In April 2016, Anna Less and Ghassan Manasra came to England and spoke at a Quaker meeting. One of the attending Quaker ministers there, Yvonne Dixon was so moved by their talk that she subsequently arranged for David Less, Ghassan and Anna to speak at Grendon Prison where she is a chaplain.

Grendon Prison is the United Kingdom‘s only therapeutic prison community for the treatment of serious sex offenders and violent criminals.

Below are some excerpts from an article about typical inmates at Grendon Prison that we read to prepare ourselves for our experience there. The article is about “Adam” and “Eddie (not their real names).”

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“Hello, I’m Adam. I’m serving life for murder. I killed my daughter.” (His daughter was about to turn four when he killed her).

I wasn’t expecting that, I was prepared for “I killed somebody”, or “I killed another gang member”, or “I killed my best friend because he was sleeping with my wife”, even. But this was something different. For the next few minutes I couldn’t think about anything else. His words echoed round my head as he carried on talking, telling me how much time he’d already served (eight years) and how much time he still had to serve (seven years).

“But the thing is”, he said, “I’m having to come to terms with what I’ve done because I have to talk about it every day with the guys here. I have to talk about my feelings and re-live the events leading up to the moment it happened.

“It’s what I signed up for. I knew the only way I was going to get through this was to come to Grendon (prison) and try and turn my life around by facing my demons.”

So what is next for Adam? A man who killed his own child in revenge for his wife’s infidelity?

“I’m going to be taking part in psycho-drama soon”, he tells me, “which is where we act out the crime with the other inmates. I’ll have to go over the night I killed my daughter in detail, not only from my perspective but from my wife’s and my daughter’s.”

He looks absolutely terrified at the prospect.

At the end of his trial the judge told Adam: “You will have to live with what you have done for the rest of your life.”

But by coming to Grendon it’s even harder than that. He has to re-live it every day.

“Eddie”, a former gang member from Birmingham, is in for murder.

“All I had ever known was how to be part of a gang”, he said. “It was normal for me to have a gun in my hand. It was normal to be violent. When I got sent to prison my mates were already there.

“Coming here is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. (Here) You’re asked to talk about your feelings – something you never do in a gang. You’ve got to accept people who are different, and you have to control your anger. If you’re violent you’re out. It’s the complete opposite of being in a gang.”

This is the story that most of the inmates tell. The decision to come to Grendon is not an easy one.

To us on the outside it seems like a no-brainer: a high security jail surrounded by violent and desperate men or a prison where violence isn’t tolerated, you can wear your own clothes, and take part in therapy? But we haven’t lived the lives they have.*

* ^{To Read the full Channel 4 Article Click Here:https://www.channel4.com/news/prison-jail-offenders-therapy-grendon-jail-video} 

Anna wrote of the experience afterwards: “As we drive through the loops of barbed wire to enter the prison grounds, Yvonne explains that the Grendon Prison grounds also house the Spring Hill Prison, which was used during the Second World War as a radio transmission centre for Special Operations Executive. I am stunned to realise that my spiritual teacher’s sister, Noor Inayat Khan, who was trained as a radio operator, sent her radio transmissions to these very grounds throughout the war. After the war, these facilities were converted to become the UK’s first open prison. And in recent years the gymnasium here was dedicated to, and named after, Noor Inayat Kahn.

I feel her hand reaching through time and space to guide this experience…

as we sign in and enter a chamber where we and our bags are searched. They confiscate my USB stick and my pack of chewing gum.

“Someone could use it to make an impression of a key,” they explain.

We are escorted through hallways hung with excellent and very detailed artwork done by the prisoners.

We enter a large and very cold gymnasium to set up for our presentation. We are told that our programme is “very popular” and over 65 inmates have signed up to come. More chairs and benches are brought in. The prison therapists, clergy and staff also want to see what we are presenting.

We are introduced to the prison’s Imam and other clergy members.

As people file in and take their places, I can’t keep myself from trying to identify who is the staff and who are the inmates. Many people in the audience wear religious symbols, necklaces or beards that identify their religious affiliations.

David and Ghassan each speak eloquently about the work of the AR. When Ghassan speaks in Arabic and references the Quran and other Islamic texts, the Imam and various audience members light up and nod. When David speaks from the heart people around the room respond with profound recognition and applause.

I show the power point, and explain our activities, and afterwards there is a question and answer session; clearly the questions are deep and heartfelt. Afterwards, there are refreshments and an opportunity for the audience to speak with us individually.

A young Muslim inmate filled with light introduces himself. He tells us our work of bringing people from insular religious communities to meet with others was so important. He describes how growing up in an insular Muslim community in London had led to his radicalisation and ultimately to this destiny.

