The treatment of Muslim inmates by prison staff as potentially dangerous militants risks driving them into the hands of radical groups, the chief inspector of prisons warned in a report on Tuesday. Dame Anne Owers said the approach is prevalent throughout the prison system, even though less than 1 percent of the 10,300 Muslim prisoners in England and Wales have been convicted of terrorism-related offences. “It would be naive to deny that there are, within the prison population, Muslims who hold radical extremist views, or who may be attracted to them for a variety of reasons,” she said. “But that does not argue for a blanket, security-led approach to Muslim prisoners in general.” Her report is based on interviews with 164 Muslim prisoners in eight prisons and young offenders institutions as well as inspection surveys undertaken over the past three years. Owers called on the National Offender Management Service to develop a strategy to encourage staff to properly engage with Muslim prisoners on an individual basis. She said resources were poured into security at the expense of understanding the religious needs of Muslim prisoners. “Without that, there is a real risk of a self-fulfilling prophecy: that the prison experience will create or entrench alienation and disaffection, so that prisons release into the community young men who are more likely to offend, or even embrace extremism.” Muslim prisoners were found to have a more negative experience of prison, often because of fears for their own safety. The problem was most acute in high security prisons where three-quarters of Muslims interviewed said they felt unsafe, with the perception linked to a mistrust of staff. Owers' report also said that Islam played a positive and rehabilitative role in the lives of many prisoners, despite staff being suspicious of religious acts.
