Bridging the Paradigm of Restorative Justice: Between Secular Philosophy and Islamic Principles
Keywords:
Islamic Restitution, Compensation, Restorative Justice, Wrongful Act.
Abstract
This study addresses how Secular and Islamic principles regulate and operationalize Restorative Justice (RJ) within their respective frameworks. Restorative justice has evolved significantly, influenced by diverse cultural and legal contexts, particularly in indigenous practices that prioritize healing and reconciliation. It evolved from traditional practices emphasizing dialogue and community involvement in resolving conflicts. The study used a comparative legal analysis of the two systems. While restorative justice principles have been formalized in modern legal systems as an alternative to punitive justice, their application varies across Western and Oriental legal frameworks. In Oriental cultures, including Arab and Islamic societies, restorative justice practices involve Shari'ah principles such as Qiṣāṣ, Diyya, and Ṣulḥ that promote dialogue, compensation, and community involvement, and offer rehabilitation rather than punitive action. The study, which used a systematic mapping, revealed that while the secular model relies on state-centric and legal-positivist structures, the Islamic model relies on victim-centric solutions that operate under the administrative patronage of provincial bodies. The study identified that while both systems achieve functional equivalence in conflict resolution, they remain fundamentally distinct in their regulatory infrastructure and their core jurisprudential conceptualization of whether the state or the individual 'owns' the legal conflict.
References
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Govier, T. "Forgiveness and revenge." London: Routledge. 2002.
Hascall, S.C. Restorative Justice in Islam: Should Qiṣāṣ be Considered a Form of Restorative Justice? Duquesne University School of Law Research Paper No 2012-11. 2012.
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Jokinen, Heidi. "Solving Moral Conflicts. Case Restorative Justice in Domestic Violence Cases." Contemporary Justice Review 24, no. 2 (2020): 155 - 171. https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580.2020.1819803.
Kamali, M. H. Shari'ah Law: An Introduction. Oneworld Publications. 2008.
Karmen, A. Crime Victims—An Introduction to Victimology, California: Pacific Grove. 1990.
Lane, W. E. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Librarie du Liban Lane. 1980.
Lang, Sharon. "Ṣulḥa Peacemaking and the Politics of Persuasion." Journal of Palestine Studies 31, no. 3 (2002): 52 - 66. https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2002.31.3.52.
MacCoun, Robert J. "Drugs and the Law: A Psychological Analysis of Drug Prohibition." Psychological Bulletin 113, no. 3 (1993): 497 - 512. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.113.3.497.
Marshall, Tony Francis. "Restorative Justice on Trial in Britain." Mediation Quarterly 12, no. 3 (1995): 217 - 231. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.3900120304.
Maxwell, Gabrielle. "Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Implementing Restorative Justice in International and Indigenous Contexts." In Sociology of Crime Law and Deviance. Emerald (MCB UP ), n.d. Accessed December 31, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1521-6136(08)00404-1.
Osman, F. Concepts of the Qur'an: A Topical Reading, Los Angeles, California: MVI Publications. 1997.
Pavelka, S. "Restorative Justice in the States: An Analysis of Statutory Legislation and Policy." Justice Policy Journal, 2, no 13 (2016): 1-23.
Pely, Doron. "Honor: The Ṣulḥa's Main Dispute Resolution Tool." Conflict Resolution Quarterly 28, no. 1 (2010): 67 - 81. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.20013.
Pely, Doron. "Resolving Clan-Based Disputes Using the Ṣulḥ, the Traditional Dispute Resolution Process of the Middle East.: Dispute Resolution Journal, 64, no. 4: (2008): 80–88.
Pely, Doron. "When Honor Trumps Basic Needs: The Role of Honor in Deadly Disputes within Israel's Arab Community." Negotiation Journal 27, no. 2 (2011): 205 - 225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1571-9979.2011.00303.x.
Pely, Doron. "Where East Not Always Meets West: Comparing the Ṣulḥa Process to Western‐style Mediation and Arbitration." Conflict Resolution Quarterly 28, no. 4 (2011): 427 - 440. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.20028.
