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Radicalization potentials of young Muslims in prison: What role do religious factors play?

  • Sonja King EMAIL logo , Johann Endres and Mark Stemmler
Published/Copyright: August 18, 2021

Zusammenfassung

Wie steht es um das Ausmaß islamistischer Einstellungen unter jungen Muslimen im deutschen Justizvollzug? Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, Radikalisierungspotenziale und damit in Verbindung stehende mögliche religionsbezogene Einflussfaktoren sowie die Dauer der bisher verbüßten Haft anhand einer Stichprobe von 87 jungen muslimischen Inhaftierten explorativ zu untersuchen. Die Teilnehmer bearbeiteten hierfür einen Fragebogen, in dem wir Fragen zu religiösen Sozialisationserfahrungen und aktueller Religiosität stellten, sowie Zustimmung zu fundamentalistischen und religiös-militanten Aussagen erhoben. Wir untersuchten die Häufigkeitsverteilungen fundamentalistischer und militanter Einstellungen und verglichen die Skalenmittelwerte von Muslimen mit einer nicht-muslimischen Vergleichsgruppe (n = 255). Anschließend berechneten wir Regressionsmodelle und modellierten Kausalketten, die die von uns untersuchten Konzepte durch Mediation miteinander verknüpften. Unsere Ergebnisse geben Hinweise auf eine erhöhte Vulnerabilität von muslimischen Gefangenen für Radikalisierung. Weiterhin geht aus unseren Ergebnissen hervor, dass Sozialisationseinflüsse zwar offenbar keinen unmittelbaren Einfluss haben, sich aber indirekt auf das Ausmaß militanter Einstellungen auswirken. Die bisher im Gefängnis verbrachte Zeit spielt eine untergeordnete Rolle. Wir diskutieren die Verallgemeinerbarkeit unserer Ergebnisse und mögliche Implikationen für den Strafvollzug.

Abstract

How widespread are Islamist attitudes in German prisons? The present research aims at exploring radicalization potentials as well as religion related factors among 87 young Muslim inmates in Bavarian prisons. Participants completed a survey in which we collected measures of religious socialization, religiousness, fundamentalism, and religious militancy. We investigated the distribution of fundamentalist and militant attitudes and compared the means of Muslims and non-Muslim prisoners (n = 255), calculated regressions, and modelled causal chains linking the relevant concepts through mediation. Our results indicate an increased vulnerability of Muslim inmates for religious radicalization. The results suggest that there is no immediate effect of religious socialization on religious militancy, but that it indirectly influences militant attitudes. The time spent in prison plays a subordinate role. Generalization and implications for the prison context are discussed.

Funding

This project was funded by the German Research Foundation(DFG; file number: STE923/10).

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Published Online: 2021-08-18
Published in Print: 2021-09-14

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