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| Britain | |
| UK prisoners convert to Islam for perks | |
| 2010-06-08 | |
Inmates are converting to Islam in order to gain perks and the protection of powerful Muslim gangs, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warns today.
The number of Muslim prisoners has risen dramatically since the mid-1990s — from 2,513 in 1994, or 5 per cent of the population, to 9,795 in 2008, or 11 per cent. Staff at top-security prisons and youth jails have raised concerns about the intimidation of non-Muslims and possible forced conversions. Dame Anne's report, Muslim Prisoners' Experiences, published today, says that, although several high-profile terrorists have been jailed recently, fewer than 1 in 100 Muslim inmates have been convicted of terrorism. She says that prison staff are suspicious about those practising or converting to the faith and warns that treating Muslim inmates as potential or actual extremists risks radicalising them. The report says: “Many Muslim prisoners stressed the positive and rehabilitative role that Islam played in their lives, and the calm that religious observance could induce in a stressed prison environment. This was in marked contrast to the suspicion that religious observance, and particularly conversion or reversion, tended to produce among staff.' All prisons offer a halal menu, which some inmates see as better than the usual choices. Muslims are excused from work and education while attending Friday prayers. Some converts, who are known as “convenience Muslims', admitted that they had changed faith because they got more time out of the cells to go to Friday prayers. One quoted in the report said: “Food good too, initially this is what converted me.' In some of the most secure jails, the size of the Muslim population is well above average. Two years ago, Muslim inmates accounted for a third of prisoners in Whitemoor, Cambridgeshire, and a quarter of inmates in Long Lartin in Worcestershire. The report says that inmates converted after learning about Islam from other inmates or their family, to obtain support and protection in a group with a powerful identity and for material advantages. One inmate quoted in the report said: “I've got loads of close brothers here. They share with you, we look out for each other.' Muslim prisoners tended to report more negatively on their prison experience and were also more likely to fear for their own safety or complain of problems in their relations with staff. In high-security prisons, three-quarters of Muslims said they felt unsafe. | |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #5 Of course, this is part of the reason for arguing for special treatment. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2010-06-08 14:17 |
| #4 Just wait until some of these yob converts get caught eating their usual bangers. I'm sure Sharia has something special on the books |
| Posted by: Vinegar Uninese5163 2010-06-08 13:35 |
| #3 The percentage of Muslim prisoners has doubled: How many of those are conversions? How much of the increase is due to there just being more Muslim criminals? Given their criminality, even arresting a lower percentage of the criminals on the street could result in a higher percentage of the prison population. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-06-08 11:01 |
| #2 The big attraction of Islam is to 2nd and 3rd generation male Pakistani immigrants, who see it as a "license to steal and abuse" non-Muslims. They have little grasp of it as a religion, but see it as "authorizing" them to behave atrociously. As long as they do their daily prayers, they can do anything they want. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-06-08 09:26 |
| #1 WORLD NEWS > [UK = England + Wales] MUSLIM PRISONERS BEING TREATED AS "POTENTIAL TERRORISTS". Approxi 10,300 UK Muslim felons under close scrutiny + eval, etc. for signs of Militant links, Personal psych tendencies. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-06-08 02:54 |