Restorative Justice is a Theory Based on Repentance, Reconciliation, and Forgiveness

The religion of Islam has become a controversial issue in today’s 21st century. In spite of excessively negative representations by Western propaganda, increasing numbers of the population are pursuing to learn more about the wonderful religion of Islam. More frequently than not, these people are becoming more pleasantly startled by the product of their exploration. In fact, increasing numbers of people are embracing Islam nowadays then they did prior to the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001; which evoked much attention to misconceptions about Islam and Muslims. Yet, there does endure an abundant amount of misconception and misinterpretations about Islam, frequently invigorated by political policies which reckon their interest’s to patronage Islam 's enemies. Islam is a religion which elucidates the way of life and is the second largest religion after Christianity, with approximately one-fifth of the world 's population and is currently the fastest growing religion. Muslims are existent all around the world and come from diverse nationalities, cultures and races. However, Islam instills that all people are principally equal no matter the differences (colour, class, culture, etc.) as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding citizens. The behaviour of particular erroneous groups or individuals outside mainstream Islam cannot be accredited to Islamic beliefs and practices as correspondingly hostility in North Ireland or illegal mafia activities being attributed

What is restorative justice? Restorative justice is when youths that were affected by an incident choose to repair the damage that they committed, restore trust, and find a place in the community in which they can fit into society. Not only that, but one of their main focus is to build respectful relationships that can be noticed by everyone (Murthy, 2016, para. 2). The restorative justice approach shares three goals. These three goals are known as accountability, competency, and public safety. Accountability is responsible for making amends and reestablishes the losses to victims and communities. The purpose of accountability is not to obey a curfew, attending counseling, having interaction with a probation officer, or evade the usage of drugs. The full meaning of restorative justice is simply to take full responsibility for the actions that were committed (del Carmen & Trulson, 2006, p. 446). The purpose of competency is basically doing something that’s going to value another person. Not doing an illegal crime doesn’t count as a standard for competency. Getting offenders involved in different activities would value the community. Activities that value the community are work, community service, dispute resolution, and community problem solving. All of these activities help rebuild the offender, victim, and of course the community (del Carmen & Trulson. 2006, p. 446). The last one which is public safety helps offenders get more involved within the community through

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that emphasizes the rehabilitation of offenders through mending ties with the victims and the community. A better explanation of restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished through cooperative processes that include everyone involved. This can lead to transformation of people, relationships and communities.

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Understanding the definition may be really hard to understand, however when we put it in a different form that many can understand it comes down to repair, encounter and transformation. Our book describes restorative justice in three parts as accountability, community protection and competency development (Sieh, 2006).

Restorative justice is a very complex process in the justice system. It is a positive program that helps in the aid of victims of crimes. The process for restorative justice is broken down into steps which map out how the process should take place. According to Johnstone, “Restorative justice is the theory that justice aids the victim and emphasizes the repair of harm caused by unjust or harmful behavior.” In my opinion the restorative justice process is a great accomplishment to the justice system. Restorative justice does not always work as intended but the theory of which it is intended for is enough to be improved upon.

In the Frontline documentary, “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan” examines how Afghanistan struggle with child sexual slavery and human trafficking of young boy’s ages 5-15 for social and sexual entertainment that was once considered an ancient custom during the early 1800 called Bacha Bazi was subsequently banned under Taliban rule. Although is purported to be a widespread problem inducted by military commanders and wealthy men for power or economic gain as tradition, it is actually modern day pedophilia and child abuse. The Afghan criminal justice system makes it impossible to convict against these serious crimes primarily because quasi-legal regulation does not have legally binding weight since Islamic laws restrict human right freedoms,

Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. This criminal justice system that restores promotes accountability between parties involved and builds the community through the provision of assistance and respects to victims and anyone involved in the community because crime disrupts lives.

Throughout this chapter I discovered many aspects that peaked my interests. The first of these was the way Islam chooses to punish criminals. In this chapter I was able to see how harsh Islam punishes criminals, which came as somewhat of a surprise to me. Some examples of punishment included, theft could result in the criminal getting their hand chopped off, for committing adultery one could be stoned to death, and for corrupting the earth the punishment is death by sword or fire. These punishments certainly interested me due to them being so harsh and inhumane, unlike the United State punishments which are typically just prison time or probation.

Restorative justice is an innovative approach to the criminal justice system that focuses on repairing the harm caused by crimes committed. The methods used in the conventional justice system may deter the offender from committing further crimes, but it does neither repair the harm caused, nor help them acknowledge their responsibility, instead it stigmatizes them, worsening the situation instead of improving it. Many have attempted to facilitate a consensual understanding for RJ. The truth is that has not yet been possible for RJ proponents to formulate a definition to which all would be subscribed. (Gavrielides, 2008)

The second half of this paper will discuss how restorative justice ensures justice is achieved according to specific theories and programs functioning in today’s society. Furthermore, I will explain how restorative justice programs implemented throughout various levels of the criminal justice system has several similarities and differences of their processes and outcomes. Lastly, I will provide examples of crimes for which restorative justice would not be appropriately employed. Miriam Webster defines the term Justice as “the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” To American citizens, justice has an ambiguous meaning, it can be defined in various degrees by each the victim, offender, officer, and prosecutor. Although I believe the traditional justice system in the United States has a

Restorative justice focuses on "...repairing harm caused by criminal behavior." According to "restorativejustive.org.". Typically criminals are taken over by the state at the point of conviction and all type of interaction with the corrections process is between

“Shari 'a: The sacred law in Sunni Islam is based upon four sources. Qur 'an, Sunna, consensus and analogy” (Woodhead, 2001, P262). Muslims have gathered their laws from the Qur 'an (the Holy book which contain God’s words) and practices that Muhammed had taught through the revelation of God. However only certain parts of the Qur 'an refer to laws and the consequences. The aspect of crime and punishment that is interesting to look at is the crime of theft and how it is dealt with. It is also interesting to examine how appropriate the punishment is when trying to achieve a balanced and unbiased conclusion.

This paper will focus on retributive justice and restorative justice. Let’s begin with the definition of each. Retributive justice is a theory of justice that considers that punishment, if proportionate, is a morally acceptable response to crime. On the other hand, restorative justice is the opposite. It is a theory of justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders. So which of these should be morally right?

Islamic Justice is normally dependent of philosophical notions which are viewed as alien, if not reprehensible, to the Western viewer. Prominent among Islamic justice is the penalty of hand amputation for theft. This paper argues that in order to comprehend such practices, they must be analyzed within the socio-religious philosophy of Islam, and also in the essence of true hypothetical inquiry. The penalty of hand amputation might not be fickle with the Judeo-Christian doctrine or the elements of natural law. The application of the penalty is particular cases and under severe rules of evidence; as the law requires, might be admissible, and even required, within the Islamic context of nourishing a peaceful and spiritual society. The paper will finally try to compare the penal of theft in Islamic justice and that of other justice systems, for instance justice by the government.

The policy of Britishers therefore was to interfere with the Mohammaden criminal law. Nevertheless this principle of non- interference with the Mohammedan Penal law was conditioned by one big ‘If’- if it shall be found to contain nothing hurtful to the authority of Government or to the interests of society .