Muslims in US Prisons: People, Policy, Practice

How realistic are media portrayals of radical, "homegrown" Islamic terrorists filling US prisons? With prisons a fertile recruiting ground for Islam, what impact does the religion have on life behind bars? Muslims in US Prisons systematically explores the cultural, legal, political, and religious issues shaping the Muslim prison experience. The authors probe the topic from the perspectives of both prisoners and the criminal justice system. In the process, they illuminate larger issues of race and imprisonment, inmate culture, and rehabilitation. The result is a revealing look at an often sensationalized but understudied population.

Exploring Islam in US prisons /Mark S. Hamm and Nawal H. Ammar --Muslim history and demographics, in and out of prison /Hamid Kusha --Islamic perspectives on crime, punishment, and prison /Nawal H. Ammar --Challenges in research /Muzammil Quraishi --Religious rights, religious discrimination /Kenneth L. Marcus --Conversion : motives, patterns, and practices /Nawal H. Ammar and Robert R. Weaver --Imams in prisons : balancing faith and religious politics /Nawal H. Ammar and Amanda Couture-Carron --Detention immediately after September 11 /Irum Sheikh --Prison Islam in the age of sacred terror /Mark Hamm --"Prislam" myths and realities /Timothy Hiller --Policy responses, personal implications /Amir Marvasti --Muslims in US security prisons /David P. Forsythe --Building a better understanding of religion, corrections, and society /Nawal H. Ammar.