RA drive to study and provide for the needs of y ou ng M u slim s in the UK. T he need to p revent them from drifting away from Islam and into anti-social activities has b eco m e increasingly clear from IQ R A 's w o rk in p risoners' welfare.

T each in g m a teria ls

IQ R A is unique in providing cross-curricular teaching m aterials geared to the U K National C u rriculum . As well as for M uslim schools, these m aterials are also suitable for other n on -M u slim schools. C h ildren's writers, teachers, illustrators, picture researchers and historians were com m issioned to produce teaching m aterials on a wide range of topics. S o m e of these are already published and in use in schools, m o st recently in the form of IQ R A 's first Islam ic R esou rce Pack. This contains m o st of the b ooks, m odel kits, w ork cards, m ag azines, teaching p acks and 'essays' printed so far. The m an y still unpublished teaching m aterials on IQRA's com p u te r are an additional, invaluable resource in answ ering inquiries from teachers and pupils and recently, M uslim prisoners.

G u id a n ce bookle ts

IQ R A's series of gu id a nce booklets is intended to help vario us groups in the c o m m u n ity to deal with aspects of their w o rk in relation to M u slim s. T he first, M eetin g the N eeds o f M uslim P u pils, help s teachers understand how they can a cc o m m o d a te their M uslim pupils' religious requirem ents in a m ainstream school environm ent. P articip atin g in SA C R E s and P articipatin g in S chool G overn in g B odies contain guidelines for M uslim parents and te achers on how to ensure that the religious instruction their children receive m eets Islam ic requirem ents, and how they can participate in decision-m aking a bout the teaching of other subjects. O ther draft g uid ance booklets still awaiting publication are M eetin g the N eeds o f M uslim P atien ts, Islam : a W riter's G uide, A lcoh ol and other In tox ican ts in Islam

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and A H an dbook fo r S chool Visits. IQRA also contributed a chapter on sex education in Islam to the N ational C h ildren's Bureau publication R eligion, E thnicity an d Sex E du cation : E xplorin g the Issues (1998).

P r i s o n e r s ’ w elfare

The guid ance provided by IQ R A to professional co m m u n ity w orkers included, from an early stage, w o rk with prisons and the Prison Service. In 1992 the trust started its co-operation with the Prison Service by sending copies of the H oly Q u r 'a n and Islam ic b o o k s to prison establishm ents. In 1993, IQ R A was asked to nom in a te a m e m b er o f its staff to deliver an annual lecture on Islam at the R ug b y Prison Service College. By 1994 the trust provided regular advice and inform ation to the Prison Service Chaplaincy. In 1995, IQRA w orked with the chaplaincy on editing the Islam section in the P rison S ervice D irectory and G u ide on R eligiou s P ractices in HM P risons. Building on these contacts, and responding to an obvious n eed, the IQ R A P risoners' Welfare Directorate was set up in 1996. Its activities can be described u n d er the fo llow ing headings. S t a f f tr a inin g ev ents

The first training day for visiting Im am s took place in February 1997 at the University o f Central E ngland and, later that year, IQ R A published a h an d b o o k for visiting Im a m s (V isiting P rison s by David W ilson and Douglas Sharp). In N o v e m b e r 1997, IQ R A held a sem inar on 'Prison visiting Im a m s ' response to the problem s of M uslim inm ates'. This event b rou g ht together, for the first time, over 40 prison Im a m s as well as other specialists. O n 14 O ctob er 1998, IQ R A held a netw o rk and training day at Westhill College, B irm in g h am , in w hich prison officers w ere trained to recognise the needs of M uslim prisoners, inclu ding those relating to R am ad an. It w as attended by 23 chaplain s, 24 race relations liaison officers, 12 Im a m s, 2 catering officers and 1 prisoner. O n 9 Ju ne 1999, IQ R A's fourth training event w as held at Portsm o uth University, entitled 'Practising Islam in Prison'. Tw enty-three race relations liaison officers, 14 chaplains and 8 Im a m s attended the day. A book of the sam e title was published soon afterw ards, containing the papers presented. In N o v e m b e r 1999, a 'R a m a d a n o pen d ay' w as organised in conjunction with the Prison Service College, Wakefield. This w as an exceptional event attended by alm o st 270 m e m b er s of staff from prisons nationw ide.

W o r k in g w ith M u s lim s in p ris o n - the I Q R A T ru st

Pub lica t io n s

These were meant to meet the needs of the three parties we serve in prisons: chaplains and officers, Imams and the Muslim prisoners. They vary from the H andbook fo r Prison Im am s to the G uidelines on the Preparation o f H alal Food and the Who Cares? leaflet. R a m a d a n a n d Eid

The 'Ramadan and Eid' project was launched in 1997. It reflects the spirit of that special month. It targets prisons with a high Muslim population where dates and other special foods for Ramadan and the sweets for the Eid festival are distributed. O t h e r c r im in a l justice a gencies

In February 2000 IQRA Prisoners Welfare organised the first conference on 'The Muslim com munity and the criminal justice system' at which two government ministers gave speeches. This conference brought together m any strands of the criminal justice system (from the Crown Prosecution Service and police to probation officers) to share experiences and exchange ideas. IQRA followed this up with a publication of the same title, containing transcripts of all the speeches given. In January 2001 an IQRA conference on 'The Muslim com munity and the Probation Service' took place. Further publications, including a guide for the Probation Service on how to deal with Muslim clients, are also awaiting publication. We also commissioned a research study on the 'Experiences of Muslim police officers' by Douglas Sharp of UCE (the findings of this research appear in Chapter 4 of this book).

C o n c lu s i o n

The IQRA Trust is a small charity which has attempted to promote some broader understanding of the needs of Muslims in Britain. In this respect it has reacted to the growing awareness of the increase in the numbers of young Muslims being sent to prison, and being drawn into the criminal justice system. Throughout it has sought to work with HM Prison Service and other criminal justice agencies and, as a consequence, our training events have been held with prison service personnel, police, probation officers and others. Clearly there is a limit to what we are able to do and, given that we are not political, we have concentrated on creating a dialogue and providing information. We hope this has in turn fulfilled our broader aim of promoting a better understanding of Islam in Britain.

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Chapter 7

H u m a n rights and M u slim s in Britain Natassjn Smiljanic

In t r o d u c t io n

As a subject for study, human rights has been somewhat neglected by the discipline of criminology. Whilst philosophers have concerned themselves with the ethics and dilemmas presented by human rights and violations of them, lawyers similarly troubled by the importance of human rights have largely tried to seek out which human rights are protected by law and, more radically, those which should be. There is no one definition of human rights, and legal perspectives tend to concentrate on those human rights that are set out in law or that are capable of legal protection. There is an abundance of writing on human rights from various legal perspectives, and this literature is almost impossible to quantify. There is, in fact, no general theory of human rights (Douzinas 2000: 4). Hum an rights as a subject of concern for criminology was first acknowledged by the Schwendingers (1975), who argued 'any crime should be defined as any behaviour that violates human rights'. Although human rights protection is conferred by the state through law, the state can act criminally by abusing those rights - and both lawyers and criminologists have con­ cerned themselves with the state as perpetrator of crime. However, the law is also concerned with human rights as civil rights - dealt with by civil rather than criminal law. More pragmatic legal thinking is concerned with how harms to individuals can be defined as human rights and with what forms of compensation or redress are available to those who have suffered human rights violations.

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In the U K , 'h u m a n rights' has tended to occu py legal discourses rather than broad er social, econom ic and cultural ones. In fact, until the im plem entation of the H u m an Rights Act 1998, the term 'civil liberties' rather than 'h u m a n rights' was m ost co m m o n ly used within the British legal system . T he idea of 'civil liberties' was ack n o w le d g ed through co m m o n law rath er than legislation, and this w as the closest British citizens could get to any formally recognised hu m a n rights or, rather, as they have bee n d escribed, 'negative rights' - the freedom to do w h atev er one likes provided it has not been prohibited by law. This situation has b een fu nd am entally and, possibly, irrevocably changed by the passing of the H u m a n Rights Act in 1998 w hich sets out specific and legally enforceable hu m an rights taken from the European C o nvention on H u m an Rights, which the Act partially incorporates. T he p a s s in g 1 of the A ct has prom pted n u m e ro u s d iscussions as to how the h u m a n rights of British citizens can be protected and enforced under this new legislation. For M u s lim s 2 in Britain, h u m a n rights issues are fu nd am ental to the quality of their lives, yet a significant lack o f attention has been afforded to the hu m an rights needs and claim s of M u slim s. M any M u slim s suffer discrim ination for being M uslim in every area of life - in the w o rk place, in schools and in public spaces. H u m an rights issues also affect female and male M u slim s in different ways. For e xam p le, Spalek (see C h apter 3) discusses n u m e ro u s te stim onies from M uslim w o m en w h o have had their h u m an rights violated in every d ay life for sim ply w earing the Hijab. This chapter looks at the potential for the H u m an Rights A ct 1998 to a ck n o w le d g e and protect the h u m a n rights of British M uslim citizens. In ad dressing such concerns, a case can be m a d e that there is a significant gap b etw een the s o m e w h a t idealistic notions o f w h at h u m a n rights legislation has been set up to protect (see Klug 2000) and M u slim peop le's e x ­ periences of violations of their hu m a n rights. U n derly ing this chapter is the perspective that, currently, hu m a n rights issues are conceptualised in particularly narrow w a ys as exem plified by the so m e w h a t limited protection afforded by the H u m a n R ights Act. It is im portant not to assu m e that this relatively new legislation is doing enough to protect the h u m a n rights of M u slim s; m u ch broa d er co m m itm e n ts and policies m u st be d eveloped - in cu ltural, social, political and e con om ic d om ain s - in order to furnish a truly m ea n in gfu l co m m itm e n t to the h u m a n rights of British M uslim citizens, regardless of religion or any other 'difference.' A report recently produced by the Islamic H u m a n Rights C o m m issio n (IH R C ), A nti-M u slim D iscrim in ation an d H ostility in the UK, 2000 (IHRC 2000), identified the m ain h u m a n rights issues regarding M u slim s. Although the report loosely uses the te rm inology of 'h u m a n rights', the

