Greenville, NC (June 30, 2009) – Islam is one of the fastest   growing monotheistic religions in the world, and this growth   can be seen prominently among African-American inmates in   U.S. state and federal prisons. This growth poses a powerful   challenge to American penal philosophy, structured on the   ideal of rehabilitating offenders through historically
  Judeo-Christian based penance and penal measures.

  In his new book, Islam in American Prisons: Black Muslim’s   Challenge to American Penology, criminologistHamid Reza   Kusha, PhD, assistant professor of criminal justice at East   Carolina University, asserts that a growing number of   prisoners in the U.S. are seeking an alternative form of   redemption by converting to Islam. The book is meant as an   aid to penologists, prison administrators and others trying to   examine objectively the rehabilitative potential of faith-based   organizations, most notably the Nation of Islam. 

  “Some prison administrators and others see the growth of   Islam among inmates as a challenge to Judeo-Christian penal philosophy,” said Kusha, “but administrators need to know that   the true tenets of Islam parallel Judeo-Christian teaching in that Islam encourages people to take responsibility for their actions, to respect life—especially human life—and value society’s rules. There is a huge population of African-American young men in America who have been let down by their families, schools, and communities.

I believe we should be exploring every avenue to help those in prison successfully rehabilitate and build better lives.”

Kusha asserts that the Nation of Islam, founded by A. Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in the 1930’s in Detroit, Michigan, maintains an active network seeking to convert the prison bound. The organization, though controversial and outside mainstream Islamic teachings, requires converts to take responsibility, forsake the role of victim, and use resources within the prison to overcome addiction and gain education.
 
Kusha examines Judeo-Christian foundations of American penology, American penal philosophy, the history of Black incarceration since 1960, adverse impacts of incarceration, the spread of Islam in American prisons, and Islam’s challenge to American penology.

“The reality is that life in American penal institutions does not always reflect the American penal philosophy’s rehabilitative ideals,” said Kusha. “For the most part, life in American prisons is a dehumanizing experience marred with violence and exploitation. I am not saying that proselytizing prisoners through the teaching of the Nation of Islam or others is necessarily the best rehabilitative approach, but there is evidence that Islam is spreading within prisons in the U.S., and I am encouraging administrators and others to consider why this is happening.”

Hamid R. Kusha is the author of Defendant Rights: A Reference Handbook (2004) and The Sacred Law of Islam: A Case Study of Women’s Treatment in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Criminal System (2002).