Prison Recruitment To Radical Islam

The KKK has appeared in prisons in the following states: Texas, New York, Oklahoma, Indiana, Florida, Nebraska, Michigan, Washington, Virginia, New Mexico, Connecticut and California. There are not a lot of numbers in each of the state's prisons so there really is no way of telling where it is strong and where it is weak. Guards have appeared in similar or exactly the same attire of the Ku Klux Klan. Guards have also been accused of race-based threats, beatings and even shootings in ten of the states mentioned. There have been lawsuits filed by black guards alleging racial harassment or violence from their own colleagues in thirteen states. Last year, both the FBI and Florida’s general attorney released information regarding three guards who

Within the American prison system statistics have shown that a significant proportion of inmates turn to Islam during their sentences’; more-so than any other religion (Testimony). It is the fastest growing religion in the prison systems (at 18%) whereas it makes up only 1% of the general population (Bloomberg). The issue with this arises with the hand of the US Government. After the 9/11 attacks, Muslim converts in prison were treated brutally (Muslim Inmates). They were isolated and abused within the prison system and targeted by officials because of their newfound faith. According to a report posted by a congressional research service, the reason was that these prisons were “seen by [the government] as potential hotbeds of radicalization,” however, since then evidence has shown that these studies were unfounded (Are Muslims). One of the main reasons that inmates converted to Islam was that they found it easier to rehabilitate themselves through the religion, and yet the government rejects it based on a prejudicial fear (Imams). One of the purposes of prison is to give criminals the chance to rehabilitate themselves in an isolated environment, and yet the officials attempted to deny them the freedom to do so through Islam. This perpetuates the image of Islam as a form of terrorism because it seems as though the prison system, run by lawmakers and law enforcement officials, rejects it. It effectively subjects a whole group of people— Muslim Americans— to needless targeting. This targeting then comes from the general public as well as the same law enforcement officials that put the inmates in jail in the first place, and then the cycle is perpetuated. Hamza, who was attempting to help rehabilitate inmates within the prison system in the name of Islam, was caught in the crosshairs of this disenfranchisement when his security clearance was revoked. Hamza Perez would go

In 2010, the then Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers, published a report on the experience of Muslim prisoners in prison, like the Young review she linked the growth in numbers to the age and socio-economic profiles of the Muslim population. Additionally, her report highlights that up to 2010 30% of Muslims in prison had converted to Islam the report explains that this is usually driven to instill discipline into a prisoner’s life.

When looking at the demographics of our prison population we must first understand that the percentages below are limited because of the availability of the offense specific information. The percentage of inmate men at 93.6% are greater than the number of inmate women at 6.6%. If we go a step further and look at the ethnicity we see that there are more Non-Hispanic inmates at 65.1% than Hispanic inmates at 34.9%. We break it down even further by race we see that there are more white inmates at 59.4% than other races like Asian at 1.6%, Black at 37.1% and Native Americans at 1.9% (Inmate Statistics).

Provided that the Native Americans though incarcerated, are still human beings and should be able to perform their religious ceremonies in prison. According to Hugh Dellios, the article “Indian Prisoners Claim Spiritual Needs Ignored” explains inconsistencies state by state how Native Americans were treated in the prison system (Dellios, 1993). Religion is a close and personal matter to individuals who believe, incarcerated Native Americans included. Disrupt occurs in every prison regardless of the population, more than forty free worship lawsuits filed already by Indian prisoners across the U.S. in the last 20 years illustrates what Native Americans say is a chronic problem in the nation's prisons preventing them from performing their ceremonies (Dellios, 1993). Religion helps human beings adjust to the conditions of natural and spiritual realms, giving meaning to rituals by explaining, interpreting, and directing the energy of the ritual performed, helping the individual adjust and understand life (Crapo, 2013 ch 7.2).

After prison it can be very difficult for former inmates to get a job or to financially or emotionally support themselves. Many of these ex-inmates turn to the community or to religious groups. Extremist groups have been known to keep databases on inmates that could be particularly vulnerable to the extremist group’s message. Horgan and Braddock found that even when releasing former prisoners that were terrorist that support outside the jail was very limited and allows for the individuals to fall back to old support systems that further the extremist’s beliefs (Horgan and Braddock, 2010). There is still a lack of disengagement from violence and the previous lifestyle after being radicalized (Horgan and Altier,

Attica. The name itself has long signified resistance to prison abuse and state violence. In the 1975 film “Dog Day Afternoon,” Al Pacino, playing a bank robber, leads a crowd confronting the police in a chant of “Attica, Attica.” The rapper Nas, in his classic “If I Ruled the World,” promises to “open every cell in Attica, send ’em to Africa.” And Attica posters were once commonplace in the homes of black nationalists. The one in my family’s apartment in the 1970s featured a grainy black-and-white picture of Attica’s protesting prisoners, underneath the words “We are not beasts.”