Roche, D. "Retribution and restorative justice." In Handbook of Restorative Justice. Routledge. Retrieved March 14, 2026, from https://doi.org/10.4324/9781843926191.ch5
Schacht, J. An introduction to Islamic law. Oxford University Press. 1964
Schafer, S. Restitution to victims of crime, London: Stevens & Sons, Ltd. 1960
Sherman, L. W., Strang, H., Angel, C., Woods, D., Barnes, G. C., Bennett, S., & Inkpen, N. (2005). Effects of face-to-face restorative justice on victims of crime in four randomized, controlled trials. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1(3), 367–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-005-8126-y
Sherman, L.W., Strang, H., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D. J. & Ariel, B. "Are Restorative Justice Conferences Effective in Reducing Repeat Offending? Findings from a Campbell Systematic Review." Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31, (2015): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-014-9222-9
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Vidmar, N., & Miller, D. T. (1980). Socialpsychological processes underlying attitudes toward legal punishment. Law & Society Review, 14(3), 565–602. https://doi.org/10.2307/3053193
von Hirsch. Culpability and mistake of law, in S. Shute, J. Gardner and J. Horder (eds) Action and value in the criminal law, 157-174. Oxford. 1993.
Walgrave, L. (1995). Restorative justice for juveniles: Just a technique or a fully fledged alternative? The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 34(3), 228–249. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2311.1995.tb00841.x
Walker, Lorenn. "Conferencing: Western Application of Indigenous Peoples' Conflict Resolution Practices." SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2137919.
Wenzel, Michael, Tyler G. Okimoto, Norman T. Feather, and Michael J. Platow. "Retributive and Restorative Justice." Law and Human Behavior 32, no. 5 (2008): 375 - 389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-007-9116-6.
Wyrick, Phelan A., and Mark A. Costanzo. "Predictors of Client Participation in Victim‐offender Mediation." Mediation Quarterly 16, no. 3 (1999): 253 - 267. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.3890160305.
Zehr, Howard, and Harry Mika. "Fundamental Concepts of Restorative Justice." In Restorative Justice. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351150125-4.
Adrian, Lin, and Solfrid Mykland. "Unwrapping Court-Connected Mediation Agreements." In Nordic Mediation Research. Springer International Publishing, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73019-6_6.
Al-Badayneh, D. M., Al-Tarawneh, M. E., Lamchichi, A. A., and Ellamey, Y. M. "Restorative Justice: Does it Work in the Arab Countries?" International Journal of Religion, 5, no. 8 (2024): 125–139. https://doi.org/10.61707/23mn6z72
Al-Shaibani, Majed. "The Applications of Intention (Qaedat al- Umu:R Bi Maqasidaha) in Saudi Law: A Comparative Study." Journal of Politics and Law 13, no. 2 (2020): 1. https://doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v13n2p1.
Bazemore, Gordon. "Restorative Justice and Earned Redemption." American Behavioral Scientist 41, no. 6 (1998): 768 - 813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764298041006003.
Bearman, P. A history of the encyclopaedia of Islam. Lockwood Press. 2018. https://doi.org/10.5913/2018044
Bianquis, Th., E J Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs, C. E. Bosworth, and P. J. Bearman. The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Volumes I-IX and to the Supplement, Fascicules 1-6. Brill Academic Publishers, 2012.
Bosworth, C. E., Van Donzel, E., Heinrichs, W. P. & Lecomte, G. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden Brill. 1997.
Braithwaite, J. "Setting Standards for Restorative Justice." British Journal of Criminology 42, no. 3 (2002): 563 - 577. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/42.3.563.
Braithwaite, J. The state of criminology: Theoretical. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 22, No. 3 (1989): 129-135..
Braithwaite, J., Jowitt, A., & Newton, T. The fundamentals of restorative justice. In S. Dinnen (Ed.), A kind of mending (pp. 35–44). ANU Press. 2010.
Carlsmith, Kevin M., John M. Darley, and Paul H. Robinson. "Why Do We Punish?: Deterrence and Just Deserts as Motives for Punishment." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83, no. 2 (2002): 284 - 299. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.83.2.284.
