Imams working in British prisons have 'links to extremist Muslim groups and could be trying to radicalise inmates'

Imams with links to extremist Muslim groups are helping to turn Britain’s prisons into ‘state-funded breeding grounds for extremism’, an expert has warned.



The Prison Officers’ Association described the threat of inmates being radicalised as a ‘real problem’.



There are 11,683 Muslim prisoners in Britain’s jails and the government has deployed imams to help steer them away from extremist paths.



However, the Prison Officers’ Association has sounded an alarm about this process, saying that some extremist imams had ‘slipped through the net’, The Times reported.



Professor Anthony Glees, head of the centre for security and intelligence studies at the University of Buckingham, told the paper: ‘Our prisons have turned into a state-funded breeding ground for extremism. It is completely unacceptable that imams with extremist views are allowed to preach in prisons.’



Professor Glees, in an email to MailOnline, said: 'What these 'preachers' do is put extreme views to prisoners - for example gays should be hanged, the Jews/CIA carried out 9/11, adulteresses should be stoned to death. They foment resentments and when you add extremism to resentment you get radicalisation and ultimately terrorism. Not every radical is a terrorist but every terrorist has been a radical.'



The solution, Professor Glees said, has many layers.



He added: 'We should vet imams much more carefully than we have done in the past; we should stop confusing 'preachers' with 'chaplains', their religious qualifications should be properly checked, they should be required to preach in English and told they must keep clear of all political issues.'



The Times names three imams who are either working in British jails, or have done in the past, who warrant concern.



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