Thread: Prison in the very heart of London turned into terror factory – ex-inmate to RT

Hundreds of UK citizens have left the country to fight for Jihadists in Iraq and Syria. Recently, the British Prime Minister pledged to make greater attempts to tackle the problem. However, allegations are now surfacing that a prison right in the heart of London has turned into a safe-haven for radicalisation and recruitment. RT's Polly Boiko has more...

UK Prison Course on Islam Teaches Violent Jihad, Says Cleric

A course used in UK prisons to teach Islam should be withdrawn because it encourages violence, says a prominent British Muslim cleric.

Sun, June 5, 2016

Illustrative picture (Photo: Screenshot from Clarion Project's Film The Third Jihad)

Sheikh Musa Admani, who has extensive experience with counter-radicalization programs, raised objections to a section of the “Tarbiyah program” which has been used in British prisons since 2011. He told the BBC he felt the section on “The Principle of Jihad” placed undue emphasis on the “external jihad,” i.e., religious war, as opposed to the “internal jihad,” understood as an internal struggle.

“There may necessitate a time to pick up arms and physical [sic] fight such evil” the course says. “It is one of the noblest acts.”

Although the document sets out the different kinds of jihad, Sheikh Admani argues that undue emphasis is placed on violent jihad.

“This document sets out the steps and then addresses various forms of jihad and then goes on to emphasize a particular type, i.e. the killing and the fighting," he says.

"It incites people to take up arms... It prepares people for violence. It could turn people when they come out of prison, supposedly rehabilitated, back into violence.”

Just war traditions exist in a number of different ethical systems, not just Islam. The problem is an overemphasis on violent jihad. There are Islamic theories of non-violence which could also be taught.

A former inmate at Belmarsh prison also attested to the spread of radical ideas in prison.

“People convicted of terrorism, people in the public domain that are very well known, are roaming around freely and being able to manipulate young minds,” he told the BBC.

"The fact they're able to learn the Tarbiyah programme and Arabic, coupled with the fact that inmates [convicted of terrorism] have access to extremist literature and narrations that aren't related to the prophet but they relate it to the prophet -- coming from them it seems so realistic, you start believing this is the true Islam, the true Islam is [the militant group Islamic State] IS.”

UK Prison Course on Islam Teaches Violent Jihad, Says Cleric

Watch a clip from the Clarion Project's film, The Third Jihad about radicalization in U.S. prisons: