Interfaith Restorative Justice project update
This is a blog by the Interfaith Restorative Justice project partners from Why me?, the Faith and Belief Forum and Interfaith Glasgow.
In this blog we take a look back at our first year to celebrate what we’ve achieved so far. We hope to bring you an IRJP newsletter every six months over the next two years of the project. If you want a brief reminder about the aims of the project, take a look at our project page on Why me?’s website.
A look at the project across 2024
Getting the right guidance
In January 2024, we formally launched the project. Why me?’s former Deputy CEO, Kate Aldous, described the pertinence of the project at a time when hate crime is rising and international tensions have led to intolerance and attacks on faith communities in the UK.
“Over the last ten years hate crime has grown from 40,000 recorded cases to nearly 160,000 in 2021-22. Faith hate, the second highest after race, is part of this growth. While some of this increase may reflect a higher level of reporting rather than a real increase, each incident is a cause of significant distress for those experiencing it, and therefore it is critical that we find ways to counter these trends and build community cohesion.”
Where RJ meets interfaith: Deepening our understanding
Mark Hamill and Rebecca Collins joined the team in April. Mark is Why me?’s Training and Service Coordinator. He previously worked as an RJ officer in Youth Justice for almost a decade. Before that, he was a lecturer in Religious Education. Rebecca manages the overall project on behalf of F&BF where she also manages the Communities Team. She is a trained level 2 RJ facilitator and has previously been a trainer and facilitator in various sectors including DEI, gender equality and domestic abuse.
Within weeks of his appointment, Mark led a ‘deep dive’ training in Restorative Justice for the project team. The team explored the themes of empathy, responsibility and safeguarding and discussed how Restorative Justice could be used in faith communities. The training also included input from Rob, one of Why me?’s lived experience ambassadors, who talked movingly about the transformative power of Restorative Justice in his own life.
Read more here about our two days of learning and serious group bonding in Glasgow.
Project partners reflected together on the relationship between Restorative Justice and religion, exploring how the values of Restorative Justice overlap with religious principles. Mark Hamill wrote about this, saying: “Restorative Justice owes a debt to religion. Many of those who first articulated the concept of Restorative Justice in the mid to late 20th century drew inspiration from religion as well as indigenous traditions… In my experience and that of many practitioners of faith with whom I have spoken, Restorative Justice is entirely compatible with core religious beliefs and values.”
Our project lead in Solihull, Mahmooda, wrote a blog about Restorative Justice, her family and her faith. She explores how restorative principles relate to the Islamic teaching of ‘Diyya’. “I recognised that myself and many others use the principles of Restorative Justice in our everyday lives without realising it.”
Listening to Faith Communities
As part of the initial stage of the project, we conducted a series of one-to-one interviews in Glasgow and Solihull with people active in their local faith communities. Participants generously gave up their time and shared about their often mixed perceptions of community relations including difficult experiences of being targeted or marginalised because of their faith identity or perceived identity, as well as positive stories of interfaith connection and solidarity. One of the key themes that emerged across many of the interviews was an increased sense of unease, insecurity and deterioration in community relations for those from minoritised faith groups, given the wider social and political environment and the impact of global events. In Glasgow many shared that they routinely modify their behaviour, monitoring the risk of simply being out in public or on public transport, notably on days when there is a big football match and if they are identifiable by wearing, for example, a hijab, turban, kippah, bindi or dog collar. You can read about the learning from the Solihull interviews here and we’ll share more about the Glasgow context soon. Participants’ prior knowledge of RJ was often quite limited but there was considerable interest in its potential for tackling faith-based hate and community tensions. The interviews helped us identify numerous interested individuals who were invited to apply for the volunteer role of Community Facilitator on the project.
Interfaith Glasgow gathered useful feedback and suggestions for the project from people active in diverse faith communities during a focused session at their Annual Supporters Meeting. In Solihull, Mark and Mahmooda organised a meeting with members of the council, faith and community leaders and representatives telling them about the project and listening to their views.
Responding to a shifting landscape
In September, the project team was granted an uplift to their funding to respond to the violence and unrest that took place in various places in the UK over the summer. We’ve completed listening circles with a variety of community groups, including asylum seekers, who were affected by what happened in different ways. We are hoping to bring some of these groups together to learn about their different experiences.
Recruiting and Training our Community Facilitators
At the start of November, Mark and Gael Cochrane from Community Justice Scotland delivered a three-day RJ training for nine Community Facilitators from diverse faith communities in Glasgow. In their feedback, one trainee commented: “Thanks so much to Gael and Mark. Your enthusiasm and confidence gave me faith in RJ and belief in myself.” The Glasgow team of Community Facilitators are supported by Luke Devlin who joined Interfaith Glasgow’s team in November as Programme Manager.
Update
We have now trained five Community Facilitators in Solihull!
What’s Next?
Our combined group of Community Facilitators will continue their training through a series of online modules before they’re able to take on cases under Mark’s supervision. The Advisory Group will continue to meet with the project team to offer their expert advice on the interplay between interfaith work and Restorative Justice.
We will continue to share blogs and news on the topic of interfaith Restorative Justice and will share another summary of our progress in six months’ time. If you are interested in receiving updates on this project, let us know via info@why-me.org.
This project has been made possible by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.