Objectives
Within the PRIN project, the research strand on religious assistance for Muslim inmates aims to analyse how the right to freedom of religion is concretely guaranteed in Italian prisons, with specific reference to detainees of Islamic faith. The objective is to reconstruct the normative frameworks, institutional practices and needs expressed by the actors involved, in order to understand how spiritual care, protection of fundamental rights and security requirements are balanced in the everyday life of prisons.
Methodology
The research combines documentary analysis, study of legal sources and the collection of empirical materials on prison contexts. On the one hand, it examines the constitutional and legislative framework, administrative circulars and documentation produced by the National Ombudsperson and regional/local ombuds offices, with particular attention to references to religious assistance, management of diversity and prevention of radicalisation. On the other hand, the study draws on case studies, data collected through cooperation with specific prisons and moments of dialogue with practitioners, chaplains, mediators and representatives of Muslim communities.
This integrated approach makes it possible to connect formal provisions with “living law”, that is, the concrete practices of access to religious assistance, the organisation of spaces and times of worship, and the management of requests coming from Muslim detainees.
Areas of investigation
The analysis focuses on several key issues concerning religious assistance for Muslim inmates. Among them:
the recognition and access of Muslim religious leaders to prisons, the forms of interaction with the prison administration and the regulatory arrangements governing worship activities;
the practical organisation of religious assistance (spaces for prayer, management of sacred time, festivities, food, religious objects and texts) and the solutions adopted to reconcile organisational needs with respect for detainees’ beliefs;
the role of policies for the prevention of radicalisation and deradicalisation in defining criteria and limits on access to religious assistance, and the ways in which security and freedom of religion are concretely balanced;
the perceptions and expectations of Muslim inmates regarding the possibility of living their religiosity in prison, and the impact that access to, or lack of, religious assistance has on paths of integration, coexistence and social reintegration.
Within this framework, specific attention is devoted to differences between institutions and territories, to emerging good practices and to critical issues that hinder the full implementation of the right to spiritual care.
Expected results
The work on religious assistance for Muslim inmates is intended to produce a reasoned mapping of the normative and operational solutions adopted in Italian prisons, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The results will feed into interpretative tools and guidelines designed to support policy-makers, prison administrations and religious actors in shaping models of assistance that respect fundamental rights, are sensitive to the internal diversity of Islam and remain compatible with institutional security needs.
In this way, this research strand contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between Islam, prisons and institutions, and offers elements to foster practices for managing religious plurality that are oriented towards integration, dialogue and conflict prevention in contexts of deprivation of liberty.
