Is there a real fear that religion is taking a grip in prisons both in the UK and the US? Are gangs being formed which demand special attention despite being incarcerated for committing a crime?
An internal review reported in The Times online edition (26, March 2008), says staff at a top security prisons are running scared of category A prisoners and are concerned that Muslim prisoners are taking control of prison wings.
Prison Officers also feared further acts of indiscipline among the 112 Muslim inmates at Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire, UK, where Muslim inmates make up almost 30% of the 400 prisoners at Whitemoor.
Prison Service Staff Review Internal Deaths
The review was carried out by prison service staff on the behest of prison governor Steve Rodford, after five self-inflected deaths and below average prisoner satisfaction ratings came to light.
The Times on line edition also reported (10 October 2008), staff at Whitmoor Prison feared Muslim inmates were pressurising other Muslim prisoners to adopt extremist views and encourage other offenders to convert to Islam.