Choi, Jung Jin, and Michael J. Gilbert. "'Joe Everyday, People off the Street': A Qualitative Study on Mediators' Roles and Skills in Victim–Offender Mediation." Contemporary Justice Review 13, no. 2 (2010): 207 - 227. https://doi.org/10.1080/10282581003748305.
Christie, R. M. Maintenance requirements of offshore platform/installation systems. Offshore Europe. 1977, September 14. https://doi.org/10.2118/6681-ms
Chun, Jahyun. "Enforced Reconciliation without Justice: The Absence of Procedural, Retributive, and Restorative Justice in the 'Comfort Women' Agreement of 2015." Asian Journal of Social Science 49, no. 2 (2021): 84 - 92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajss.2020.09.001.
Council of Europe. Recommendation No. RR (99) 19 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States Concerning Mediation in Penal Matters. 1999.
Cunneen, Chris. "Reviving Restorative Justice Traditions?" In Handbook of Restorative Justice. Routledge, 2025. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781843926191.ch7.
Darley, John M., Kevin M. Carlsmith, and Paul H. Robinson. "Incapacitation and Just Deserts as Motives for Punishment." Law and Human Behavior 24, no. 6 (2000): 659 - 683. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1005552203727.
Duff, A. Punishment, communication, and community. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003.
Foley, A. P. Developing restorative justice jurisprudence: Rethinking responses to criminal wrongdoing. Ashgate Publishing. 2014.
Goodstein, Jerry, and Karl Aquino. "And Restorative Justice for All: Redemption, Forgiveness, and Reintegration in Organizations." Journal of Organizational Behavior 31, no. 4 (2009): 624 - 628. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.632.
Górska, E. and Klakla, J. B. "Arab Customary Law and the Modern Western Idea of Restorative Justice." The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture: New Series 5 (2017). https://doi.org/10.4467/24506249pj.17.002.6809.
Govier, T. "Forgiveness and revenge." London: Routledge. 2002.
Hascall, S.C. Restorative Justice in Islam: Should Qiṣāṣ be Considered a Form of Restorative Justice? Duquesne University School of Law Research Paper No 2012-11. 2012.
Haveripeth, P. D. "Restorative Justice and Victims: Right to Compensation." International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 2, no. 2 2013: 43-47.
Jokinen, Heidi. "Solving Moral Conflicts. Case Restorative Justice in Domestic Violence Cases." Contemporary Justice Review 24, no. 2 (2020): 155 - 171. https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580.2020.1819803.
Kamali, M. H. Shari'ah Law: An Introduction. Oneworld Publications. 2008.
Karmen, A. Crime Victims—An Introduction to Victimology, California: Pacific Grove. 1990.
Lane, W. E. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Librarie du Liban Lane. 1980.
Lang, Sharon. "Ṣulḥa Peacemaking and the Politics of Persuasion." Journal of Palestine Studies 31, no. 3 (2002): 52 - 66. https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2002.31.3.52.
MacCoun, Robert J. "Drugs and the Law: A Psychological Analysis of Drug Prohibition." Psychological Bulletin 113, no. 3 (1993): 497 - 512. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.113.3.497.
Marshall, Tony Francis. "Restorative Justice on Trial in Britain." Mediation Quarterly 12, no. 3 (1995): 217 - 231. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.3900120304.
Maxwell, Gabrielle. "Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Implementing Restorative Justice in International and Indigenous Contexts." In Sociology of Crime Law and Deviance. Emerald (MCB UP ), n.d. Accessed December 31, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1521-6136(08)00404-1.
Osman, F. Concepts of the Qur'an: A Topical Reading, Los Angeles, California: MVI Publications. 1997.
Pavelka, S. "Restorative Justice in the States: An Analysis of Statutory Legislation and Policy." Justice Policy Journal, 2, no 13 (2016): 1-23.
Pely, Doron. "Honor: The Ṣulḥa's Main Dispute Resolution Tool." Conflict Resolution Quarterly 28, no. 1 (2010): 67 - 81. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.20013.
