An anthropological investigation into Muslims in prison

Muslims in the United Kingdom form 1.2% of the general population while in prisons Muslims account a massive 13.7%. Dr Gabriele Marranci is an anthropologist who completed his research on Muslims in prison at Aberdeen University in the UK.

Dr Marranci’s interest was sparked when attending a mosque and noticing a man who was very isolated. Dr Marranci was told by one of the senior members of the mosque that the man had been in prison and so his presence was not welcome.

Dr Marranci then decided to investigate the life of Muslim prisoners inside and outside prison in relation to their interactions with society, the mosque and other Muslim establishments. “There has been a lot of focus on politics and leadership within the Muslim community, but not much research is done about ordinary people in relation to topics of jihad or how fundamentalism is perceived by ordinary people,” Dr Marranci said.

Dr Marranci’s investigation took him to prisons in England and Scotland. He spent significant time with ex-criminals and their families, in particular one Muslim family of Pakistani origin. He found that the issues are complex. “Within prisons, the main concern has been the security and the problem of Muslim radicalisation after September 11,” Dr Marranci said.

Marranci’s research showed that there is no planned ‘radicalisation’ as such on the part of the prisoners. “The prison’s environment, particularly the emotional fear, helped to develop a certain way of thinking that is conducive, when they leave prison, to actually have a kind of extreme view on life and not just on religion,” Marranci said.

A big part of Dr Marranci’s research required an understanding of social integration issues (generally understood as accepting society’s values) and their relevance to the high percentage of Muslims in UK prisons. In the case of the prisoners, their immediate environment was low socio-economic suburbs with high crime rates.

He draws a parallel with Sydney where a large proportion of the Lebanese community is less dispersed and may be living in ‘problem areas’, and this can create a misconception about Muslim crime rates.

The findings of Dr Marranci’s investigation into the life of Muslim UK prisoners is due to be published in a book titled, ‘Faith, Ideology and Fear: Muslim Identities Within and Beyond Prisons’.

Dr Marranci has accepted a position as Associate professor at the University of Western Sydney, an NCEIS partner University in 2009. He plans to undertake research on prisoners’ issues in Sydney to see how the dynamics unfold in an Australian context.

Dr Marranci is currently supervising research higher degree students in various areas but all are related to issues of ordinary people. Some of these topics include: Mexicans that convert to Islam, Muslims in Scotland, single women (in particular businesswomen) in Malaysia, and Muslims in Madrid and how they understand secularism.

Dr Marranci’s journal, ‘Contemporary Islam:  Dynamics of Muslim Life’ and his book ‘Muslims and Globalisation’ are keeping this energetic anthropologist very busy. He also plans to strengthen ties between the University of Western Sydney and other NCEIS universities through workshops and conferences combining Islamic studies with sociological and anthropological approaches.

For more information on Dr Gabriele Marranci and his research, visit:
http://marranci.wordpress.com

West African Arabic poetry and hidden meanings

West Africa came into close contact with Arabic culture and literature mostly after the advancement of Islam in the region. Prior to Islam, traditional folklore and rituals were widely practiced through an oral culture by the people of the region. It was only later that Islam was manifested in African literature through Arabic poetry.

Muslims became involved in trade and affairs of state because they had become emancipated through Islamic teachings by learning to read and write in Arabic. Intellectuals wanted to develop a better understanding of Arabic to appreciate the literary works and their spiritual meanings. As a result, they engaged in producing their own literature through poetry and prose that presented their own understandings of Islam. Arabic poetry grew to form an important nexus of their Islamic identities and it was used as a tool to preserve and uphold the messages of Islam and Quranic narratives.

West African Arabic poetry has fascinated Dr Abdul-Samad Abdullah, who believes it can be used for understanding existing issues in societies like Nigeria. A question he is looking to answer is: Why is it difficult to create a harmonious coexistence between Muslims and Christians and other monotheistic faiths?

Through his current research on West African Arabic poetry he hopes to identify new dynamics and characteristics of Islamic pluralism in the region. “Although a lot has been done in exploration of Islamic history by some Western and African scholars, poetry of this kind has hardly been used to deal with these issues,” Dr Abdullah said.

This niche research area is significant in understanding how poetry was used in mobilising the masses for socio-political changes in societies. “Poetry was used as a weapon in the battle between Muslims and non-Muslims, so it is a very unique phenomenon that has been overlooked by historians who have tackled the history of Islam in this region,” Dr Abdullah said.

Dr Abdullah has been looking at the success of pluralism between pagans and Muslims adapting each other’s traditions and integrating harmoniously in the West African region. “We found that non-Muslims were participating in Islamic festivities and there were even instances where non-Muslims were studying the Arabic language to expand their intellectual minds,”  Dr Abdullah said.

Currently, Dr Abdullah is heavily involved in researching the Quranic perspectives about ‘creed’ in building and sustaining civilizations. “Creed in this context is about ideology. So, I am studying Quranic narratives to determine what civilization rules govern its existence, survival and continuity,” Dr Abdullah said.

Dr Abdullah’s immense interest in understanding Arabic literature has brought a postgraduate student to Melbourne who is investigating the impact of Arabic and Islamic literature on the socio-developmental changes in Ghana. “This is encouraging because our research profile is starting to get people interested and I want students to develop higher degrees of knowledge in this area.”