Inmates targeted by radical Islamists at high security prisons

Published: February 17th, 2016

A staff member at top-security prison Whitemoor has spoken about the growing problem of harassment and even forced conversion by hard-line Muslim inmates.

Reports from last November showed that in some prisons, Muslim inmates are bullying other prisoners, in some cases forcing them to convert to Islam, or pay a sharia tax called 'jizya'. Jizya is a ‘protection’ tax that Islamic states impose on non-Muslim subjects.

But concerns continue to grow as new figures show a dramatic increase in the percentage of Muslim inmates in UK prisons.

Ministry of Justice figures show that the number of Muslim prisoners has risen from 6,571 in 2004, to 12,255 a decade later. Additionally, Muslims account for one in five of the population of high security prisons, which house those who have committed acts of murder, rape and even terror.

Home Office study needs 'wider reach'

In December of last year, it came to light that some Muslims were deliberately seeking prison sentences in order to radicalise other inmates.

The warnings came from the Prison Officers Association (POA), after Justice Secretary Michael Gove ordered a review of how the prison service is tackling the problem of radicalisation.

The review involved a study conducted by Ian Acheson of the Home Office, which found that 140 out of 200 prison imams subscribe to a hard-line interpretation of Islam. The results of the study are to be published next month.

But ahead of the study, Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the POA, warned that the problem extends "far wider than imams".

"The probe has to have a far wider reach. We have concerns that Islamist extremists are deliberately getting custodial sentences in order to target vulnerable prisoners.

"They are often clever and well educated and can brainwash young people."

Indoctrination at Whitemoor prison

Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire has the highest percentage of Muslim inmates – around 44%.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, an anonymous Whitemoor staff member revealed that many of the inmates intimidate and harass the other prisoners.

"In Whitemoor, we have a number of different Muslim groups: all are ultra religious, very insular and can be very intimidating.

"There are radical groups on all three wings. They follow a very strict interpretation of Islam. They pray five times a day, follow a strict diet and do not mix with any other prisoners. They don’t watch television or play on computer games.

"You see what’s going on and think that some of these people are being indoctrinated by some very strong personalities.

"These gangs effectively run their wings — meaning that other prisoners are left with a difficult choice as to how they should react".

Incidents 'every day'

"Every new prisoner will be targeted by the religious gangs, he went on.

"They will tell him to join his 'brothers'. They will offer him protection and support providing he prays five times a day and follows their version of Islam.

"They will tell him that they are not interested in his crime providing he promises to be a good Muslim.

"They will offer the same deal to anyone; it’s a case of 'that was your previous life and that doesn't interest us'. I would say about half of the Muslim groups on a couple of the wings are converts to Islam."

He added that incidents occur every day at the prison:

"There is some sort of incident every day in Whitemoor involving the Muslim groups. It might be a row about the food or someone claiming their prayer time has been interrupted.

"These can be violent episodes, and sometimes they are concocted as some sort of power play, which is directed not just at the other prisoners but the guards as well."

Joe Chapman, a prison officer who now works as a prison law consultant, said that forced conversions to Islam is a "growing problem".

"This job takes me to 40 or 50 prisons over the year, throughout the country," he said.

"It has become obvious to me that it’s a growing problem.

"About half a dozen of my clients have directly reported problems with being forced to convert — those who weren’t Muslim when they came in, and those who were and have been forced to look at more radical ideas about their faith."

Government to consider segregation

In light of the increasing concerns surrounding radical Islamism in prisons, there are calls on the government to act more decisively in tackling the problem.

Prime Minister David Cameron said last week that the government is considering segregating Muslim prisoners who are imprisoned for acts of terror:

"We have about 1,000 prisoners who have been identified as extremists or vulnerable to extremism," he said.

"Some of these individuals are preying on the weak, forcing conversion to Islam, and spreading their warped view of the world.

"I am prepared to consider major changes, from the Imams we allow to teach in prison to changing the locations and methods of dealing with prisoners convicted of terrorism."

Resources on Islam

Christian Concern's Islamic Affairs adviser, Sam Solomon, has written several books detailing the reality of Islamic doctrine.

Sam Solomon was a former sharia judge who converted to Christianity.

One book, 'Modern Day Trojan Horse: Al-Hijra, the Islamic Doctrine of Immigration, Accepting Freedom or Imposing Islam?' explains how hard-line Islamists seek to make ‘conquests’ of Western nations through immigration - and how this is at the heart of Islamic doctrine.