UK Muslim Prisoners Face Higher Levels of Violence and Islamophobia, Data Reveals
New data from Maslaha, a UK-based organization addressing inequalities faced by Muslim communities, reveals that Muslim inmates in UK prisons experience disproportionately high levels of violence and faith-based discrimination, The New Arab reported. The data, collected from nine prisons with significant Muslim populations during 2023, highlights troubling patterns of excessive force and Islamophobic treatment.
Muslim prisoners, who make up 18 percent of the inmate population in England and Wales despite representing only 6.5 percent of the general population, were subjected to a disproportionate share of violent incidents. At Belmarsh prison in southeast London, where Muslims constitute 23 percent of inmates, they accounted for 43 percent of rigid bar handcuff incidents and 63 percent of other pain-inducing techniques. Similarly, at HMP Woodhill (37 percent Muslim population), Muslim inmates faced 49 percent of rigid bar handcuff uses, 63 percent of baton-related incidents, and 64 percent of pain-inducing cases.
At HMP/YOI Feltham B in west London, Muslims comprise 42 percent of inmates but accounted for 53 percent of rigid bar handcuff uses and 57 percent of baton incidents, with 64 percent subjected to pain-inducing techniques. Comparable data was reported at HMP Isis and HMP Whitemoor.
Maslaha’s report also highlights daily humiliations faced by Muslim prisoners, including denial of showers, Islamophobic insults, deliberate serving of pork during Ramadan, and restricted access to prayer. The organization criticized inadequate oversight of “state-sponsored violence” in prisons.
