"Convert or you will be harmed": Allegations of religious coercion in UK prisons
Allegations of forced conversion to Islam in prisons in England and Wales are stirring up a storm in the UK again, following reports that Muslim gangs are exerting pressure and threatening other prisoners — mainly white Britons — in order to make them convert. The issue is not new: official reports from recent years have already warned of Islamist elements exerting influence.
Allegations of forced conversion to Islam in prisons in England and Wales are stirring up a storm in the UK again, following reports that Muslim gangs are exerting pressure and threatening other prisoners — mainly white Britons — in order to make them convert. The issue is not new: official reports from recent years have already warned of Islamist elements exerting influence on vulnerable prisoners. In one case, it was described how copies of the Quran were placed on the beds of new prisoners with an implied message that they must convert to Islam or risk being harmed.
The storm was renewed following the words of Nick Timothy, the Justice Minister in the opposition Conservative Party's shadow cabinet, who called on the Labour government to urgently investigate the allegations. According to him, data he obtained shows that one in five Muslim prisoners is a white Briton — a rate four times higher than the corresponding figure among the general population.
"Islamist gangs control many of our prisons. Conversion to Islam is the only way to remain protected from them," wrote Timothy. "I obtained data showing that one in five Muslim prisoners is white. This is a rate four times higher than in the general population. This cannot continue."
In an interview with the "Daily Telegraph," Timothy added that experts have warned time and again about what is happening behind bars. "We need to be honest and admit that something here is not right — Labour must urgently investigate and root out the phenomenon of forced conversions in prisons," he said.
The British Ministry of Justice presents a more reserved picture. In a statement on its behalf, it was said that "in most prisons, there is no evidence of gang-based extremism." Alongside this, the ministry noted that prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses are prohibited from filling positions of authority during joint prayers, including leading the call to prayer, and that the authorities are acting against materials that could be used to spread harmful ideologies.
The ministry's spokesperson emphasized that the authorities do not accept religious coercion of any kind. "We do not tolerate intimidation, gang activity, or coercion based on faith in our prisons," he stated. According to him, prison staff act quickly against threatening behavior by groups or individuals.
The spokesperson added that following a report by Jonathan Hall, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, a review was conducted regarding the influence of religion-based gangs. Following it, according to him, the prison service's ability to identify extremist organizations at early stages and disrupt their activity through advanced training and intelligence gathering was improved.
Warnings about the phenomenon have appeared in official documents for years. In a report published by Hall in 2022 on the subject of terrorism in prisons, he wrote that evidence was found that Islamist terrorists behave as "self-appointed emirs" and exert influence of control and radicalization on the wider Muslim prisoner population.
According to the report, the activity included the use of their own enforcers, the recruitment of prisoners — especially those considered vulnerable or lonely — through mentoring, distribution of food and material gifts, as well as "conversion backed by implied or actual violence." It was further described how prisoners with lower status performed tasks for those elements such as cleaning cells.
Another sharp piece of evidence appeared in an independent review conducted by Colin Bloom, an advisor to the UK government on faith matters. In a report published in 2023, it was written that in some cases a new prisoner who did not identify as Muslim could remain without "protection" from the dominant gang in the wing, and in a more severe scenario, be exposed to violence and intimidation by it.
Bloom said in the past that during the review, he was presented with evidence of prisons where large and aggressive Islamist gangs operated. "I was given, and the review I conducted was given, evidence that copies of the Quran were placed on the beds of new prisoners, with a very clear message: convert or you will be harmed," he said.
Bloom emphasized at the same time that good Muslim clergy also operate in prisons and that there are many examples of positive work. However, according to him, the number of conversions raises questions. He noted that prisons are anyway more religious places compared to the general society, but argued that the extent of conversion observed in some of them is anomalous to a degree that requires investigation.
According to the data, Muslims make up about 18% of the prisoner population in England and Wales, while their rate in the general population stands at about 6.5%. The gap is used by some critics to demand a wider investigation of what is happening in prisons, but the data themselves do not prove that the increase was caused as a result of forced religious conversions.
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the American Heritage Foundation, presented an especially sharp position and argued that this is also a risk to national security. "This is an absolutely scandalous situation in the British prison system," he said. "This also poses a very significant risk to the national security of the UK. It seems that the government has lost control of its prisons, which have become jihadist training camps."
Allegations of pressure to convert to Islam in British prisons are not new. Already in 2013, it was reported in the UK about prisoners who said that threats were exerted on them in order to cause them to convert, and at that time, a prison officers' union warned against the strengthening of the power and influence of Muslim gangs.
The issue later received attention in a number of official reviews. In a 2019 government report on the separation of extremist prisoners, a growing problem of religious extremism in prisons was described, including what was defined as "aggressive encouragement to convert to Islam." The reports by Hall and Bloom later expanded on the mechanisms of control, recruitment, and pressure that can develop behind bars.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Justice emphasizes that there is no basis for the determination that the phenomenon characterizes the entire British prison system. The authorities claim that most prisons do not present evidence of gang-based extremism, and that since the publication of the warnings, steps have been taken intended to identify such organizations earlier.
