Early in November, Al Jazeera’s Stream ran a feature on the rising number of Muslim inmates in British Prisons, increasing at a rate eight times that of the overall prison population, according to the British Parliament.
The imagery associated with Muslims in prison has been a sensitive topic since the beginning of the War on Terror. Stomachs turn and the worst is feared. We envisage prison treatment tantamount to the 2002 hooded, goggled and shackled Guantanamo men in bright orange jumpsuits kneeling before a wire mesh fence, their postures a grotesque parody of common Muslim prayer positions. Then, later evidence of the US Army and the CIA committing the vilest human rights violations against prisoners held at Baghram and the Abu Ghraib prison only made it worse.
The fear from a British perspective regarding the rising number of Muslim prisoners:
· The conversion and (forced) conversion rate to Islam;
· Muslim prison gangs as an increasingly powerful force;
· Their purported radicalisation toward Islamic extremism in prison.
Over the last 15 years the number of Muslims in British jails has risen from 3,681 to 11,278. Muslims however only make up -5% of Britain’s population and 13% of its prison population. Most of the Muslims in British prisons are immigrants from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and an increasing number of Muslim inmates are converts to Islam.
At the heart of the statistics furore is that British prisoners are being allegedly forced to convert to Islam by their fellow inmates, the prison officers’ union has warned. Secondly, Muslim gangs are growing in power and influence among prisoners, and there are concerns that they are targeting vulnerable new arrivals. The former Home Secretary Lord Reid told Sky News that the sense of protection of being in a gang made them appealing to new arrivals, and described jail as “a very, very fertile ground for recruitment and proselytization and radicalisation”.
Answering the (why?) question regarding the increased number of Muslim inmates, a contentious argument put forward by Ahtsham Ali, an adviser to the Prison Service, is that mosques in the UK fail to engage with the young men who come through their door because they use imams from overseas who are unable to preach in English. He said that more needs to be done to understand problems in society like family breakdown, arranged marriages and drugs. He added: 'I have had prisoners say to me "Tell me why do I have to go to prison to get a good imam?" That is a sad state of affairs we have.' The lack of an ability to speak English is also compounded by a problem with imams not being able to relate to young Muslims, many of whom have been brought up in the UK and have a different outlook on the world. Inayat Bunglawala, chairman of Muslims for UK, said that one of the problems is that imams are poorly paid so there is a problem with recruitment.
One wonders if this issue, though relevant can be scapegoated entirely, especially since the advent of internet-based learning.
On the other hand, there is sufficient evidence to prove that Islamophobia factors greatly. The War on Terror has fed the machination of the “Brown, Muslim or Arab” bogeyman. Further, is has not only created, but nurtured a communication barrier between Muslims and non-Muslims making Muslims feel isolated and less welcomed. An entrenched misunderstanding of Islam, the global War on Terror and its off-spins (series and films), attitudes toward immigration, minorities, unhelpful opinion polls & bias in British media has lead to less employment opportunities, desperation, and an enticement toward a life of crime.
While there are prison conversions based on protection from a Muslim gang rather than following the faith, most converts stressed the positive and rehabilitative role that Islam played in their lives, and the calm that the Islamic sense of brotherhood and religious observance induced in a stressed prison environment.
In 2010, POA chairman Colin Moses recognised there are shortcomings in prison staff's understanding of Muslim inmates. This was reiterated by Abu Baraa, spokesman for Muslim Prisoners on The Stream: If people pray together it doesn’t mean they’re plotting a terrorism scheme; reading and teaching the Qur’an does not mean prisoners are radicalising.
Prison guards said there were "proper Al-Qaeda" members in the prison who were regarded with "awe" by younger inmates. Some prisoners described Whitemoor as a "recruiting drive for the Taliban" and fertile ground for hatred and a new generation of extremists.
In a statement, a Prison Service spokesman said the allegations made about Muslim gangs were unsubstantiated.
"Currently I believe there is a gulf in that knowledge base, and there should be an attempt to eradicate this by the Ministry of Justice." "It is ridiculous to suggest that any gang 'controls' a prison," he said. He went on to say: "The Prison Service has a wealth of experience in dealing with gang activity and managing prisoners who form gangs. "It is important not to conflate security issues with the prisoners' religious identities. 'Muslim gangs' will be treated like other gangs in relation to security concerns.”
Further, unlike forced conversions in the Christian Faith, Islam does not allow members of its faith to take advantage of the misfortune of others for conversion.
The example of Thumamah ibn Uthal (ra) being let free without being forced to embrace Islam is famous. Even further, the Prophet (saw)’s example at the battle of Badr, showed that a prisoner had, among other rights, even the right to be decently clothed.
“After the Battle of Badr, prisoners of war were brought. Among them was Al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib. He did not have a shirt on, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) looked for a shirt for him. It turned out that a shirt of Abdullah bin Ubayy was the right size, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave it to Al-Abbas to wear and compensated Abdullah with his own shirt.” (Bukhari). Al Abbas (ra) only accepted Islam just before the fall of Makkah.
It seems over-simplistic to blame foreign Imams for the rise in criminal activity among Muslims in Britain. More likely answers point to the fact that Muslim communities are often centred around urban areas where crime rates are higher anyway. The huge possibility too that Muslim offenders are the butt of post 9/11 and 7/7 racial profiling, hence receive longer sentences than non-Muslims offenders for the same type of crime. Many surveys already prove black’s receive almost 60% long prison sentences than their white counterparts who committed the same crime.
Comment from Moulana Mohamed Azeem Khatieb, Regional Muslim Chaplain, Department of Correctional Services Development & Care (Spiritual Care) at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre in Cape Town regarding the prison situation in South Africa:
"The South African climate is different to the one in UK. Our Muslim youth prison population even decreased in 2011. In SA our National Muslim Prison Board, the official NGO appointed by the Department of Correctional Services is very active in the mainstream prisons, therefore lot of conversions take place. Islam also offers an authenticity and a tangible belief system. Offenders find Islam in prison to be a healing and soothing method of worship and prayer. Muslim youth in SA are not lacking in terms of leadership. Our masjid platforms are adequately utilised and obviously we need to keep the momentum going. We acknowledge our dedicated team of Spiritual Care Workers, Imams, Moulana’s, Muallima’s and Shuyukh for their selfless contributions to the development of our youth in prisons."
Radio Islam Programming
2013.11.13
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