Book Review: Aertsten, I., Daems, T., & Robert, L. (2006). Institutionalizing Restorative Justice. Portland, OR: Willan. Pp. 313

• DOI: 10.1177/1057567707310568
• Date: 01 December 2007
• Published date: 01 December 2007
• Author: Morris Jenkins
• Subject Matter: Articles

If Quraishi was looking for authentic and comprehensive information on the Qur’an, he should

have referred to the works by Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf Ali. If he was

searching for authentic and comprehensive information on Shi’a Islam, he should have referred to

the works by Moojan Momen, Heinz Halm, Husain M. Jafri, or Hussein Nasr.

On page 9, when discussing the various madhabs (schools of Islamic jurisprudence), the author

states that “By the early ninth century the legal schools had evolved and formed what are now known

as the classical schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Of these schools eight survive today, four

Sunni and four heretical.” We believe that referring to the four non-Sunni (mainly Shi’a) madhabs as

heretical is unscholarly. A competent scholar should try to be value neutral and balanced. If a quotation

is used (as in this case), the author must fairly comment on it.

The book has a lengthy bibliography. However, it lacks any mention of such primary sources as

Prophet Muhammad’s hadeeth and tafseer as well as fiqh as it relates to hudood and ta’azeer in

Islamic criminal law. It also has only one Web site. Surely, the author could have found much more

information on the Internet pertaining to Muslims and crime.

Although we have concerns about Quraishi’s book, the author has initiated research on a problem

of great global importance in the post-9/11 era. There ought to be a second edition of this book in

which the author analyzes the role of Muslim youth in the July 7, 2005 terrorist incidents in London

and the August 10, 2006 media coverage of the plot to blow up civilian airliners en route from

London to the United States. We also hope the author devotes at least one chapter in his next book to

an analysis and explanation of the root causes of suicide bombings undertaken by Muslim extremists

in the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

Mir Zohair Husain

University of South Alabama, Mobile

Syed-Mohsin Naquvi

Managing Trustee of Mohsena Memorial Foundation, Princeton, NJ

Aertsten, I., Daems, T., & Robert, L. (2006). Institutionalizing Restorative Justice. Portland,

OR: Willan. Pp. 313.

DOI: 10.1177/1057567707310568

Michael Tonry (chapter 1) provides the reader with an overview of alternatives to detention and

incarceration in contemporary time in industrial countries. He concludes that the more moralistic the

country, the less likely it could be to institutionalize restorative justice. Hans Boutellier (chapter 2)

adds that restorative justice is usually not an alternative to the criminal justice system, but a supple-

ment to it. He adds that the restorative justice programs and processes are considered rehabilitation

for minorities in society. John Pratt (chapter 3) critiques how restorative justice theorists and practi-

tioners have become “evangelist” and how the focus on spreading the word about restorative justice

has hindered the implementation, evaluation, and sustainment of the programs. This preaching about

restorative justice has allowed the state to co-opt the concept. The final objective of restorative jus-

tice is to eliminate the “state” from the process. He implies that institutionalization of restorative

justice may not be a proper goal. All three authors do imply that restorative justice is a process that

would reduce the criminal justice (law) monopoly on crime.

Chapters 4 through 9 give the reader an overview of restorative justice in various countries, with the

benefits and drawbacks associated with institutionalization. According to Ivo Aertsen (chapter 4),

restorative justice in Belgium is formal and somewhat institutionalized through the victim/offender

356 International Criminal Justice Review