Faith in transition: religious trajectories of incarcerated Muslim men in Belgium

This article explores the religious trajectories of 40 Muslim men, based on interviews conducted in two Belgian prisons. It identifies four distinct patterns in their relationship with Islam: rediscovering Islam in prison, religious stability in prison, viewing Islam as part of a future life plan, experiencing a crisis of faith. Each trajectory is analysed across three temporal phases—before, during, and after imprisonment—highlighting how religious identity and practice evolved in response to personal experiences and institutional conditions. By mapping these heterogeneous pathways, the study challenges assumptions of linear religious development and underscores the complex, contingent nature of religious change behind bars. These findings contribute to sociology of religion, scholarship on Muslims in Europe, and carceral studies by shedding light on how prison can function both as a site of spiritual transformation and as a context in which faith can be questioned, reshaped or suspended.