United nations have concluded that prison standards do have an impact on radicalisation. In resolution A/70/674 several factors is identified as trigger prisoners to joining radicalised groups. It mentions inhumane prison conditions and inhumane treatment of inmates as standards contributing to radicalisation. But also corrupt prison officers, gang activity, lack of security and decent facilities and overcrowding in prisons as powerful role in the recruitment process. It further demonstrates the importance to uphold good prison facilities for persons deprived of their liberty. This comes from the fact that prisoners are human beings and accordingly shall have access to Human rights as regular human but in a different extent. United Nations adopted the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners while considering both the protection of human and humanization of criminal justice. This lead to UN adopting the guidelines called ‘Mandelarules’ ,

As I watched this film I was just really surprised by the fact that in today’s society the reason for prison have taken a total different path than it should be. Today, prisons are now being seen as a way to make money instead of what they are made for, send a message that prevents people from committing crimes. As I watched this film I even started thinking that the government and the people that profit from prisons are actually glad anytime that crime rate increases. Before I watched this documentary, I agreed that people should be put away for committing related to drugs; but now, after realizing how unfair the system is, and how the system always finds the way to find blacks and hispanics guilty, I do not agree with such a discriminatory

Once in prison, an inmate can definitely loose many of the civil rights that are enjoyed by individuals on the outside, however, any prisoner, yes even the most hardened of criminals such as those in maximum security prisons, still have basic human right that are protected by our U.S. Constitution. These constitutional rights include: freedom of speech, medical care and the right to avoid cruel and unusual punishment. So do I believe that inmates should be permitted to file law suits after having been convicted of a crime? Yes, I do.

Prisons are a violent, dangerous and hospitable place for any person. A significant amount of academic research and literature exists on the underlying causes of prison tension, violence and misbehaviour within the prison system. Pre 1950 violent outbreaks in the where a largely rare occurrence. Post 1950 violence and riots become a more common occurrence within the prison system. Literature around this issue suggests three main theories of approach when examining the fundamental causes of prison riots. Being: Deprivation, Importation and Situational models. Each model examines different factors contributing to deviance within the prison system and offers an explanation as to why riots might occur. By examining each in detail we can contrast these models with the infamous Mt Eden prison riot of 1965, we can draw conclusions as to the contributing factors of the riot in regards to the general conditions of the prison for prisoners and how the prison was organised and run.

Incarceration is one of the harshest sanctions for commission of a crime available today. It has not always been a common form of punishment. Back in the ancient world in England, France and colonial America, corporal punishment, forced labor, and social banishment were far more common forms of punishment than incarceration (ADPSR 2015). This changed with the 18th Century enlightenment in France and England. This gave rise to new interpretations on liberty, human nature and time (ADPSR 2015). The first prisons in the independent US were established as “penitentiaries” to signify their prisoners as religious “penitents”, serving time for their immoralities (ADPSR 2015). These penitentiaries gained attention nationally and internationally for their goals to perfect society through imprisonment (ADPSR 2015). This became a problem because the prisons became overpopulated, dirty and dangerous. In the 19th century, outrage over living conditions in the prisons led to the reformatory movement. This was an attempt to redefine the role of prisons as reforming inmates in to model citizens (ADPSR 2015). Counseling, education, and work was provided during their incarceration. In the 1950’s, more new buildings, sociologists, and counselors were brought into the prisons to provide a more humane atmosphere for inmates. The term then changed to “Corrections”. In the spirit of the 1955 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, architects tried to make prison

That call to action can come in many forms of media and to a global audience. “Terrorist recruitment videos, often released online, have been tailored to appeal to various audiences. A propaganda video, which can still be watched on YouTube of captured U.S. soldier, Bowe R. Bergdahl, compares what seems to be his good treatment under al-Qaeda, to those of U.S.-run prisoner of war camps” (Philipp).

One other issue at another level is that the prison is being designated for radicalisation to quickly. T. Marshall L. criticizing the author of Spectacular few and also the database brought by him including prison radicalisation/terrorism persons for condemn without specific evidence. The point is that it is hard to prove radicalisation and it is easy to deny. For the inmates it will be effortless to point at the freedom of religion and refer to exercise of religion. There is not much space between legitimate expression of faith and extremist ideologies. Radicalisation is an abstract phenomenon and in prison it occurs verbally between persons. This is of course hard to prove the existence of and as Marshall also stated is that most of the

Incarceration, especially in the United States, is widely known to be a massive taxpayer burden— to the tune of over $52 billion per year (CITE p414). In 2012, the annual cost per inmate in the United States was approximately $21,000 for low risk inmates, and up to $34,000 for high risk offenders (CITE p386). Additionally, incarceration places a significant financial burden on the offenders themselves, because they would lose their current jobs, and any job prospects they would have in the future. In comparison, the judicial corporal system in Islamic criminal justice system costs significantly less due to the limited reliance on incarceration as a form of penal punishment.