Spiritual assistance under surveillance: Muslim chaplains in prison in the age of the fight against radicalisation

In Belgium, the involvement of Muslim chaplains in prisons has been deemed necessary in the fight against radicalisation. Hence, the status of Muslim chaplains, lay advisors and moral advisors has been reviewed, resulting in the Royal Decree of the 17th of May 2019. Up to that point, their mission of spiritual assistance in prisons was to respect the freedom of religion of detainees. This mission, however, has been slightly redefined, which places Muslim chaplains in a dilemna, torn between assistance and to surveillance of prisoners. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, this article explores some dilemmas resulting from this situation for Muslim chaplains.