The Prison Officers Association says that it is worried about radical Muslims preaching in British jails – where it is estimated that Muslims comprise around 11% of the entire UK prison population of 80,000! One of the problems is that many radical Muslims see it as their duty to spread the Islamic word, and where better than in institutions with “captive audiences”!
Another problem is that Muslim prayer sessions are more often than not conducted in Arabic – a language with which the vast majority of prison warders are unfamiliar – which means that prison authorities have no idea as to what is being said! In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that radical Muslims direct their “conversion” efforts towards “alienated” black and Asian prisoners in particular - superficially offering them support.An interesting video clip on the GROWING problem of radicalisation has been identified to us by our London correspondent. The clip concerns itself with the extent of the problem as experienced in Long Larton prison in Worcestershire. The clip may be viewed here.