Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of Ibrahim, an ex-offender who has embraced Islam. Ibrahim professes Islam to be the influential element to his desistance process. This study explores Ibrahim’s journey, emphasising and reflecting upon youth; criminality and religiosity. Much of the current research relating to Black men and offending is limited to masculinity, father absence, gangs and criminality. The role of religiosity in the lives of offenders and/or ex-offenders is often overlooked. The authors suggest that identity, religiosity and desistance can raise a host of complexities while highlighting the unique challenges and benefits experienced by Ibrahim, following the practice of religion. Design/methodology/approach This paper took a qualitative, ethnographic approach, in the form of analysing and exploring Ibrahim’s personal lived experience. The analysis of semi-structured interviews, and reflective diaries, utilising grounded theory allowed the formation of the following three core themes: desistance, religion and identity. Findings The findings within this paper identify an interlink between desistance, religion and identity. The role of religiosity is becoming increasingly more important in academic social science research. This paper highlights the complexities of all three above intersections. Research limitations/implications This paper explores the complexities of religiosity in the desistance process of Ibrahim. Research in relation to former gang members in the UK and the role of religiosity in their lives is fairly under-researched. This paper seeks to build on existing research surrounding gang, further exploring religiosity from a UK context. Practical implications Time spent with Ibrahim had to be tightly scheduled, due to the work commitments of both Ibrahim and the researcher. Therefore, planning had to be done ahead in an efficient manner. Social implications Researching the way individuals experience the world is a “growing phenomenon”. This paper aimed to explore the lived experience of religiosity from the perspective of Ibrahim. However, it was important to not stereotype and label all Black males who have embraced Islam and desisted from crime. Therefore, this paper’s intention is not to stereotype Black men, but to raise awareness and encourage further discussion surrounding the role of religiosity in the lives of ex-offenders’. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, studies specifically focusing on the role of Islam in the life of an ex-offender are few and far between. Therefore, findings from this study are important to develop further understanding surrounding religiosity, offending and desistance. This study explores the lived experiences of Ibrahim, an former gang member and ex-offender who professes Islam to be a fundamental source to his desistance process.

中文翻译：

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黑人，宗教信仰和禁欲：探索伊斯兰教，禁欲和身份

目的本文的目的是探讨接受伊斯兰教的前罪犯易卜拉欣的经历。易卜拉欣称伊斯兰为他的停战进程的重要因素。这项研究探索了易卜拉欣的旅程，强调并反思了青年。犯罪和宗教信仰。当前有关黑人和犯罪的许多研究仅限于男子气概，父亲缺席，帮派和犯罪。宗教在罪犯和/或前罪犯生活中的作用常常被忽视。作者认为，认同，宗教信仰和戒欲会增加一系列复杂性，同时强调易卜拉欣遵循宗教习俗所面临的独特挑战和利益。设计/方法/方法本文采用定性的人种学方法，以分析和探索易卜拉欣个人生活经历的形式。使用扎根理论对半结构化访谈和反思性日记进行分析，可以形成以下三个核心主题：停顿，宗教和认同。调查结果本文中的调查结果确定了停顿，宗教和身份之间的相互联系。在学术社会科学研究中，宗教的作用变得越来越重要。本文重点介绍了上述三个交叉点的复杂性。研究的局限性/意义本文探讨了易卜拉欣戒断过程中宗教信仰的复杂性。有关英国前帮派成员以及宗教信仰在他们生活中的作用的研究尚未得到充分研究。本文力求以有关帮派的现有研究为基础，进一步探索英国的宗教信仰。实际的影响由于易卜拉欣和研究人员的共同工作，与易卜拉欣一起度过的时间必须安排得很紧。因此，必须以有效的方式提前进行计划。社会影响研究个人体验世界的方式是一种“增长中的现象”。本文旨在从易卜拉欣的角度探讨宗教的生活经验。但是，重要的是，不要刻板印象和贴上所有拥护伊斯兰教并被禁止犯罪的黑人男性的标签。因此，本文的目的不是刻板印象黑人，而是要提高认识并鼓励人们进一步探讨宗教信仰在前犯生活中的作用。原创性/价值据作者所知，专门研究伊斯兰教在前犯生活中的作用的研究很少，而且相差甚远。因此，这项研究的发现对于进一步了解周围的宗教，犯罪和戒断感很重要。这项研究探索了易卜拉欣（Ibrahim）的生活经历，易卜拉欣曾是帮派成员，也是前罪犯，他自称伊斯兰教是其戒断进程的基本根源。