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s tud y is centred on particular cases of 'd iscrim ina tion' as nam ed and experienced by individuals and by the w id er M uslim c o m m u n ity w h ere a specific victim m ay not necessarily be identifiable. In surveys conducted b etw een 1998 and 2000, the report found that, in 2000, 45 per cent of M uslim respondents reported that either they or a m e m b e r of their im m ediate fam ily 'h ave personal experience of discrim ination or hostility specifically for being a M u slim '. This figure had risen by 10 per cent from the previous year. E ven m ore alarmingly, w h en looking at the g end er of the respondents, the survey show s that, in 1999, 49 per cent o f females reported d iscrimination or hostility com pared with 25 per cent of m ales. In 2000 this rose to 52 per cent of fem ales and 36 per cent of m ales (ibid.: 36). A nti-M uslim d iscrimination and hostility are prevalent in all areas of British society. The IH R C reports fo cuses u p on four m ajor areas of concern in terms of the h u m a n rights of M u slim s: education, e m p lo y m e n t, m edia representations of M u slim s and legal discrimination. D iscrim ination in the sphere of education affects M u slim s on a n u m b e r of different levels, from exclusion due to religious requirem ents (prayer needs, religious dress and appearance), to religious h arassm ent and criminal acts. M any cases of discrim ination have been cited within the sphere of e m p lo y m e n t - from applying for a job to dism issal for expressin g religious identity through dress and appearance, to dismissal for observin g prayer times and prayer days and to, again, h ara ssm e n t and intim id ation. Media representatio ns of M u slim s can be regarded as a fu nd am ental problem in that they portray negative stereotypes of M u slim s (particularly in relation to terrorist attacks and violence, particularly in the afterm ath of the 11 S e p te m b e r attack on N ew York's World Trade Center). In term s of legal discrim ination, the report expressed concern that existing antid iscrimination legislation fails to take into account the problem s faced by M u slim s in m any areas of life, in the m ain becau se such legislation deals with racial rath er than religious discrim ination. How ever, the potential im portance o f the H u m an Rights A ct is a ck now led g ed by the report, w hich is slightly optim istic ab ou t M u slim s being able to use 'C onv ention rights' u n d er the Act in an attem pt to ov ercom e the lim itations of existing legislation.

T h e H u m a n R i g h t s A c t 1998

The H u m a n Rights Act 1998 introduces into British law the European C o n v e n tion on H u m a n Rights and F u n d a m en ta l F reed om s (often referred to as the E u ro pean C o nvention). This international d o cu m en t (w hich was drafted by the Council of Europe in 1950) was ratified by the UK in 1953.

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Since 1966 British citizens have had the right to petition the European Co urt of H u m a n Rights in Strasbourg for violations of their substantive hu m a n rights under the articles of the C o nvention. Despite the difficulties involved in taking a case to the European C o u rt (m ainly in terms of access, cost and length of proceed ings) the availability of a 're m e d y ' for hu m a n rights violations has had im portant im plications for British citizens. This is particularly so as the E u ro pean C o nvention, unlike other com parab le inte rnational h u m a n rights instru m ents, gives the individual an op p or­ tunity to argue their case in front of a cou rt rath er than having to rely on a h u m an rights organisation to investigate and report on his or her behalf. Although the H u m a n Rights Act 'brings rights h o m e ', this right of individual petition still remains if the a pplicant has exhausted all dom estic remedies. T he A ct directly 'incorporates' a n u m b e r of fu n d am e n tal rights and freed om s from the European C o nvention, w hich are referred to as 'C on v en tion rights' (see Table 7.1). As well as containing the substantive 'h u m a n rights' taken from the European C o nvention, the H u m a n Rights A ct sets out how these rights are to be enforced. U n d e r s. 7, an individual ('the victim ') w h o alleges that one or m ore of his or her h u m a n rights (as contained in the legislation) have b een violated, has the right to redress in the British courts. This can take any o f the usual form s of legal redress available in Britain, such as com p en sa tion (s. 8). W h a t is significant about Table 7.1: C on ven tion rights A rticle 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14

P rovision R ight to Life Prohibition of torture Prohibition of slavery and forced labour R ight to liberty and security R ight to a fair trial N o p u n is h m en t w ithout law R ight to respect for private and family life Freed om of th ought, conscience and religion Freedom of expressio n Freed om of assem bly and association Right to marry Prohibition of d iscrimination

N ote: Article 13 'the right to an effective re m e d y ' is not incorporated.

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the Act is that it is only concerned with the acts of 'public bodies' or those performing a 'public function' (s. 6(3)). Hence such public bodies as schools, hospitals, universities, the police and, of course, the courts must comply with Convention rights. These bodies (as employers, as providers of health, education and policing, and as decision-makers) can all affect human rights on a variety of levels. Restricting the Act to public bodies can be regarded as a major limitation of this piece of legislation, although the case law is already growing where Convention rights have been pleaded against private organisations in addition to the com mon law 'civil liberties' that are already in existence. Though not bound so to do, British courts must look to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights for guidance (s. 2). This is particularly important as the guidelines for interpreting human rights in British case law are limited. In fact, looking to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights is almost all that is available in terms of understanding how convention rights have been interpreted in the past since the newness of the Act means there is not as yet a substantial body of British cases. In terms of interpretation, the Act operates by stating that existing legislation must be 'read and given effect' so that it is 'compatible' with Convention rights (s. 3). If the courts do not consider existing legislation to be compatible, they can make what is known as a 'declaration of incompatibility' (s. 4), which then passes the responsibility for amending the offending legislation back to Parliament. New legislation must be com patible with the Convention rights (s. 19) and, if it is not, the minister introducing such legislation must state why. The ju dgments and decisions of the European Court and the Human Rights Commission (which acted as a filter for cases before the court until 1998 when it was merged with the court), therefore, provide us with guidelines for how specific human rights issues have been interpreted. Although the Act only came into force on 2 October 2000, some interesting cases have emerged, largely concerned with the right to a fair trial (art. 6) and with privacy rights (art. 8). A Muslim seeking to use the Act in terms of arguing a case of religious discrimination would look to arts. 9 and 14, which are concerned with the right to freedom of religion and the right to freedom against discrimination (including religion).

A r t ic le 9 (fre e d o m o f re lig io n) and A r t ic le 14 (p roh ibitio n of d i s c r i m i n a t io n )

The right to religious freedom is a fu ndamental human right for Muslims and, under the Act, art. 9 provides potential for this right to be protected. This article states:

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1. E very one has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right inclu des freedom to chang e his religion or b elief and freed om , either alone or in c o m m u n ity with others and in public or private, to m anifest his religion or belief, in w orship, teaching, practice and observance. 2. Freedom to m anifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such lim itations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a d em ocratic society in the interests o f public safety, for the protection of public order, health or m orals, or for the protection of the rights and freedom s of others. N o specific definition of religion or belief has been established by the European C o u rt (Evans 2001: 51), w h ich s eem s to h ave addressed different religions on a case-by-case basis. Islam, for exam p le, w as accepted as a religion in the case o f A h m ed v. UK (1981), w h ich is discussed below. The right to religious freedom is k n ow n as an 'absolute right', w h ich m eans it is a right that is afforded greater protection as it cannot be limited by the courts (M oon and Allen 2000: 582). How ever, the freedom to 'm anifest' one's religion is 'q ualified ', w h ich m e a n s that, in establishing w h eth er such a freedom to m anifest is to be protected, there exist lim itations w hich have to be balanced against this freedom. 'M anifestation' has been taken to m ean such acts as practising and teaching a nd , as such, this m ay have implications for the rights and freedom s of other individuals as well as 'public safety', 'the protection of public o r d e r', 'health or m orals'. T h e re ­ fore a balancing exercise exists in terms of protecting the h u m a n rights of the individual w ishing to m anifest his or her religion or beliefs and the b road er space in w h ich this occurs. W adham and Mountfield (2001: 110) argue that 'in cases where discrim ination because of the con se q u e n ces of a religious belief have been alleged, the Strasbourg ju risp rud ence is extrem ely restrictive'. The issue of the observance of holy days in e m p lo y m e n t contexts has been a co m m o n contention and has been b ro u g h t by individuals from a n u m b e r of different religions. In such cases, the court has to strike a b alance betw een the rights of individuals to religious expressio n and the rights of e m p loy e rs in term s of the contract of e m p loy m e n t. The case of A h m ed v. ILEA [1977], originally heard in the C o urt of Ap peal, w as eventually taken to Strasbourg and heard b y the European H u m a n Rights C o m m ission . The case concerned a M uslim teacher w h o w ished to attend Friday prayers at his m o sq u e during school hours, b ut his local education authority would only p erm it this w h e n the 'co n seq u e n ccs for his school were not so great', therefore he did not have a right to attend m o sq u e every Friday under the terms of his contract of em p loy m e n t. A h m e d 's case w as taken to an

