Prison as a liminal experience for religious change
During the past twenty years, European prisons have faced a significant increase in the number of Muslim prisoners, to the point that in some institutions they can comprise more than half the prisoners. While various studies have examined the role of religion in the prison experience, and many have addressed Islam specifically, decisions about how Muslim offenders (particularly men) should be treated have often involved a security rhetoric, which, as a corollary, has sometimes obscured the role of Islam as a resource for dealing with the prison experience. Based on quantitative and qualitative material collected between 2018 and 2020 in England, Switzerland, and France, I shed light on individual mobilizations of the Islamic referential by inmates. I show how Muslim offenders’ experiences of prison is a liminal religious event that exists on both the edge of society and the edge of prisoners’ normal experience, helping prisoners cope with incarceration even if it is does not necessarily protect against recidivism. The article documents some liminal experiences of faith and suggests that more research is needed to understand how prisoners’ faith can be a resource post-release to help realize rehabilitation goals.