Pely, Doron. "Resolving Clan-Based Disputes Using the Ṣulḥ, the Traditional Dispute Resolution Process of the Middle East.: Dispute Resolution Journal, 64, no. 4: (2008): 80–88.
Pely, Doron. "When Honor Trumps Basic Needs: The Role of Honor in Deadly Disputes within Israel's Arab Community." Negotiation Journal 27, no. 2 (2011): 205 - 225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1571-9979.2011.00303.x.
Pely, Doron. "Where East Not Always Meets West: Comparing the Ṣulḥa Process to Western‐style Mediation and Arbitration." Conflict Resolution Quarterly 28, no. 4 (2011): 427 - 440. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.20028.
Roche, D. "Retribution and restorative justice." In Handbook of Restorative Justice. Routledge. Retrieved March 14, 2026, from https://doi.org/10.4324/9781843926191.ch5
Schacht, J. An introduction to Islamic law. Oxford University Press. 1964
Schafer, S. Restitution to victims of crime, London: Stevens & Sons, Ltd. 1960
Sherman, L. W., Strang, H., Angel, C., Woods, D., Barnes, G. C., Bennett, S., & Inkpen, N. (2005). Effects of face-to-face restorative justice on victims of crime in four randomized, controlled trials. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1(3), 367–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-005-8126-y
Sherman, L.W., Strang, H., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D. J. & Ariel, B. "Are Restorative Justice Conferences Effective in Reducing Repeat Offending? Findings from a Campbell Systematic Review." Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31, (2015): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-014-9222-9
Srivastava, S. S. Criminology Criminal Administration, New Delhi: Central Law Agency. 2007.
Strang, Heather, Lawrence Sherman, Caroline M. Angel, et al. "Victim Evaluations of Face‐to‐Face Restorative Justice Conferences: A Quasi‐Experimental Analysis." Journal of Social Issues 62, no. 2 (2006): 281 - 306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00451.x.
Tarabeih, Hussein, Deborah Shmueli, and Rassem Khamaisi. "Towards the Implementation of Ṣulḥa as a Cultural Peacemaking Method for Managing and Resolving Environmental Conflicts among Arab Palestinians in Israel." Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 5, no. 1 (2009): 50 - 64. https://doi.org/10.1080/15423166.2009.111021519905.
Tyler, T. R. Why people obey the law: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and compliance (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2006.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Handbook on Restorative Justice Programmes, Criminal Justice Handbook Series, Vienna. 2006.
Vidmar, N., & Miller, D. T. (1980). Socialpsychological processes underlying attitudes toward legal punishment. Law & Society Review, 14(3), 565–602. https://doi.org/10.2307/3053193
von Hirsch. Culpability and mistake of law, in S. Shute, J. Gardner and J. Horder (eds) Action and value in the criminal law, 157-174. Oxford. 1993.
Walgrave, L. (1995). Restorative justice for juveniles: Just a technique or a fully fledged alternative? The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 34(3), 228–249. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2311.1995.tb00841.x
Walker, Lorenn. "Conferencing: Western Application of Indigenous Peoples' Conflict Resolution Practices." SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2137919.
Wenzel, Michael, Tyler G. Okimoto, Norman T. Feather, and Michael J. Platow. "Retributive and Restorative Justice." Law and Human Behavior 32, no. 5 (2008): 375 - 389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-007-9116-6.
Wyrick, Phelan A., and Mark A. Costanzo. "Predictors of Client Participation in Victim‐offender Mediation." Mediation Quarterly 16, no. 3 (1999): 253 - 267. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.3890160305.
Zehr, Howard, and Harry Mika. "Fundamental Concepts of Restorative Justice." In Restorative Justice. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351150125-4.
Published
2026-06-22
How to Cite
Alshaibani, M. (2026). Bridging the Paradigm of Restorative Justice: Between Secular Philosophy and Islamic Principles. Mazahib, 25(1), 118-139. https://doi.org/10.21093/mj.v25i1.12419
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2026 Majed N Alshaibani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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