Muslim Prisoners in France
One of the things that keeps me blogging is the input I get from my readers. Behind the scenes this morning, I was sent two fascinating articles. This first one, from blogger Facts and Doubts, is an article from The Washington Post on Muslim Prisoners in France – and Europe.
Here is just a short excerpt from an article you will want to read:
This prison is majority Muslim — as is virtually every house of incarceration in France. About 60 to 70 percent of all inmates in the country’s prison system are Muslim, according to Muslim leaders, sociologists and researchers, though Muslims make up only about 12 percent of the country’s population.
On a continent where immigrants and the children of immigrants are disproportionately represented in almost every prison system, the French figures are the most marked, according to researchers, criminologists and Muslim leaders.
“The high percentage of Muslims in prisons is a direct consequence of the failure of the integration of minorities in France,” said Moussa Khedimellah, a sociologist who has spent several years conducting research on Muslims in the French penal system.
In Britain, 11 percent of prisoners are Muslim in contrast to about 3 percent of all inhabitants, according to the Justice Ministry. Research by the Open Society Institute, an advocacy organization, shows that in the Netherlands 20 percent of adult prisoners and 26 percent of all juvenile offenders are Muslim; the country is about 5.5 percent Muslim. In Belgium, Muslims from Morocco and Turkey make up at least 16 percent of the prison population, compared with 2 percent of the general populace, the research found.
I had no idea. And my eyes were opened to food being a big issue in prison – but of course. (smacks head) Thank you, Facts and Doubts, for passing along this fascinating and enlightening article.
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Highly interesting- not the statistics, to be honest (your subtle sarcasm made me laugh), but that the article talks about an integration problem. The ‘integration problem’ that France faces is common in other European countries too, such as the Netherlands.
But who on earth can have problems integrating into French society? Like you, I love Paris, I just fell in love with it during my first trip last summer and am going back this summer too. Paris is art heaven and has some of the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever seen!
Harmonie22, I am sorry, I have read over and over what I said and I am missing my own “subtle sarcasm.” I will admit it, occasionally I am mildly sarcastic, but in this case . . . not!
Yes! Who does not want to accultuate to France???? For me, it isn’t just Paris! It is Brittany! It is the Loire! It is the Dordogne! It is the calanque high above Marseilles! What is not to love??