From radical Islamic chaplains to the spread of proselytizing jihadist inmates, one can track the flow of radical Islam in our prisons. Let’s take a look at one Western country that has been particularly impacted by this phenomenon, the United Kingdom.  Who are these radical Muslim chaplains in the U.K.?  It is important to first point out that a large segment of the U.K.’s Muslims comprise of Pakistani/South Asian descent – including London’s new Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan.

This is a major reason why Deobandi is the largest Islamic sect in the U.K.  Deobandi Islam is anti-Western, growing out of the struggle against British colonial rule in India in the 1800s.  Madrassas adhering to this strict revivalist movement emerged throughout Pakistan after the country’s creation in 1947.  The Deobandi school of thought is not only prevalent in Pakistan today, but also has influenced the Taliban movement.  It is reported that many Taliban leaders have studied at “Deobandi-influenced seminaries” in Pakistan.  This is the same Taliban that invokes Sharia in the stoning of individuals accused of adultery and amputating the hands of those accused of theft.

It is troubling to know that such a radical anti-Western movement has such a large presence in the U.K.’s Muslim community. But how much of a presence? Breitbart reports on the Deobandi stronghold in key areas of learning:

…controlling 600 of the UK’s 1,500 mosques, the majority of Britain’s Muslim schools, and turning out 80 percent of all domestically trained scholars. 70 percent of Muslim prison chaplains were trained in Deobandi seminaries.

So, we get a better picture of not only the radical influence of Deobandi theology within the U.K.’s Islamic community, but also the radical influences being passed on by chaplains to Muslim inmates in U.K. prisons.

The U.S. has a similar problem with another Islamist group that is often labeled as ‘moderate,’ the Muslim Brotherhood.  The Brotherhood-affiliated Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is an organization that certifies and endorses Muslim chaplains who want to serve in places like U.S. federal prisons.  ISNA, an organization with terror ties is essentially in charge of teaching impressionable minds who are more inclined to violence the virtues of Islamism and jihad.

For those in the U.K., radical Islamic doctrine, such as that taught by Deobandi Islam, holds considerable influence with the more than 12,000 Muslims in prison.  That is almost 15% of the total inmate population.  By comparison, in 2004 Muslim inmate population was just over 6,500.  A 2014 Breitbart article provides some examples of the radical chaplains working in U.K. prisons.

One such imam named by the Times is Azadul Hussain. He has shared material on his Facebook page published by MPAC, an anti-Semitic group banned from British campuses, and the Islamic Education and Research Academy, a group who believe adulterers should be executed.

Another imam is Shaykh Yusuf Zahaby, who is a leading member of Al Hikma Media, which is run by preachers, some with extremist views, such as Shady Suleiman, who thinks women who engage in premarital sex should be killed.

A third is Shahib Bleher who, during his time as part-time chaplain at Woodhill prison, was also general secretary of the Islamic Party of Britain, who allegedly advocated the death penalty of homosexuality and wanted to turn Britain into an Islamic state.

These Islamists as well as others have likely contributed, in one way or another, to an intense group of evangelical jihadi prisoners.  The Guardian reports:

A hardcore [group] of proselytising Islamic jihadis inside prisons in England and Wales are so dangerous they need to be isolated in special units in maximum security prisons, an official review into prison extremism has said.

The justice secretary, Michael Gove, told MPs on Wednesday that he was “extremely sympathetic” to the plan for the high-security “incapacitation” units, which will need the backing of the new home secretary before it can be implemented.

Such units hinder communication between inmates, but one can only guess the high costs of such a solution.  Furthermore, it does not address one of the key underlining sources of radicalization in U.K. prisons, Muslim chaplains.  By the sounds of it the U.K. is so stifled by political correctness they are unable to solve the problem.  For example, the author of The Jihadist Threat: The Reconquest of the West, Paul Moorcraft, stated:

“The Ministry of Justice is fully aware that the people in charge of selecting the imams are dubious — but there has been so much political correctness that the issue of radicalization in jails has been ignored. It doesn’t take much to look into their backgrounds.”

The United Kingdom, much like other Western countries, has been plagued by the infiltration of jihadist ideology in their prisons.  For at least the U.K. as well as the U.S., there’s a radical Islamist chaplain problem that is spreading the waves of jihad behind bars.  This only motivates inmates to commit further acts of violence once they are released back into society.  It’s time the U.K. and other countries go after the Islamists that are not only taking over Islamic seminaries and mosques, but also Islamic schools.  Any effective solution needs a comprehensive approach.