UK blocks study into Islam jail conversions
Researchers wanted to interview convicts about the reasons why they turned to the religion behind bars
The UK government has blocked a study into the process of prison-based religious conversions despite concerns about the role charismatic preachers play in radicalising inmates.
Researchers wanted to interview inmates and staff at eight jails to understand the reasons behind conversions to Islam and how the process could be harnessed to reduce offending after inmates’ release.
The study has the backing of experts including Max Hill, a lawyer who independently reviews the UK’s antiterrorism laws, and the governors of the jails identified for the study, which included a top-security prison, youth and women’s jails.
Prof Matthew Wilkinson, the lead researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, insisted the planned study was not about radicalisation but believed that the authorities were concerned about what researchers might find.
“Just because we are studying Muslims and converted Muslims does not mean that we are studying radicalisation,” he said. “We think that the choice to follow Islam can be a rational, positive decision and we want to discover how it can be managed appropriately to help prison governors in their duty to prevent reoffending.”
The research project has been given the go-ahead in Switzerland and France, but UK prison officials were understood to be concerned about the resources required for the three-year study, which sought in-depth interviews with dozens of inmates.
Concerns about the effect of Muslim conversion and radicalisation in prison was raised by successive governments and follows research suggesting that the past 15 major terrorist attacks in Europe had some connection with prison.
The block on the conversion research came despite a report from a government-commissioned study into extremism in 2016 that found there was a “lack of hard data on conversions and the reasons behind them” for inmates.
The report, by a former prison governor, called for a “comprehensive and co-ordinated” strategy to monitor the growing problem of extremism, and called for the containment of known extremists in dedicated specialist units.
Critics of government policy said prisons were not doing enough to tackle extremist behaviour before inmates were released.
“It’s not about change, it’s about containment,” said Fiyaz Mughal, of Faith Matters, a group that monitors antiMuslim violence in the UK.
The proportion of Muslim prisoners in England and Wales grew from 7.7 per cent of the prison population to 15.3 per cent from 2002 to last year.
It has been suggested that some inmates converted to Islam for reasons including protection from prison gangs, and better food.
Some converted after an enforced period of reflection inside jail.
A Prison Service spokesman said: “We receive many requests from academics to conduct research in prisons and have to carefully consider the benefits of their proposals, any legal and ethical issues, and the impact they would have on the Prison Service.”