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industrial tribunal and eventually to the C o u rt of A ppeal, w h o found for the local education authority that such attend ance w ould be in breach of his contract of em ploy m ent. In the C o u rt o f Ap peal, Lord Ju stice S c a rm a n 's dissenting ju d g m e n t (w hich w as noted for being radical at the time - M o o n and Allen 2000) stated: 'I find it im possible to say that the 45 m inutes absence from class every Friday to go to the m o sq u e constitutes a breach of this contract.' S carm a n considered the effect of s. 30 of the E du cation A ct 1944, which states that no one should be prohibited from b eco m in g a teacher in a state school on the basis of his or her religion. He decided that the case turned u p on the effect of this section on A h m e d 's contract of e m p lo y m e n t and held that the court should interpret A h m e d 's contract of e m p lo y m e n t m ore broadly. Scarm an stated that a narrow interpretation o f a contract of e m p lo y m e n t '. . . . w ould m e an a M u slim , w ho took his religious duty seriously, could never accept e m p lo y m e n t as a full-time teacher . . . . ' He w e n t on to consid er the p rovisions the school could m ake in order to allow M uslim teachers to visit m o sq u es on Fridays. R ather than exa m in in g the narrow nature of the contractu al obligations placed upon A h m ed , S carm a n exam ined his case from the p erspective of his e m p lo y m e n t rights and, ultimately, his h u m a n rights, w hich he broadly considered by m ention of the European C onvention itself. As A hm ed was not successful in the British courts in terms of arguing he was not in breach of his contract of e m p lo y m e n t, he took up his case u n d er the C o nvention and argued befo re the c om m ission that his em p loyers were in violation of art. 9. The E uropean C o m m is sio n of H u m an Rights, in reaching its opinion, decided the local edu cation authority had reached a fair b alance betw ee n A h m e d 's religious needs and having to run the school efficiently. Such a case would now com e under the H u m a n Rights Act as art. 9 w ould now bind the local e ducation authority. Similarly, e m p lo y m e n t tribunals (in considering unfair d ismissal cases or other e m p lo y m e n t issues) now have to take into a ccou nt the right to religious freedom in m ak in g their decisions. A m ajor extension to the pro tection of the rights o f religious groups com es under art. 14, which prohibits nu m e rou s kinds of d iscrimination against individuals, including religion. The law has, until now , neglected the problem s of religious discrim ination in com p a riso n with racial d iscrimination. For e xam p le, there had been no obligation on em ployers not to discrim inate against e m p lo y e es in terms of religion in E ngland, Scotland and Wales (N orthern Ireland being an exception). A ltho ugh the public sector has been more forthcom ing in introducing religious equality into the w o rk p la ce, the im portance of a lack of legislation in this area cannot be underestim ated. R eligio us discrim ination is h u gely problem atic in term s of public order offences as incitem ent to religious hatred is not a

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crim e, unlike racial hatred (under the Public O rd er Act 1986). B la sp hem y law s concern them selves only with the Christian religion. Perhaps most significantly in terms o f issues of criminal justice, crim es of harassm ent, intim id ation and violence are not specifically punishable w h e n motivated by religion only but they are w h en m otivated by race, w here higher penalties exist for h ara ssm e n t u n d er the C rim e and D isorder A ct 1998. R ather than using such expressions as 'religious rights' or 'freedom of religion' as encapsulated with the H u m a n Rights Act, 'd iscrim ination' has b een the m ore widely used conc ep t and, as such, it has been em bodied within the legislation. H ow ever, discrim ination has been couched only in relation to racial or sexual d iscrimination (under the Race R elations Act 1976 and the Sex D iscrim ination Act 1975), and this within e m p lo y m e n t contexts only: no specific prohibitio n against religious discrim ination exists in dom estic law. Similarly, those w ho have suffered religious discrim ination have attem pted to rely upon law s that protect particular racial groups - w hich has had particular pro blem atic con se q u e n ces for Mu slim s. U n der British law it has been the position that it is un law ful to discrim inate against a person due to his or her m em b ersh ip of a particular religious group, only if that religious group can be defined with reference to a 'racial g ro up'. The m ean in g of 'racial g ro u p ' can be found in the Race Relations A ct 1976 which states: 'racial groups m eans a group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins . . . . ' (s. 1.1). Therefore, u n d er s u b seq u ent case law, it has been held that Sikhs (M andla v. D ow ell Lee [1983]) and Je w s (Seide v. Gillette Industries Ltd [1980]) are 'racial gro u p s' capable of protection under this legislation, w h erea s Rastafarians (C row n Suppliers v D aw k in s [1983]) and M u slim s are not (J H W alker v. H u ssain [1986]) Article 14 states: T he enjo y m en t of the rights and freed om s set forth in this C o nvention shall be secured w itho ut discrim ination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. T he m ean in g of 'd iscrim ination' u n d er this article is unclear becau se of an u nfortunate lack of case law. The article sets out very broad catagories of d iscrim ination and it is likely that a case brou ght under this article in relation to religious discrim ination against M u slim s would fit into this classification w itho ut m u ch difficult)'. M o n a g h a n (2001: 169) has noted: 'som e com m e n tators have pointed to the lim itations of Article 14 as defining its im p a ct as marginal.' A m ajor

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issue of concern s u rrou nding art. 14 is that it is not w h a t is k n ow n as a free standin g provision. In order to rely on art. 14, in terms of arguing that a victim has suffered discrim ination, this can only be done if one of the v ictim 's other C o n v e n tion rights has been affected (for e xam p le, in suffering discrim ination w h en the right to a fair trial has been denied). A new Proto col 12 to the European C o n v e n tion of H u m a n Rights, w hich allows for the right against discrim ination to be used on its ow n w itho ut reliance on any other C o n v e n tion right, h as yet to be incorporated into the H u m an R ights A ct (M o w b ra y 2001). If art. 14 were to be free-standin g, this w ould greatly affect the ability of victim s to bring claim s of d iscrimination u n d er the Act.

L i m i t a t i o n s o f th e H u m a n R i g h t s A c t

E ven w here the law affords h u m a n rights protection, protecting hu m an rights is fraught with difficulties. Tensions exist b etw een h u m a n rights claim s and h u m a n rights protected by the law. This very gap - b etw ee n the ideal and reality - has formed the basis of m u ch aca d em ic and legal debate. There are m any lim itations to the H u m a n R ights Act - broad ly that the A ct only looks to the protection of w h a t are know n as 'civil and political rights,' ignoring the fu nd am ental 'social and e co n o m ic' hum an rights (as em bodied in international hu m a n rights cov en ants such as the United N ations' International E con o m ic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in 1966). Further, it can be argued that the A ct offers little protection for M u slim s w h o have been affected by interpersonal day-today violence, intim idation, harassm ent and other crimes - protection that is obviou sly fu n d a m e n ta l to ev e ry on e 's h u m a n rights. Violations of such h u m a n rights in terms of victimisation are little protected w hen perpetrated by individuals against other individuals. H u m an rights violations by a public body, w hich can occur in a crim inal context, are, how ever, a ck now led g ed - a M uslim encou ntering violations of his or her hu m a n rights in the criminal justice system can rely on any of the C o nvention rights. The H u m a n Rights A ct is largely concerned with the h u m a n rights of citizens and their protection from violation from p ublic bodies. H ow ever, as noted above, case law under the A ct is creating extensions to these rights to those affected by organisations in the private sector. Despite this, the H u m a n Rights Act does not protect individuals' hu m a n rights in relation to other individuals even though it can clearly be argued that w h en one person assaults another not only is a crim e com m itted but also a h u m a n rights violation has take place. Generally, hu m a n rights law, as well as the H u m an

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Rights Act, is not equ ipp ed to deal with such instances of 'interpersonal' hu m a n rights violations. N evertheless, as individuals w ho are the victims of crim e are not actu ally represented as such in a crim inal ju stice context (w here the state acts as prosecutor), there are im portant implications that m u st be addressed concerning the setting of the Act. T h ro u g h the crim inal law, the state has a positive responsibility to safeguard individual hu m an rights, and failure to provide such protection can have im portant im plications for violations of C o nvention rights. Crim inal attacks, violence and intim idation all affect individ uals' hu m an rights and, as specifically conceptualised under the H u m a n Rights Act, these include the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the right to liberty and security, the right to privacy, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the freedom of expressio n, and the prohib itio n of d iscrimination. A ltho u g h the H u m an Rights A ct is limited in its protection in terms of interpersonal violence and, therefore, h u m a n rights violation, the state, via the criminal justice system , has a clear obligation to protect the hu m an rights of those affected by crim inal acts. T he E uropean C o urt has held that even w here a private individual 'is the agent of the treatm ent' [in this case, a 9-year-old b oy w as b eaten by his stepfather - A v. U K (1998)], states m u st take m easures to ensure that individuals are not subject to d egrading treatm ent or p u n is h m en t inclu ding such ill treatm ent administered by private individ uals' (see Janis et al 2000: 122). Such a decision has im portant implications for all institutions involved in the criminal justice system and it will hopefully act as a p recedent for hu m an rights claim s m ad e by individuals w ho have been criminally assaulted or intim idated b ut have not had their case dealt with ad eq uately by the police and pro secuting authorities.

