Islam versus Europe

Muslim prisoners are bullying inmates to convert to Islam at a top-security jail, provoking fear of a campaign to radicalise prisoners.

Extremist Muslim inmates at Whitemoor prison use “runners” to attack or threaten other inmates while they keep their distance. Muslim prisoners are the most prominent group within the jail and the influence of some of the “big players” is spreading fear among other inmates and staff, according to a report commissioned by the Home Office.

The report said that non-Muslim prisoners were afraid to be seen naked in the showers and wore underpants as a way of not offending Muslim sensitivities. They also avoided cooking bacon in kitchens on the wings in case this offended Muslim inmates.

The number of Muslims within the 450-strong population of the jail in Cambridgeshire had led to efforts by other inmates to boost attendance at Catholic masses as a counterbalance to the influence of Islam.

White “old lags” who were once the powerbrokers had been reduced to onlookers by the arrival at the jail of black gang members, young white drug users and Muslims.

“Staff felt that power had shifted towards the Muslim population as a whole in the prison (a form of appeasement, as they — and some non-Muslim prisoners described it) and especially towards those prisoners considered to be radical or extremists,” the report said.

It added: “There were some intimidating ‘heavy players’ among the Muslim population, who appeared to be orchestrating prison power dynamics rather than propagating or following the faith.”

The study was commissioned by the Home Office almost four years ago after an inspection of Whitemoor described apparently distant relationships between staff and inmates. It holds 450 high-risk offenders including some convicted of terrorist offences.

Half of the inmates at Whitemoor are from ethnic minorities and a third are Muslim.

Alison Liebling, one of the report’s authors, said that Whitemoor was facing a changing prison population with more Muslims, younger prisoners with longer minimum sentences and more offenders who had used guns. She said that many ordinary Muslim inmates were quietly observing their faith and strongly disapproved of how some other Muslims behaved.

Ms Liebling, professor of criminology and criminal justice at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology, said: “The ordinary Muslim prisoners are horrified by what the heavies are doing under the umbrella of faith. It is not about faith, it is the phenomenon of a new source of power to which others are attracted.”

Staff and prisoners told researchers about inmates being pushed towards, or forced to, convert to the Muslim faith. Leaflets were left on beds in cells introducing prisoners to Allah, new inmates were contacted shortly after arriving at the jail and one prisoner was approached and told he was getting near his “Judgment Day”, the report said.

However, the researchers said they found no direct evidence of radicalisation, although some prisoners were adopting distorted views of Islam that legitimised a fight against oppressors by terror attacks.

The Prison Service said that faith could play an important and positive role in the lives of prisoners. It added: “The Prison Service employs skilled Imams, from a range of backgrounds, who are able to challenge and address extremist ideology regardless of faith or ethnic background.”