Recent religious statistics in England suggest many prisoners could be being forced to convert to Islam by extremist gangs.Reported by the Daily Mail, recent numbers from England's Ministry of Justice (MOJ) expose that one in five Muslims in prisons in England are white — while only comprising 5.8% of the general population.In reaction to the large demographic difference, many have expressed concerns about the power of Islamic gangs in jails, raising questions about the role gangs play in encouraging or forcing conversions.These statistics were released by England's Justice Shadow Secretary, Nick Timothy, who called for an investigation into the issue.."The percentage of Muslims who are white in our prisons is so vastly higher than in the general population, it raises serious questions," stated Timothy. "We know that experts have warned repeatedly about forced conversions taking place behind bars, driven by Islamic gangs.""We need to be honest that something is not right here – [British] Labour [Party] must urgently investigate and stamp out forced conversions in prison."Back in 2022, the British government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, warned in a report on terrorism in prisons there may be "a series of apparently forced conversions" in prisons, though "it may not be clear or readily discoverable whether the motivation is terrorist radicalisation or gang indoctrination.".Hall describes "charismatic or violent prisoners" acting as "self-styled emirs," meaning a kind of Muslim leader, "exerting a controlling and radicalising influence on the wider Muslim prison population."Conversion, Hall claimed was usually the result of prisoners convicted of terrorism offences converting prisoners, who were "in particular of vulnerable or lonely prisoners, using guidance, sharing of food or material gifts."Or "conversion backed by implicit or actual violence."Using one prisoner as an example, Usman Khan, the 2019 London Bridge attacker, who when he was in prison, "encouraged other prisoners to take on Muslim names, wear Muslim dress and threatened those who questioned Muslim prayer; he intimidated staff and tr[ied] to convert prisoners...".One lawyer, who regularly visits England's top security prisons to meet inmates, told the Daily Mail last year that many inmates would often convert to Islam as protection."This is something which will happen hours after arriving on a wing. Immediately they arrive in prison, they slot into the gang hierarchy. In some cases there are entire floors dominated by Muslim gangs," stated the lawyer. An English government-commissioned review back in 2023 found that gangs in some prisons were forcing inmates to convert to Islam or face violence."Failure to identify as a Muslim meant that at best the new prisoner would be denied 'protection' from the dominant Muslim gang on that wing, or at worst the new prisoner would be subjected to violence and intimidation from that same gang." wrote Colin Bloom, the report's author. .The MOJ has previously claimed attributing the rise in white Muslims in prison to Muslim gangs would be "based on wholly anecdotal evidence."It insists faith-based coercion is "not tolerated."Latest MOJ figures also highlight there are more Muslim chaplains in prisons in England than Anglican or Church of England chaplains.There are 140 Muslim chaplains in prisons, up from 128 in 2023-2024, while there are 87 Church of England chaplains, down from 97 in 2024-2025..The number of white Muslims in prisons in England has risen from 2,767 in 2022 to 3,218 as of June 2025, a rise of 16%.The overall number of Muslim inmates has increased by 14% from 14,037 in 2022 to 16,051 as of June 2025."We do not tolerate intimidation, gang activity or faith-based coercion of any kind in our prisons," stated an MOJ spokesperson."Prisons and staff act swiftly to clamp down on all threatening behaviour from any groups or individuals."