C r i m i n a l a t t a c k s a n d li m i t a t i o n s o f th e H u m a n R i g h t s A c t

F ollo w ing the destruction of the World Trade C enter in New York on 11 S e p te m b e r 2001, the n u m b e r of M uslim people w h o have been attacked, harassed and intimidated has increased dramatically. Although no exact figures are k n o w n , the grow ing n u m b e r of m ed ia reports of such attacks w ould su p p ort this observation. M uslim m en, w o m e n and children have b een verbally harassed or physically attacked. M uslim w o m e n in particular have b een targeted: their head scarves have been pulled off their heads and they have b een violently assaulted (G u ard ian , 29 S eptem ber 2001). Intim idation and violence of this kind against M u slim people has tended not to b e seen as 'h u m a n rights violations' and often not treated as serio us crim inal offences against M uslim s.

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M u ch m edia focus since the attack on A fghanistan has been upon conditions of im p riso n m e n t and h u m a n rights violations of a n u m b e r of prisoners captured by the US forces and held at a US military base in G u an ta n am o Bay, Cuba. Less attention has centred on the treatm ent of eight (the n u m b e r is still unclear) M uslim prisoners held at Belmarsh Prison in the UK under the pro visions of the Anti-Terrorism, C rim e and Security A ct (an Act that w as heavily challenged but eventually passed by Parliam ent at the end of 2001). U n d e r the Act, 'foreign nationals' w h o are 'reasonably suspected of terrorist activities' and w ho cannot im m ediately be returned to their cou ntry of origin can be detained indefinitely w itho ut charges (this obviou sly inclu des asylum seekers). The im plications of this new legislation for the infringem en t of the h u m a n rights of prisoners are m anifold. N ot only does indefinite detention violate 'inalienable' C o nvention rights such as the right to life (art. 2), the right to liberty and the right to security (art. 4), but it also has implications for virtually all the C onvention rights that seek to protect the hu m an rights of such prisoners - art. 5 in particular. W h at is m ost controversial a bout this d ev elop m en t in relation to the H u m a n Rights Act is that, in order to pass this draconian piece of legislation, the H o m e Secretary, David Blunkett, had to 'd erogate' (i.e. suspend ) British obligations tow ards the C onvention (the only country in E urope out of the 41 signatories to the C o nvention to have d one so). In respect to art. 5 (w hich is concerned with the right to liberty and security and w hich covers cases of arbitrary arrest and detention), in order for d erogation to be achieved, 'a state of em e rg en c y ' m u s t be declared. Such a d eclaration cannot be m a d e th rough legal processes but through parliam en tary approval, w h ich w as achieved in N o v e m b e r 2001 before the passage of the Act. It is still unclear w h eth er the prisoners in Belm arsh are being held under the new Act, and the g o v ern m e n t has refused to confirm or deny this (G uardian 2 February 2002). H ow ever, it still seem s to be the case that the prisoners at B elm arsh have yet to be charged. T h o u g h som e m edia reports a bout their conditions of im p riso n m e n t have appeared, the terms of their d etention have failed to capture public interest to the sam e extent as the plight of the A fghan prisoners held in Cuba. So m e reports have stated that the prisoners in B elm arsh have b een locked up for 22 hours and have been treated like high-security C ategory A prisoners. In addition, they have b een denied the su p p o rt of an Im am , w h o w as s uspend ed after the events of 11 S e p te m b e r (G uardian 22 Ja n u ary 2002, 23 Ja nu ary 2002). They have also had te lephone calls to their families cut off as a result of them using basic A rabic greetings, w h ich prison w arders believed to be som e sort of code (G uardian 2 February 2002).

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I s l a m o p h o b i a as a h u m a n righ ts c o n c e rn

The most problematical issue in relation to analysing issues surrounding Muslims and human rights is probably the lack of information about hum an rights concerns and violations. A report produced by the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia (A ddressing the C hallenge o f Islamophobia-, 2001) states that 'the biggest obstacle, and an example of institutional Islamophobia, is the lack of monitoring on the basis of religion, the lack of hard information and statistics on the experiences of M uslims' (Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia 2001: 20). 'Islamophobia' has been referred to as 'unfounded hostility towards Islam.' In practice, it has also been taken to refer to 'the practical consequences of such hostility in unfair discrimination against Muslim individuals and communities, and to the exclusion of Muslims from mainstream political and social affairs' (ibid.: 1). Although this term has been criticised, it has been argued that, due to the growth of antiMuslim prejudice, such new terminology of this kind was required in order to attempt to encapsulate the dangers of such prejudice (ibid.). Islamophobia can clearly be argued to be a human rights concern because manifestations of Islamophobia encompass a variety of human rights issues - from a lack of equality in the sphere of employment, to a lack of a com m itm ent to the religious needs of school pupils, hospital patients and prisoners, to violence and intimidation directed at individuals and groups and, more broadly, to the com pounding of the invisibility of the presence and identity of Muslim people and com ­ munities.

C o n c lu s i o n

Muslim experiences of human rights violations have tended not to be couched in the language of human rights. In a more theoretical vein, there have been many challenges from Islamic scholars who have rejected the very notion of western human rights - a fact that provokes much concern surrounding tensions between the West and Islamic interpretations of human rights (Bielefeldt 1995; Barbieri 1999). Such analyses are beyond the scope of this chapter but they raise important issues for the practical context of human rights for Muslims in Britain. Without doubt the acknow ledgem ent and protection of Muslim human rights have been underdeveloped - partly due to the lack (until now) of accessibility to human rights legislation and partly also due to the limited categories of discrimination. In establishing the potential for using art. 9 and 14 in

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particular, the Human Rights Act represents an opportunity for Muslims to have their human rights recognised. However there are major issues that need to be addressed before the law can be used positively. I have suggested that Islamophobia needs to be reconceptualised as a human rights concern so that areas of life that affect Muslims and their human rights enter into public discourse. Hum an rights are fundamentally a social, cultural and interpersonal phenom enon, and legal responses to violations of the human rights of Muslims are only partial remedies. The roles of policy-makers, employm ent and educational practices, and media responsibilities all require important reassessment in terms of attitudes towards Muslims. Discrimination, violence and harassment (as well as the invisibility of Muslim experiences) need to be redressed - and the human rights of Muslims need to find its own language as well as using what is possible under the developing legislation. To date, no major case concerning the specific human rights of Muslims has been heard under the Hum an Rights Act, which may already portend that the Act may be failing Muslims who are experiencing human rights violations. The unfortunate example of the treatment of the Muslim prisoners in Belmarsh illustrates the fragility of the Muslim human rights position in Britain, not only in terms of the limitations of the protection of human rights legislation which can so easily be challenged by emergency legislation and ill-thought-out political will, but also in terms of the dangers that are evident once it can be seen just how easily human rights can be threatened and 'taken away' by the state. This and the increasing violence and harassment of Muslims have highlighted the importance of the need for the human rights of Muslims to be addressed on numerous levels. Further fear and disaffection amongst Muslim people and their communities must be avoided if we are to begin to acknowledge the serious issues bought to bear by Islamophobia and the hum an rights concerns it addresses. The existing tensions in how limited human rights legislation can be in terms of protecting the human rights of Muslims could threaten future possibilities of using an important discourse that itself feeds into policy and practices as well as legal responses, and that affects the promising achievem ents already made.

Notes

1 2

For backgrou nd on the history of the H u m an Rights Act, see Parratt (1999) and Klu g (2000). M u slim s in Britain ca n no t be described as h o m o g en eo u s in any sense. Ther e are

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two m ajor strands of Islamic thought, Shi'a and Sunni, the majority of Muslim s practising the latter. In Britain, the term Muslim would include British-b orn and im m ig rant M u slim s from m any different countries and M u slim s w h o speak different languages. See C o n w ay (1997) for background information on the d em ographics and characteristics of British M uslim s.