We were told that in the aftermath of 9/11 he had murdered someone in retaliation for the media’s portrayal of Muslims, and he has been in prison since that time. I try to feel back through the years to nine eleven and consider what I had experienced in my own life since then and I try to imagine what he had experienced….

He said that in about 5 years perhaps he will be released and it was his dream to be able to work with an organisation like ours to promote interfaith harmony.

Another man approaching middle age with a long beard introduced himself as having an English, Jewish Mother, and a Muslim, Pakistani father. He shared that he had been in prison since the age of 17. He didn’t expect to be out soon. He wondered if he could work for the Abrahamic Reunion from within the prison. He said he had good computer skills and this work was exactly what he had been looking to do. He wondered if there was a way he could be of use to us, and to our work.

Others who had been involved in religiously motivated hate crimes came forward to express their support and admiration and share how important they felt our work was.

Chaplains came forward to ask how they and the inmates could learn to start an AR inspired interfaith study program.

As we rode the train home each of us described how profoundly and deeply moved we were by our experience there. We shared that it could potentially be a life altering experience for each of us personally and perhaps for the Abrahamic Reunion in general. We joked about presenting to a “captive audience” but our joking was an attempt to alleviate the profound sense of responsibility that each of us was experiencing as we continued to imagine how the Abrahamic Reunion could serve this community and as we recognised the potentially far-reaching effects that interfaith work could have.

When I arrived home and opened my computer I had inquiries waiting from the directors and chaplains at the prison explaining that ‘radicalisation’ in prisons is a very important topic that needs to be addressed and wondering how we could work together in the future.’

We are absorbing this.

Really thank you.

Loving Regards

Anna Less
International Executive Director

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November 7:  Today Abrahamic Reunion’s UK tour had a presentation at Springhill Prison in Buckinghamshire, England.

Abrahamic Reunion Peacemakers Sheikh Ghassan Manasra (Director), Rabbi Mordechai Zeller (a former resident of Israel serving as the current Rabbi for Cambridge University, and a trustee for the Abrahamic Reunion in the UK), and I, Reverend Cherag Anna Less PhD, (AR Executive Director) together with Abrahamic Reunion youth leader, Zaynab Manasra, and our UK Abrahamic Reunion team, Michael and Amanda Kenton, and Yvonne Dixon the Quaker Chaplain at Springhill Prison, met to offer a presentation to approximately 80 inmates, staff members and chaplains at Springhill Prison.

No photos were allowed in the prison, however this photo was taken beforehand of everyone going (minus Sheikh Ghassan who is taking this picture.)

Yvonne introduced us to the audience and spoke about Springhill’s history, which served as the training centre for British Special Forces during World War II. She explained that the gymnasium where we were giving our presentation was built by the prisoners and named after Britain’s first Muslim war heroine, Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan.

Although Springhill Prison shares the same grounds as Grendon Prison, where the Abrahamic Reunion had presented last year, Springhill has a very different population from that of Grendon Prison, which offers a therapeutic program for England’s most dangerous and violent criminals.

Springhill is an open prison that supports the needs of about 335 long-term prisoners who are in the last few years of their sentence. At Springhill, prisoners train and prepare for their release, and participate in a resettlement program that allows them to work in jobs outside of the prison during daylight hours, and return to live in the prison when they are not working.

The majority of residents in our audience were Muslims and surprisingly for us, there were a number of Palestinians.

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Sheikh Ghassan and Rabbi Mordechai prepare on the train to Springhill prison

The Muslim inmates eagerly gathered around Ghassan to speak with him in urgent, hushed Arabic while Mordechai and I made our presentations.

After all of us had spoken there was a Question and Answer period, and initially the tone of the inmate’s “questions”, which were directed at Mordechai, began as wounded and sceptical challenges that bordered on being aggressive.

But Ghassan immediately stepped in to skilfully navigate their hostility, and soothe them with quotes from the Quran and the Hadith.

He appealed to their innate desire for peace in ways that were culturally familiar for them, and once they felt their pain had been heard and responded to, they began to soften and calm down.

As Ghassan continued to raise their consciousness to a higher level, they gradually began to open their hearts to Mordechai (their preconceived enemy) and our other speakers, and an atmosphere of trust, hope and camaraderie began to take over.

By the time the evening was winding down the inmates were asking, “Are there more people like you?” “Are there more people who believe

Sheikh Ghassan and Rabbi Mordechai prepare on the train to Springhill prison

what you believe?” In other words, “Is it really safe, and possible, to love one another?” As they hugged Ghassan and Mordechai goodbye, and shook my hand, they admitted what “a good guy” Mordechai was, and they shared that they had never met people like us, and this evening offered them the possibility to consider a new ending to an old story that always left them feeling like the victim.  They asked how they could get in touch with us when they “get out.”

