Time to End the Silence: the experience of Muslims in the prison system

Maslaha have published Time to End the Silence: the experience of Muslims in the prison system. The report shows in stark detail how Muslims in prison face racism which obstructs them from practicing their religion and prevents them from accessing vital services such as mental health programmes.

The report is based on a mixture of long interviews, focus groups, and observation conducted with those in custody and outside the prison estate. The interviews were with Muslim men and women who had experienced the criminal justice system as well as staff at Samaritans, Pact, the Prisoners’ Education Trust and Switchback. The report highlights the work of the Samaritans, fellow VCSE Health & Wellbeing partners, through their ‘Listener Scheme’, a peer-support scheme within prisons, which aims to reduce suicide and self-harm

The report is divided into three themes: Religion, Risk, and Trust. It also contains a foreword from the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

You can read the report here.