Startling Statisics

As discussed in yesterday's post, the Canadian government is growing increasingly weary over the growing role of Islamic radicalization in the penal system.

During the course of my year long (plus) research into Islam in the penal system, I collected some startling statistics about our brethren democracies across the pond....




In the UNITED KINGDOM, less then 3% of the general population is Muslim but more then 20% of the prison population practices Islam (and in some BRITISH prisons, it is estimated as high as 25%). This is more the quadruple the Muslim prison population in 1993. Authorities claim there was a noticeable increase of practicing Muslims in prison following the July 2005 bombings in London.


In FRANCE, less then 10% of the general population is Muslim but anywhere between 60% and 80% of the prison population practices Islam.


In SPAIN, less then 1% of the general population is Muslim but approximately 1% of the prison population practices Islam.


In AUSTRALIA, approximately 2% of the general population is Muslim but approximately 7% of the prison population practices Islam.


In BELGIUM, approximately 2% of the general population is Muslim but more then 15% of the prison population practices Islam.


In DENMARK, less then 5% of the general population is Muslim but 70% of the prison population practices Islam.


In GERMANY, less then 2% of the general population is Muslim but 34% of the prison population practices Islam.


In ITALY, less then 1% of the general population is Muslim but 29% of the prison population practices Islam.


In SWITZERLAND, less then 30% of the general population is Muslim but more then 60% of the prison population practices Islam.


In SCOTLAND, less then 1% of the general population is Muslim but 1.3% of the prison population practices Islam.


In the NETHERLANDS, less then 1% of the general population is Muslim but more then 20% of the prison population, in both juvenile and in adult prisons, practices Islam.

Those are some startling statistics, huh?

Chaplain Expansion

So, the LAPD hired its first Muslim chaplain (that's him featured below, in an artsy Los Angeles Times photo).


New York is way ahead of this trend. The Big Apple began hiring Muslim chaplains after the Attica riots upstate in the 1970s.

Muslim inmates at the Attica State prison not only served as intermediaries between the prisoners and the outside world, but they also protected the Corrections Officers held hostage inside the prison's walls.

In return, New York state - recognizing the need for prisoner recourse - began hiring Muslim Chaplains.

This is despite the fact that Muslims in prison had won recognition through the courts by leading the prisoner's rights movement of the 1960s. The prisoner's rights movement in prison was to Muslims (and more specifically African American Muslims) what the Civil Rights movement was to Black community in America.

Update..... Latif is featured in The National. Read the story here.