The authorities and staff at Springhill also immediately came forward at the end of the program to discuss our next steps together regarding offering programs, and in-depth trainings, here, and in other prisons they are responsible for.

As we packed our things to leave, we could finally exhale and thank the dedicated staff at Springhill.  We send a special thanks to Chaplain Co-ordinator Brenda Davies and Yvonne Dixon for their support of the Abrahamic Reunion.

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Thanks to the hard work of Yvonne Dixon, Latifa Shahab Laker and Gulrukh Patel, an inspired Interfaith Service was held at Springhill Prison on October 25^th 2012. The service took place in conjunction with the unveiling of a new Gym built entirely by the prisoners and dedicated to Noor Inayat Khan in recognition of her heroic deeds during World War Two.

Springhill was the training centre for the Special Operations Executive during the war and where all of Noor’s radio transmissions from occupied Paris, would have been received. In 1953 Springhill became the first open prison in the UK and is now a resettlement prison where detainees are prepared for re-entry into society. Yvonne is acting chaplain there and initiated talks with the Governor about offering an Interfaith Service called a Universal Worship Service in honour of Noor. During preliminary discussions he came up with the idea of dedicating the gym as a tribute to her. Naturally we were all delighted that the prison had taken Noor’s story into its heart.

The service was conducted in the presence of prisoners, guests and members of the UK Sufi Order. Guests and prisoners from different faiths were invited to participate by reciting scriptures from their respective traditions. One of the prisoners also made an offering from Noor’s Jataka Tales.

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Shrabani Basu, the tour de force behind the Noor un Nisa statue campaign joined us and opened the evening with a short talk on Noor’s life. Shrabani enthralled the prisoners with stories of Noor’s bravery and astonishing resilience.

The service honoured the different faith with readings, music and a candle being lit for each of the faiths. During the service we were encouraged to reflect upon our unique lives. Gulrukh gave a most inspiring sermon in which she conveyed Noor’s last word ‘liberte’. She then asked us all to contemplate what our last words might be. Then, once we’d recognised them, to enquire whether our lives were being lived in alignment with these words. Gazing around the room, I saw many eyes lighting up at this invitation. I then felt the power of participating in this self-enquiry together.

The feedback from the prisoners and staff was really positive; they remarked what a great opportunity it was for all to share in Noor’s inspirational story and that having the Universal Worship Service had illustrated the need and possibility of further interfaith dialogue.

Michael Kenton, who was a driving force behind the service, shared some anecdotes with me; apparently the governor had said that if any of the audience had wished to walk out at any time they certainly could have, so clearly everyone enjoyed the experience. He added to that, considering Spurs and Liverpool were playing that night he was most surprised that so many prisoners attended.

I circulated amongst the prisoners during the refreshments and received many questions and compliments about the service.

Britain’s first memorial to an Asian woman.

Two weeks later during remembrance week, the unveiling of a bust of Noor Inayat Khan by HRH The Princess Royal in London’s Gordon Square took place. The Khan family once lived on the square and Noor would have strolled in its gardens. Veterans of both the SOE and WAAF including Irene Warner, 91, who trained with Noor, were among the 300 who came out to honour her.

This momentous occasion was the result of 2 years of fundraising and campaigning by Shrabani Basu and her collaborators, whom she lovingly calls ‘Team Noor’. Shrabani in her welcoming address thanked all the supporters for bringing Noor back to Gordon Square, and then invited Princess Anne to conduct ceremonious proceedings.

After the unveiling, which was met with great applause, Princess Anne honoured Noor’s sacrifice saying stories such as Noor’s are ‘remarkable in their own right’ but have a real connection to make with the modern age through their ‘multi-cultural aspect’. HRH added that she hoped that the statue would serve as a reminder, encouraging people to ask; who was she? Why she was there? And, what could be achieved in her memory?

A deeply moving closing message from Hidayat Inayat-Khan then followed, read with great tenderness by his grandson Omar Inayat Khan. In his address Pia Hidayat paid tribute to his beloved sister’s passionate call for liberty for which she paid the ultimate price. He appealed to us to keep at heart the great ideals of harmony, which are so much needed in this troubled world today. A world in which concepts of human rights have not yet been understood by all as being the only truest guaranty for an everlasting peace among nations..

To close a single bugle played the last post followed by a poignant silence.

Sheikh ul Masheikh Mahmood Khan and his wife Harunissa came from their home in the Netherlands to be present. In an interview he commented; ‘Everyone – British, Indian and beyond – can take pride in what Noor did.”

It’s difficult to convey my feelings surrounding this occasion as at times I was overcome with emotion, but perhaps I could best describe the atmosphere as being pervaded with the dignity, courage, graciousness and nobility of soul that was Noor’s very essence.

Adapted by Michael Kenton from an article by Anne Marie Terry

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