Many articles have dealt with the question why restorative justice in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) may or may not be appropriate. Seeing however as a punitive approach towards IPV is rapidly losing popularity as an effective way of dealing with this complex type of violence, as well as the outcomes of a recent study by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (2014) – where 25% of the Dutch women that were surveyed indicated they had experienced violence by an intimate partner – restorative justice may be a promising alternative after all.
Instead of adding to the debate, the current article focuses on how restorative justice can be constructed to be appropriate for IPV cases, and is explorative in nature. In order to do so, the theory behind transformative learning is combined with restorative justice practices, shifting the focus from ‘restoration’ to ‘restorative transformation’. Such a restorative transformative learning approach focuses on transforming violent meaning perspectives that dictate the use or toleration of violence. Instead of trying to restore the individual back to the state they were in before the violence took place – as ‘restoration’ traditionally implies – the goal of restorative transformative learning is to restore the individual back to a state before a violent meaning perspective was acquired. The transformation of violent meaning perspectives is therefore the prerequisite for restoration.
The method that is introduced in this article offers a practical framework and guidelines to achieve such a transformation. It answers to the complexity of IPV cases by focusing on the entire family system, while leaving room for individual restoration. In doing so, restorative transformative learning may possibly open the way to the acceptance of restorative justice in the field of IPV.

Since Islam stands for a total way of life, it also includes a vision on crime and punishment. According to several (Muslim)scholars the Sharia contains not so much a message of revenge and retribution but rather one of compassion, forgiveness and mercy. Much depends on which sections of the holy sources of Islam are read and subsequently how these sections are interpreted. However, fact is that – in the context of quite a number of criminal offences – Islamic criminal law gives room for restorative practices. These practices prove to be more beneficial with regard to the realization of remorse, forgiveness and reconciliation than the regular criminal process. Since restorative practices form an intrinsic part of (pre-modern) Islamic criminal law and since more and more initiatives are being developed nowadays to incorporate such practices in (modern) Western criminal law, it is of fundamental importance to take note of Islamic criminal law. Before focusing in this contribution on the role of restorative practices, remorse and forgiveness in Islamic criminal law, first the position of victims in criminal law under influence of Islam and Christianity will be discussed on the basis of the ideas of the Dutch victimologist Jan van Dijk. Furthermore, attention will be paid to the decline of mysticism in Islam and to the possible consequences and risks thereof – also for the role of restorative practices, remorse and forgiveness in Islamic criminal law.

The focus of this contribution is on the esoteric view on mankind as depicted in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. Within this context, the stages of development of the conscience and soul that a man can go through will receive additional attention. This development can also be influenced by external factors. According to esotericists, the purpose or destination of man is that he comes into contact with his divine nature, but also that he identifies himself with this nature and that he will live in accordance with it. Such a life can be characterized by wisdom and love and therefore by virtue (charity), which is the opposite of sin or mis-doing. Before the identified development of man can be visualized based on The Magic Flute, this opera firstly needs to be embedded in the tradition of the freemasonry (‘Royal Art’) and other, older initiation schools. It is therefore important to recognize that the esoteric view on mankind has historical roots and that, only in recent centuries, this view has been marginalized, due to the rise of the scientific view on mankind. Finally, the question is posed what criminal law and restorative justice can learn from the esoteric view on mankind. In response to this question, a starting point will be presented of the development of a spiritual life-cycle approach, which complements the existing life-cycle approach and the related desistance theories within contemporary criminology. Furthermore, the concept of interconnectedness, which plays an important role in the context of the esoteric views on mankind, will be connected to a restorative crime approach, which provides restorative justice with spiritual legitimization.