References Barbieri, W., Group rights and the Muslim diaspora. H um an R ights Q u arterly 21(4): 9 0 7 -2 6 . Bielefcldt, H., (1995) Muslim voices in the hu m an rights debate. H um an Rights Q uarterly 17(4): 5 8 7 -6 1 7 . C o m m issio n on British M u slim s and Islam ophobia (2001) A ddressin g the C hallenge o f Islam ophobia. P rogress R eport, 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 1 . Conway, G. (1997) Islam ophobia: A C hallen ge fo r us A ll. London: The R un n y m ed e Trust. D ouzinas, C. (2000) The End o f H um an Rights. L ondon: Hart Publishing. E vans, C. (2001) Freedom o f R eligion under the European C onvention on H um an R ights. Oxford: Oxford Univ ersity Press. Gillan, A. (2002a) Muslim leader appalled by regime. G uardian 23 January. Gillan, A. (2002b) C oncern voiced for M u slim s held in U K jail. G uardian 2 February. Hegarty, A., and Siobhan, L. (eds.) (1999) H um an Rights - an A gen da fo r the 21st C en tu ry . L ondon: Caven dish. Islamic H um an Rights C om m ission (2000) A n ti M uslim discrim in ation an d hostility in the UK (h t t p ://w w w .i h r c .o r g /I s la m o p h o b i a /f a c t - f i c t io n .h t m ) Janis, M. Richard, K. and Bradley, A. (2000) European H um an R ights Lazo. Oxford Univ ersity Press. Klug, F. (2000) Values fo r a G odless A ge: The S tory o f the UK's Nezo Bill o f R ights. London: Penguin Books. M o n ag h a n , K. (2001) Lim itations and opportu nities: a review of the likely dom estic im p act of Article 14 ECH R. European H um an R ights Lazo Reviezo 2: 1 6 7 -8 0. M o o n , G., and Allen, R. (2000) Substantive rights and equal treatm ent in respect of religion and belief: towards a better un derstand ing of the rights and their implications. European H um an R ights Lazo Reviezo 6: 5 8 0 -6 02 . Mow bray, A. (2001) ECH R: the Twelfth Protocol and recent cases. H um an Rights Lazo Reviezv 1(1): 1 2 7 -43 . Norton-Taylor, R. (2002) The w ar against terrorism is m ak ing villains of us all. G uardian 22 January. Parratt, L. (1999) Unfinished busin ess? Liberty's c am paig n for a Bill of Rights. In A. Hegarty and S. Learnard (eds.) H um an R ights - an A gen da fo r the 21st Century. London: C av en dish, pp. 2 8 7-30 9. S chw end inger, H. and Schw endinger, J. (1975) Defenders of order or g uardians of hum an rights?' In I. Taylor et al (eds.) C ritical C rim in ology. London: Routledge.

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W adham , J. and M ountfield, H. (2001) The H um an R ights A ct 1998 Oxford: Oxford Univ ersity Press.

C a s e s ci t ed National A h m ed v. ILEA [1977] ICR 490. Crow n Suppliers v. D aw kins [1983] IRLR 517. M andla v. Dowell Lee [1983] 2 AC 548. Seide v. Gillette Industries Ltd [1980] IRLR 427. J H Walker v. H u ssain [1986] IRLR 11. E u r o p e a n C o u r t o f H u m a n Rights a n d the E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n A y. UK (1998) 27 E H H R 611 A h m ed v. UK (1981) 22 E U R C O M M HR D EC & REP 27 X v. UK (1 9 8 1 ) 4 E H H R 188.

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Chapter 8

C o n c l u s i o n : religious diversity and criminal justice policy Basia Spalek

In tro d u c tio n

This b ook consists of a series of short chapters each presenting a snapshot of the lives of particular M u slim s living in Britain in terms of their experiences of crim e and the criminal justice system . The un derpinning rationale for this b o o k has been to introduce greater diversity and specificity into crim inological accounts of a div erse range of issues, including victim isation, fear of crim e, causes of crim e and penal policy. E m bed d ed within the different authors' contributions are observations about w h at new kno w le d g e can be gleaned from focusing up on the oftenmarginalised issue of religion and placing it at the centre of crim inological analysis. T he religion that has been explored is Islam, the ju stification for this being that Islam is practised by a significant n u m b e r of people living in Britain and that it is very m u ch a central part of these individuals' every d ay lives. The contributions in this b ook raise a n u m b e r of im portant issues, and it is w o rth reiterating som e of these here.

M o d ernity, p o s t m o d e r n i t y an d k n o w l e d g e c la i m s

The discipline of criminology, alongside other social sciences, emerged during the 'm o d e rn ' era. Walklate (2001) argues that this has m e an t that traditional conception s of science have been fo llow ed, w h ich have inevitably im posed constraints on the d ev elop m en t of know led g e. As a

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result, there has been an 'implicit acceptance of a view of the world which equated human experience with male experience' (Walklate 2001: 178). I would suggest that a further significant constraint on know ledge has been that of the silencing of religious experiences and perceptions. As it is not possible to place faith into a framework that seeks to be rational and objective, this means that criminological investigations have often bypassed the spiritual underpinnings of people's lives. This can be seen most clearly when we look at the general area of 'race and crime', whereby human experience has often been equated with ethnic identity rather than religious affiliation. The widespread use of quantitative surveys has helped to skew our knowledge of social experience through the lens of 'ethnic identity' rather than 'religious identity' because both national and local crime surveys have usually used ethnic categories when classifying people. As a result, particular experiences which relate to the religions that individuals practise have been largely ignored. The issue of self-identity appears to be crucial here because surveys require respondents to identify themselves with a prearranged classification without exploring the extent to which the respondents view themselves as belonging to any of those constructed categories. Where the match between category and selfidentity is weak, this will have the effect of glossing over important aspects of a person's life. This is what appears to have happened in the case of British Muslims. Researchers have often grouped people according to their ethnic identity rather than their religious affiliation even though, for many Muslims, Islam is the single, most important part of their selfidentity. Although individuals' Islamic beliefs and practices are no doubt influenced by their cultures and countries of origin, this should not divert our attention from religious practices and beliefs and their role in social life. A significant number of Muslims would define their experiences through the lens of religion rather than race, or at least religious identity might be viewed by a significant proportion of them as being as important as that of their ethnic identity. This book, then, is a reaction against the universalistic assumptions often made with respect to ethnic minority groups. The people portrayed in this book, who are mostly of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian origin, have been viewed predominantly as Muslims, and questions have been asked about their experiences of crime as Muslims. In this way, the research studies presented in the book are based around the participants' own views of themselves rather than the researchers imposing categories and definitions upon them: [These views argue for] a relativistic stance towards knowledge and the knowledge construction process rather than a universalistic

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stance. And whilst m any crim inologists and victim ologists m ight recognise the difficulties inherent in a univ ersalistic position, they equally resist the m ove to wards ack n o w le d g in g the relativism in m u ch of the w o rk that they do (Walklate 2001: 182). In constructing k n ow le d g e that directly com es from peop le's ow n definitions and interpretations, new avenu es of analysis are opened. To illustrate this point, the area of fear of crim e can be used as an exam p le here. It is astonishing that, despite the hu ge a m o u n t of research which has been carried out into fear of crime and the significant contributio n m ad e by feminists, crime-related anxiety a m o n g st religious com m u n ities w hose religious requirem ents m ak e them visibly different has not been d ocu m en ted . For M uslim w o m e n , w earing the Hijab may reduce the potential for m en to sexualise and harass them. A t the sam e time, however, and particularly in the light of the terrorist attacks in A m erica, the Hijab m ay provoke violence and abuse. This illustrates the need for fresh m aterial to be injected into traditional crim inological debates, material which arises from research that is directed at hitherto forgotten com m unities. T h ro u g h focusing up on the lives of som e British M u slim s, som e new perspectives and questions have bee n generated by this book, particularly in the areas discussed below.

V i c t i m i s a t i o n a n d r e lig io n

The research presented in this b ook illustrates that, for people w h o are religious, their faith can be an im portant source of help in terms of enabling them to com e to terms with the physical, em otional and psy cholog ical im pacts of crime. With respect to Islam, this is a resource M uslim victims often draw up on w h e n confronted by crime. It m ay be the case that these individuals cope better with the ad verse effects o f som e types o f crim e as a result of using the spiritual and material guidance provided by the Q u r 'a n and hadiths. At the sam e time, following Islam places a person within a w id er co m m u n ity that can also act as a supp ort m echanism . This m ay m ean that, in so m e instances of victimisation, traditional victim services such as Victim S u p p ort sch e m es m a y not be needed. This is particularly relevant to street crim e and burglary, since achieving victim status is easier than in cases of sexual crime and dom estic violence. With respect to the latter types of crime, previous research has show n that victim s m ay be ju d ged negatively by their w id er com m u n ities and div orce or separation m ay be strongly discou raged and prevented within Muslim families. This m eans that it is particularly im portant for

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responses to w o m e n 's victim isation to provide not only practical and e m otional help b ut also religious and spiritual support. Div ersity am o ng st w o m e n has often been viewed in terms of race or class, so that re sponses to w o m e n 's victim isation h ave often failed to take into a ccou nt their spiritual needs. W om en's refuges have b een criticised by M uslim w o m e n for failing to take their religion into account. It seem s that som e victim initiatives have incorporated a m istaken belief that Islam represses w o m e n and as such M u slim w o m e n should be 'freed ' of their faith. This view is contested by m any M uslim w o m e n w h o are com m itted to their religious beliefs and practices. This is w h y it is crucial to expand services that are particularly aimed at M uslim victim s of incest, sexual assault and dom estic violence, since these are un derfu nd ed and few in number. Secular-based supp ort s ystem s are not likely to ad eq uately address the need s of M uslim victims, w h ich is w h y system s that incorporate religious diversity in general, and Islam in particular, m ust be developed. A n un derstand ing of hate crim e on the basis of religion as well as race should also be m ore fully incorporated within responses to victimisation. Individuals w ho practise religions that require follow ers to be visib ly different are particularly vulnerable to religious-based h a ras s m e n t and abuse. Muslim w o m e n w ho w e ar the Hijab have s om etim es found them selves to be the targets of violence. It is im portant to d o cu m en t these experien ces and to explore the con se q u e n ces o f such attacks up on the victims. At the sam e time, it is im p orta n t to address crime-related anxiety a m o n g st M uslim com m u n ities since religious-based h ara ssm e n t is likely to have a severe im pact upon M u s lim s ' fear of crime and their crim e-avo id ance strategies. A s a result of the b acklash against M uslim com m u n ities in the afterm ath of the terrorist attacks in A m erica, som e M u slim s (particularly w o m e n ) severely curtailed their day-to-day activities. W hilst w earing the Hijab m ight be a w ay of m an a g in g male sexuality, in the afterm ath of the events of 11 S e p te m b e r, the Hijab increased som e w o m e n 's sense of vuln erability as this could draw u n w a n te d attention and possible violence.

