Number of Muslims in UK prisons doubles in decade

Rasa - A new report shows the number of Muslims in UK prisons has more than doubled over the past decade, as some analysts link the rising figure to Islamophobia.

News ID: 734

Date: 29 March 2014 - 11:00

Rasa News Agency reports - Statistics provided by Britain’s Ministry of Justice show there are currently about 12,000 Muslims in UK prisons.

The dramatic rise has prompted calls on British authorities to investigate whether Muslims are being treated harshly by the police and the courts.

Some critics are suggesting the rise is due to growing Islamophobia in the UK.

According to the statistics, Muslims represent 4.7 percent of the population in England and Wales, yet 14 percent of prisoners in England and Wales are Muslim.

The figures show that the number of Muslim prisoners has risen from 5,502 (7.7 percent) in 2002 to 11,729 in 2013 (14 percent).

“Young Muslim men are under the official gaze from their school days onwards – they have the lens of the state turned on them. Certain populations can become suspect populations in the eyes of the law enforcement agencies,” said Muzammil Quraishi, a senior lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at Salford University.

Mizanur Rahman, a spokesman for the organization Muslim Prisoners described Islamophobia and racism among police officers as the main reasons behind the increasing number of Muslim inmates.

According to the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), Muslims in Britain have been the main victims of racism since the West’s so-called war on terror began in 2001.

The IHRC referred to a recent study by race equality think-tank the Runnymede Trust, according to which racial discrimination is still widespread in the workplace for those who come from minority backgrounds.

“For a long time now we have been saying that Islamophobia is used as a veneer for racism and xenophobia, and this report confirms it,” said IHRC Chair Massoud Shadjareh.