Restorative Justice and my faith
This is a blog by Mahmooda Qureshi, West Midlands Programme Coordinator at The Faith & Belief Forum. The Faith & Belief Forum works in partnership with Why me? and Interfaith Glasgow to deliver our interfaith Restorative Justice project, which explores how Restorative Justice can be used to resolve community conflicts and address faith-based hate crime in Solihull and Glasgow.
Until I became involved in this project, I hadn’t heard much about Restorative Justice (RJ). But, after two days ‘deep dive’ training with the project team, my eyes were opened to RJ’s many applications.
I firstly recognised that myself and many others use the principles of Restorative Justice in our everyday lives without realising it. When my three children were young, I taught them to resolve the squabbles that arose between them through talking and apologising to each other. Fortunately, as they matured, they became adept at resolving issues between them and I didn’t need to intervene!
My thoughts around Restorative Justice developed even further when someone asked me about the relationship between RJ and Islamic teachings. I did my own research into the subject and came across the terms Qisas – which means ‘retaliation in kind’ or ‘eye for an eye’ – and Diyya, which can be seen as a restorative alternative to Qisas. Under the principle of Diyya, mutually satisfactory agreements can be struck between parties, compensation can be paid for losses suffered and reconciliation can be achieved. It is also possible for victims or the families to offer forgiveness, thereby annulling the Qisas punishment.
In Islamic history, practices associated with Diyya were widely known and drawn upon to resolve issues between individuals and families. Except in particularly complex cases, very little involvement from external bodies was needed. Islamic teachings promote good relationships between people, caution against cutting ties with others and recommend that disputes are addressed within three days. As I taught my children, conflicts between people should never be allowed to fester.
When we look at current global and local events, there is so much misinformation and disinformation about the ‘other’ that fuels hostility and hate. Yet, in my experience, when people meet and chat to the ‘other,’ they often realise they’re not that different after all. Like the principle of Diyya, RJ provides us with the resources to resolve many matters within and between communities without having to involve the police or the criminal justice system. Hopefully, our trained RJ community facilitators in Solihull and Glasgow will, through their efforts, bring about healing and deep connection between people of all faiths and none.
You can read more about Islam and RJ using the following links:
- Restorative Justice in Islam with Special Reference to the Concept of Diyya
- The Prophet’s Justice
- Prophet Muhammad’s justice and equality
Learn more about our interfaith project