C r i m i n a l ju stice r e s p o n s e s to r e lig io u s d iversity

The lack of sensitivity show n to religious issues a m o n g st m an y victim initiatives is reflected th roughout the criminal justice system . A g encies such as the police, the Probation Service and the Prison Service h ave rarely focused up on re sponding to religious diversity. Mission statem ents and policy d ocu m en ts m ay superficially refer to catering to the religious needs of both victim s and offenders or to respond ing to religious hate crim e but,

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in practice, these have rarely led to significant im provements for individuals belonging to religious minority groups. The penal system provides a typical example of this, since even though the members of other religious groups have the same right to practise their faith as Christian prisoners, in practice non-Christian faiths are disadvantaged as a result of them occupying a structurally less powerful position. This is because in most penal institutions, Church of England chaplains have overall responsibility for chaplaincy matters (Beckford and Gilliat 1998). Muslim prisoners, together with the Imams who provide their spiritual and pastoral care, have criticised prisons for the lack of Halal food, for the lack of adequate prayer facilities and for the marginalisation of Muslim perspectives from key decision-making processes. Working within the criminal justice system and belonging to a religious minority group can also be problematic for the individuals concerned. Muslim police officers, for example, have argued that the problems they experience as a result of belonging to an ethnic minority group in a service that is institutionally racist are often com pounded by the fact that they also belong to a religious minority group. It seems that any improved understanding of Islam within police forces has arisen largely out of the daily interactions between Muslim and non-Muslim police officers rather than any specific policy initiatives or equal opportunities schemes. This suggests that the Police Service itself still needs to do more to grapple with issues of diversity and difference and needs to re-examine the structure and content of training programmes.

R eligion, su b c u lt u re s and c rim e

Another message to take from this book is that increased sensitivity to religion may also lead to developing a greater understanding of why particular individuals from particular communities engage in criminal and anti-social behaviour. Thus it is important to view young Asian men not only from an ethnic perspective but also from a religious one when examining their offending. Further research of the lives and subcultures of young Asian men is now needed, specifically looking at the issue of religion and its connections to crime. Prison statistics of the number of Sikh, Hindu and Muslim prisoners seem to suggest that Muslim offenders are over-represented in the prison population. This means that it is crucial we explore the socioeconomic, cultural and religious dimensions to their offending behaviour. Social exclusion, segregation and racism clearly play a role, but it is also important to explore the various subcultures these men belong to and the social and moral codes they live by. In certain cases,

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s om e of the m en m ay have d eveloped extrem ist view s of Islam, w hich incorporate anti-w estern attitudes and w h ich act as justifications for a range of aggressive and violent b ehaviours. W h e n looking at the minority of you ng M uslim m en w h o c o m m it crime, interpretations of Islam, as well as the influence from Islam ist (extremist) groups, m ay therefore be particularly salient. Physical acts of violence against w o m e n and gay and lesbian com m u n ities have been noted; in som e situations so m e m en have been k now n to police w o m e n 's m o v e m e n ts and to m o nito r their dress codes. W here religion is used as a w a y of justifying violent behaviour, it m a y be particularly difficult to prevent or control it. T he m en w h o engage in these activities are also likely to have a significant distrust of the police. In p ointing out these factors, there is a risk of being accused o f being antiIslamic; however, I would argue that it is only through discussing these issues that w e can com e to understand better the lives and experiences of y ou ng M uslim m en, particularly of the m inority w h o co m m it crime. How ever, this does not m ean there are any straightforward solutions. Follow ing Islam m ay provide individuals with particular perspectiv es and lifestyles, w h ich s om etim es m ay well conflict with criminal justice and legal processes and interpretations. A ltho ug h the H u m an Rights A ct 1998 incorporates the right to religious freed om , this freedom is restricted according to issues of 'p ublic safety', 'p ublic o rd e r' and 'health and m orality'. As a result, an individual m ay not alw ays be able fully to m anifest his or her religious beliefs, since the w id er public space they occupy im poses limits. This then raises the issue of the extent to w h ich it w ould be possible, or ad vantag eou s, to deal with conflicts that affect M u slim s in a culturally m o re sensitive manner. A related point here is the extent to w hich British M u slim s should have control ov er responses to any crim inal activity that takes place within their ow n com m unities. The issue of im plem enting Sharia law generates m any questions and controversies which are b eyond the scope o f this book. Clearly tensions b etw ee n state law and co m m u n ity custom will arise, as m entioned above. N evertheless, it m igh t be argued that it would be beneficial to gain a greater involve m e n t of Muslim c o m m u n ities in crime-related m atters. R ather than M uslim offenders being processed by an u n em otional, distant, crim inal justice system that does not have a very good un d ersta nd ing of Islam, restorative justice m ig ht be a w ay of involving M u slim perspectives in responses to crim e and victimisation. Som e restorative ju stice initiatives, as well as inclu ding the offender and victim (and their respective families), also incorporate a w h ole array of c o m m u n ity representativ es w h o co m e to gether to discuss the offence that has been com m itted , its im pact on the victim(s) and to d ecide up on a valid response to that crime. In this way, it is argued that

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co m m u n ities can take responsibility for the control of crime in their ne ig h b ou rh oo d s and develop better responses to both victim s and offenders (Johnstone 2002).' Thro ugh a d opting restorative justice principles and practices, M uslim c o m m u n ities could have a greater control over the offences that occur in their ow n c om m u nities, and a better w a y of responding to M u slim offenders could be developed , one which ack n o w le d g es their faith. Recently, g ov ern m e n ts in the w estern world have increased their interest in restorative justice, although the extent to which restorative justice m odels will be incorporated into criminal justice system s, or the extent to w h ich they will radically change crim inal justice ap p roa ch e s to offending, is as yet u n k n o w n (ibid.). T he significance of restorative justice in the context of this b ook is that it m ay enable a more sensitive a p p roach to M uslim c o m m u n ities and their p roblem s with crime to be d eveloped.

C o n clu sio n

W ithin an increasingly multicultural society, it is of p a ram o u n t im portance that aspects of difference that have been hitherto largely forgotten are explored and addressed. O ne a spect of difference looked at in this b ook is that of religion. T hro ugh exam ining the lives of som e people w ho practise Islam , it has b een d em onstrated that for individuals w h ose faith constitutes a fu nd am ental part of their lives, religious beliefs and practices cannot be separated out from experiences of crim e and the crim inal justice system . A s such, it is im portant that po licy-m ak ers and state a gencies now take the issue of religious diversity m o re seriously and, certainly, m uch m ore research needs to be carried out with individuals from a range of different faiths. In this way, m ore effective policies on crim e and victim isation can be im p lem ented - policies that m o re specifically cater to the need s of specific com m unities.

N otes 1

T h e qu estio n o f w h e t h e r resto rativ e justice p r o g r a m m e s will w o rk in m o d e r n so cieties that co n sist of m o re fra g m e n t e d c o m m u n it i e s is co n t e n t io u s (see J o h n s t o n e 2002). W h e r e c o m m u n it y lin ks are w e a k , a nd w h e r e c o m m u n it i e s h a v e insufficient resou rces to p u t tog eth e r an effe ctive re s p o n se to crim e, im p l e m e n t i n g re sto ra tiv e j ustice initia tives m a y be p a rticu larly p ro blem a tic.

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References Beckford, J. and Gilliat, S. (1998) Religion in Prison: Equal Rites in a M ulti-Faith Society. Cam bridge: Cambridge University Press. Johnstone, G. (2002) Restorative justice: Ideas, Values, Debates. Cullompton: Willan. Walklate, S. (2001) Gender, Crim e and Crim inal justice. Cullompton: Willan.

