Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir), Britain's Chief Inspector of Prisons Dame Anne Owers says that the number of inmates converting to Islam has grown from 2,513 in 1994 to 9,795 in 2008.
In her report dubbed Muslim Prisoners' Experiences published Tuesday, Dame Anne said fewer than 1 in 100 Muslim inmates have been convicted of terrorism.
According to the report, “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.”
The report said that prisoners learn about the faith from other inmates or their family and do convert to obtain support and protection of a group with powerful identity.
It quotes a prisoner as saying “I've got loads of close brothers here. They share with you, we look out for each other.”
This comes as figures show three out of four Muslims in high-security prisons say they are worried about their own safety in relation with staff.
Dame Anne's study was based on 85 jail inspection reports and in-depth interviews with 164 Muslim prisoners in eight jails.
source : abna.ir