140

Index

A v. UK [1998], 127 absolute right, to religious freedom, 123 A ddressin g the C hallen ge o f Islam ophobia, 129 age, Muslim offenders, 8 A hm ed v. ILEA [1977], 1 2 3 -4 alcohol consu m ption, Muslim police officers, 86 A nti-M uslim D iscrim ination and H ostility in the U K , 119-20 anti-M uslim sentim ent, 8, 9 ,11 anti-racist m o vem ents, neglect of religious diversity, 3 - 5 anti-terror bill, 5 Anti-Terrorism, C rim e and Security Act (2001), 128 anxiety, related to crime, 56 Arabic language, learning of, 40 arranged m arriages, 37 Asian, use of term, 2 0 - 1 , 22, 57 Bangladeshis, in Bradford, 24, 25 behavio ur, and religion, 21, 5 7 - 8 B elm arsh Prison, Muslim prisoners, 128, 130

Berlusconi, Mr, 12 biridari control, 22 black com m unity, police views of, 77 black feminist research, differences, 52 blam e, for victimisation, 60 b la sp h e m y laws, 125 Blu nkett, David, 5, 128 Bradford inter-ethnic relations, 20 Muslim male crim inal activity, 26-32 ethnic activism, 9 - 1 0 public disturbances 1995, 2 9 -3 0 1995 to 2 0 0 1 , 3 0 2001, 3 0 -2 re sponses to, and explanations of, 3 2 -9 South Asians in, 2 3 - 5 u n em p lo y m en t, Muslim com m unities, 8 Bradford C o m m ission , 20, 29, 36 Britain migration of South Asians to, 2 2 -3 see also England and Wales British C rim e Survey, 3, 56, 70

141

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British M u slim s in Bradford, 24 control over responses to crime, 1 3 8 -9 criticism of anti-racist m o v e m e n t, 3-4 heterogeneity am ongst, 6 - 7 h u m a n rights, 118-30 m ale criminal activity, Bradford, 26-32 media and political interest in, 1 victimisation, 10-11 see also M u slim police officers; M uslim prisoners; M uslim w o m en British N ational Party (BN P), 32, 3 5 -6 British police m o del, 78 British Society anti-M uslim d iscrimination, 120 Islam ophobia, 9, 97 rejection of, 23 Brixton riots, 79 chaplaincy, Prison Service, 97, 9 8 -9 , 100, 137 children, Bradford disturbances, 32 A C hoice by R ight, 37 Christianity legitimation of oppression, 21 in penal system , 96 privileged role of, 4 -5 Church of Englan d, 4 - 5 , 96, 100, 137 civil liberties, 119 classification by ethnic identity, 2, 3 religious affiliation, 7 com m u nica tion, in prisons, 108 control, of Muslim w o m e n , 27 C o nvention Rights, 1211 Cop Culture, 77 crime after effects of, 6 5 -6 anxiety related to, 56 and religion Islam , 3 9 - 4 2 subcultures, 1 3 7-9 see also criminal offences; fear of

142

crime; hate crimes C rim e and Disorder Act (1998), 3 crime statistics ethnicity and religion, 2 5 -6 M uslim prisoners, 7 use of aggregate term 'A sian', 2 1 -2 crime surveys classification, 3, 56 harassm ent, 63 Victim S up port service, 70 criminal activity by Muslim males, Bradford, 2 6 -3 2 influence of Islam, 40 criminal attacks lim itations of H u m an Rights Act, 1 2 7 -8 on M u slim s, after Se p te m be r 11th, 1 1 , 6 3 - 4 , 1 2 7 -8 crim inal justice system Church of E nglan d, 5 influence of religious beliefs, 6 and Muslim com m u n ity conference, 117 responses, religious diversity, 1 3 6 -7 crim inal offences, interpretation of Q u r'a n , 9 crim inology fear of crime and victimisation, 50 h u m an rights, 118 m o dernism , 1 3 3 -4 neglect of religion, 2 - 3 , 51 cultural insensitivity, tow ards Muslim victims, 10, 69 culture and crime, 28, 3 9 -4 2 see also police culture; sub-cultures depriv ation see social deprivation d etention, terrorist suspects, 128 differences addressing aspects of, 139 feminist research, 52 A D irectory an d G u ide on R eligious P ractises in IIM Prison S ervice, 98 d iscrimination M uslim experiences of, 120

In d e x

see also legal discrim ination; racial discrimination; religious discrimination d om estic violence, 37, 68, 70 East African Asians, in Bradford, 24 econom ic h u m a n rights, 126 E du cation Act (1944), 124 edu cational a chiev em ent Bradford, 35 cultural factors, 40 e m otional experiences, shared by victims, 6 5 -6 England and Wales, ethnicity, religion and crime, 2 5 -6 equal opportunities, in police, 90, 94 esprit de corp s, Police Service, 85 ethnic activism, 9 - 1 0 , 28 ethnic identity classification by, 2, 3 surveys, 6, 7, 56 ethnic minorities in Bradford, 23, 24t hate crim es against, 6 2 -5 policing, 77-81 u n em plo ym en t, 8 see also minority languages ethnicity religion and crime, 2 5 - 6 religious identity, 5 - 6 residential segregation, 40 E uropean C o nvention on H u m a n Rights and Fu n d am en tal Freedom s, 12 0-1, 126 E uropean C o urt o f H u m a n Rights, 122 exclusionary language, 63 extrem ist groups Bradford disturbances, 9, 3 5 - 6 influence of Islamist, 9, 40 faith cop ing with vulnerability, 6 4 -5 as spiritual and practical resource, 67 fatw a, against Salm on Rushdie, 27 fear of crime, research, 5 1 -3 , 54, 58

feminist research, fear of crime, 52, 54, 58 food see Halal food forced m arriages, 37 fu nd am e n ta l rights and freedoms, 121

gender, conflict betw een police and Muslim m en, 37 ge n d e r roles, and poverty, 4 0-1 General Census classification, 7 religious affiliation, 6 - 7 geographical segregation, inter-ethnic conflict, 24 God , protection by, 62 Good W om en, 57, 5 9 -6 0 guid ance booklets, IQRA series, 115-16 Gujaratis, in Bradford, 24 Halal food absence of, in prisons, 103 non availability, police stations, 86 public disorder, Bradford, 27 harassm ent veiling as protection from, 59 of young Asian w o m e n , 2 7 - 8 see also racial harassm ent; religious harassm ent hate crimes against ethnic minority and religious gro ups, 6 2 -5 against religious com m u nities, 4 religion as target for, 10-11 hierarchy of identities, 56 Hijab see veiling Hizb-ut-Tahir, 36 hon our see izzat hou sing, ov ercrow ded , 40 h u m an rights, 118-30 H u m a n Rights A ct (1998), 119, 1 2 0 -2 criminal attacks, 1 2 7 -8 freedom from d iscrimination, 1 2 4-6 limitations of, 1 2 6 -7 right to religious freedom , 1 2 2 -4 H U T see Hizb-ut-Tahir

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identity Mu slim , 21 see also ethnic identity; religious identity; self-identity ignorance, of belief system s and cultures, 8 0 -1 , 104 Imams prison study, 99 im provem ents, 1 05 -1 0 racism, 1 0 2-5 religious hegem ony, 1 0 0 -2 staff training events, prisons, 116 im prisonm ent, h u m an rights violations, 128 In Defence of Islam ophobia, 12 Indian flight, 24 Indian politics, Bradford d isturbances, 27 Indian populations, Bradford, 24 individuals, h u m a n rights, 1 2 6 -7 institutional racism, 80, 89, 99 inter-ethnic conflict, geographical segregation, 24 inter-ethnic relations, Bradford, 20 intercontinental m arriages, 41 international Islam, 27 interpersonal violations, h u m an rights, 1 2 6 -7 Iqra, 113 IQ R A P risoners' Welfare group, 13, 117 IQRA Trust, 9, 13, 114 acceptance of Muslim faith, prisons, 106 database essays, 114 guid ance booklets, 115-16 prisoners' welfare, 116 -17 research reports, 115 teaching materials, 115 Islam culture and crime, 3 9 -4 2 ig norance about, 104 issue of victimisation, 65-71 legitimation of oppression, 21 Muslim police officers, 8 3 -5 in penal system , 7 -8

144

researching, 12-14 two m ain strands, 7 use of term, 6, 21 veiling and self-identity, 5 5 - 7 victim support, 10, 67 Islam ic Cultural Centre, 106 Islamic extremist groups, 9, 36 Islamic H u m an Rights C o m m ission , 119 Islamic k now led ge, IQ R A database, 114 Islamic law, Western presentation of, 12

Islamic principles, M u slim crime, 28 Islam ophobia after S eptem ber 11th, 11 in British society, 9, 97 h u m an rights, 129 media supp ort, 12 and racism, 34, 3 8 -9 religious intolerance, 80 izzat, 2 7 - 8 Kashmir, status of, 2 3 -4 kin netw orks, influence of, 23 k now led g e constraints, criminological w ork, 1 3 3 -4 Labour Force Survey (1994), 8 language difficulties, Pakistani w o m en victims, 70 exclusionary, 63 racist in police, 77, 90 in prisons, 104 see also Arabic language; minority languages legal d iscrim ination, against M uslim s, 120 legislation, race relations, prisons, 9 8 -9 liberation, through veiling, 57, 58 local com m unities relationship betw een police and, 78 supp ort for victims, 6 7 -8

In d e x

Macey, M arie, 13 m achism o, culture of, 88 M acp herso n report, 80, 8 9 -9 0 male gaze, veiling as protection from, 57, 58 m ale heterosexuality, d om inant system of, 5 9 -6 2 m ale sexual behavio ur, responsibility of w o m e n , 61 m ale victims, effects of assault, 66 m ale violence feminist research, 52, 58 veiling and fear of, 57 m anifestation, of religion, 123 M an ifesto o f the M uslim P arliam en t o f G reat B ritain, The, 39 M a n n in g h a m , 29, 32, 35 m arriages arranged and forced, 37 intercontinental, 41 material depriv ation see social deprivation media false impressions of Islam, 12 interest in British M u slim s, 1 representation of M u slim s, 120 M eetin g the N eeds o f M uslim P upils, 115 m en, fear of, 52, 58 Metropolitan Police, 78, 94 migration, South Asians to Britain, 22-3 minority languages, use of by Muslim police, 88 Mirpur cultural traditions, Bradford disturbances, 27 im pact of intercontinental m arriages, 41 social structure, influence of, 23 m olestation, veiling as protection against, 60 m o rtg ag es, prohibition against, 40 mosques attacks on, 11 security around , 65

multi-faith room s, 104 Muslim use of term, 21 see also British M u slim s M u slim Adviser, Prison Service, 9 7 -8 M uslim police officers, 7 6 -9 4 im portance of religion, 8 3 -5 im p ro v e m en ts in police culture, 91-2 m em b ership of police com munity, 85-7 policing, 8 7 - 9 q ualitativ e research, 8 1 -3 M uslim prisoners Belmarsh prison, 128, 130 influence of Islamist extrem ists, 9 over-representatio n of, 137 statistics, 7 -8 study on religious and spiritual needs, 9 9 -1 10 w orking with, 113 -17 M u slim w o m e n , 50-71 concept of izzat, 2 7 -8 d om estic violence, 37 explanation, Bradford distu rbances, 37 failure of w o m e n 's refuges, 136 fear of crime research interview ees and interview s, 53 m ethod, 5 3 -5 poverty, 40-1 veiling in police force, 94 and self-identity, 5 5 - 7 violation of hu m an rights, 119 M uslim W om en 's Help line, 10, 69, 71 m u ttaqi, 39 m yth of return, 22 nam e-calling, 63, 103 N ational Council for the Welfare of Muslim Prisoners, 9 N ational Front, 31, 35, 36 N ational Survey of Ethnic Minorities (1994), 3 , 6 negative rights, 119

145

Isla m , c r im e a n d c r im in a l ju stice

offenders see Muslim prisoners Office of Population C ensu ses and Survey s (O PCS), 7 organised racism, 3 3 - 4 Bradford disturbances, 3 5 - 6 O usley report, 20 Pakistani, use of term, 20 -1 Pakistani Muslim men criminal activity, Bradford, 2 6 -3 2 ethnic activism, 9 - 1 0 , 28 involvem ent in crime, 4 1 -2 Pakistani M u slim w o m en d om estic abuse, 68 language difficulties, 70 Pakistani street culture, 35 P articipatin g in S A C R E s, 115 P articipating in S chool G overning Bodies, 115 penalties, racially aggravated offences, 3 police Bradford d isturbances, 29 racism in, 34, 3 6 - 8 see also Muslim police officers police culture, 77 culture of m achism o, 88 esprit de corps, 85 im pro vem en ts in, 9 1 - 2 racist attitu des, 79 policing by consent, 78 ethnic m inorities, 77-81 political interest, British M u slim s, 1 poverty, Islamic definition, gender roles, 4 0 -1 power of researcher over researched, 54 rioting as expressio n of, 3 7 -8 prayer, ob servance of, 84 President's C o m m issio n on Law Enforcem ent and Adm inistration of Ju stice, 51 Prison A ct (1952), 98 Prison Service Muslim Adviser, 9 7 - 8

146

race relations policy, 9 8 -9 prisons, 96-111 anti-M uslim sentim ent in, 8 d isad vantage of non-Christian faiths, 137 policy, race relations, 9 8 -9 population, by ethnicity and type of crime, 26t recent research, 110 religious affiliations, 9 7 - 8 study, 99 direct and indirect racism, 1 0 2 -5 im p ro vem en ts in, 1 0 5 -1 0 religious hegem ony, 1 0 0-2 see also Muslim prisoners public bodies, h u m an rights, 122 Public O rder A ct (1986), 125 publications, IQRA Trust, 117 quantitative surveys, 134 Q u r'a n interpretations and criminal offences, 9, 39 victim support, 67 Race R elations A ct (1976), 4, 125 race relations m an a g e m e n t teams, prisons, 100, 101 race relations policy, Prison Service, 98-9 racial discrimination in police, 7 9 -8 0 w hiteness as protection against, 55 racial group, defined, 3 - 4 , 125 racial harassm ent, w hiteness as protection against, 55 racial inequality, labour market, 8 racism allegations of police, 89 and Islam ophobia, 34, 3 8 - 9 in the police, 34, 3 6 - 8 , 78, 80, 89-93 in prisons, 1 0 2 -5 see also institutional racism; organised racism racist attitudes, police culture, 79

In d e x

radical feminist research, fear of crime, 52 R a m ad an and Eid project, 117 rape, fear of, 52, 58 recruits, into police, 7 8 -9 , 81 religion and behavio ur, 21 and crime England and Wales, 2 5 -6 sub-cultures, 1 3 7 -9 Muslim police officers, 8 3 -5 use of for violence and terror, 9 and victimisation, 6 5 -7 1 , 1 3 5 -6 see also Christianity; Church of England; Islam religious affiliations G eneral Censu s, 6 - 7 prisoners, 9 7 - 8 religious discrimination freedom from, 1 2 4 -6 H om e Office report, 5 Strasbourg ju risprudence, 123 R eligiou s D iscrim ination in E ngland and W ales, 5 religious diversity anti-racist m o vem ents, 3 -5 criminal justice responses, 1 3 6 -7 crim inological w o rk , 2 - 3 , 51 victimisation, 10-11 religious festivals, observance by M u slim s police, 84 religious freedom , right to, 1 2 2 -4 religious gro ups, hate crim es against, 62-5 religious harassm ent, d ocum entation of, 1 1 ,6 3 religious identity ethnicity, 5 - 6 ignored by victim services, 4 religious intolerance, 80 religious issues, insensitivity to, 5 -6 , 104 religious re quirem ents, Muslim crime, 27 research fear of crime, 5 1 - 3

into Islam, 1 2 -1 4 IQ R A Trust reports, 115 researchers lack of M u slim , 12 po w e r over researched, 54 restorative ju stice principles, 1 3 8 -9 rioting, as expressio n of power, 3 7 - 8 R u n n y m ed e Trust, 80, 9 6 - 7 safety m an a ge m e n t, veiling, 62 safety talk, Muslim w o m e n , 5 7 -8 S carm an , Lord ju d g em en t, A h m ed case, 124 police denial of racism in, 79 ethnic minority recruitm ent, 78 self-blame, for victimisation, 60 self-identity quantitative surveys, 134 veiling, 5 5 -6 Se p te m be r 11th, attacks on M u slim s since, 11, 6 3 -4 , 1 2 7-8 Sex D iscrimination Act (1975), 125 sex trade, Muslim cam paign against, 28 sexual behavio ur, responsibility of w o m e n for male, 61 sexual danger, fear of, 52, 58 social deprivation Bradford, 2 4 -5 Bradford disturbances, 35 male Muslim crime, 8, 33 social exclusion, 8 social h u m a n rights, 126 socioecono m ic status, and crime, 21, 41 South Asians in Bradford, 2 3 -5 migration to Britain, 2 2 -3 Spalek, Basia, 13 staff training events, prisons, 116 statistics see crime statistics stereotyping by m ed ia, 120 by police, 77 by prison officers, 1 0 2 ,1 0 6 stranger attack, fear of, 51

147

Isla m , c r im e a n d c r im in a l ju stice

street culture, Pakistani, 35 sub-cultures, and crime, 1 3 7 -9 Supporting Victim s o f R acist C rim e fo r Local Schem es an d W itness S erv ices, 70 surveys on ethnic minorities, 6, 7 quantitative, 134 see also crime surveys teaching materials, IQRA Trust, 115 terror, use of religion, 9 terrorists, indefinite d etainm ent of, 128 traditional dress, prison visitors, 107 un em p lo y m en t Bradford, 25, 35 ethnic m inorities, 8 male M u slim crime, 33 veiling female Muslim officers, 94 negotiation of difference and m a n a g e m e n t of male heterosexuality, 5 7 -6 2 self-identity, 5 5 - 7 target for violence, 136 verbal abuse, 63 victim services, 4, 6 8 -7 1 , 135 Victim Sup port, 10, 67, 69, 6 9 -7 0 , 7 0 -1 , 135 victimisation

148

of Asian and black prisoners, 1 0 2 -3 British M u slim s, 10-11 and religion, 6 5 -7 1 , 1 3 5-6 violence against ethnic minority groups, 62 for breach of Islamic code, 28 interpretations of Q u r 'a n , 39 use of religion, 9 veiling as protection from, 59 veiling as target for, 10, 136 see also dom estic violence; male violence Wales see England and Wales Watts riot, 51 West avoiding influence of, 23 difficulties of leading a m uttaqi, 39 feminist research, fear of crime, 52 negative representations of Islam, 1 2 -1 3 white backlash, 32 white flight, 24 w hiteness, protection from harassm ent and discrim ination, 55 Wilson, David, 13 W inning the R ace: E m bracing D iversity, 94 women secular refuges for, 10, 136 see also Muslim w o m e n