Muslim faith behind bars

By Frances Harrison
BBC religious affairs correspondent

A total of 120 volunteers lend their services to the project

A group of young British Muslim volunteers have been trying to reach out to Muslims in prison by sending them presents for the end of the fasting month Ramadan.

In Britain, 10% of prisoners are Muslim - a huge number when Muslims number 1.6m out of a total population of 58.7m.

It is a worrying trend that young Muslims say reflects the alienation of the younger generation from their parents and society as a whole.

Most young Muslims in jail are there because of crimes like drugs, theft or street violence.

'Really beneficial'

The main message that we're trying to send them is that the Muslim community is here to support them Mohammad Imran Organiser, Muslim Youth Helpline

In the offices of the Muslim Youth Helpline in north London, 120 volunteers have given up their weekend to pack gift bags for fellow Muslims in jail.

They break for prayer, and then the laughter and hubbub of chitter-chatter starts again.

The organiser, Mohammad Imran, wants Muslims in jail not to feel ostracised or forgotten about by their community, and to know that when they get out they will have something to come back to.

"The main message that we're trying to send them is that the Muslim community is here to support them," he says.

Each gift pack contains some sweets, an Eid card, a copy of the Koran, and a poster saying: "Despair not of the mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins."

There is also a freepost envelope and a pen so prisoners can write to the helpline.

It is these responses that motivate volunteers. "I feel what we're doing here is really beneficial," says Mizan.

"They know Eid is a holiday, and they know people are out there having a good time, but they're inside, stuck in a prison cell. And just a box with a Koran and sweets and posters and a letter it really makes or breaks them," he explains.

'Generation gap'

It is Omar's first time packing the gifts, but says he would definitely do it again after reading some of the thank you letters from prisoners from the previous year.

"They were quite touching messages about how just these little gifts really meant a lot to them" he says. "I might take for granted the latest phone or MP3 player, but for them it was just that someone cared for them; that's what struck me most.

"I've got a family who care, but there's people out there who don't even have that."

Many of the volunteers also work at the Muslim Youth helpline, which gives faith-sensitive counselling to British Muslims.

"The thing is with the elders - they don't really understand what the youth are going through," says Mizan, who has worked as a visitor to Brixton prison and talks of "a huge generation gap".

He says Muslim parents, many of whom were immigrants to Britain, cannot understand why their children listen to music like hip hop that often glorifies drugs.

But Mizan believes the music mirrors the reality - like selling drugs because of being unable to find jobs. "It's the reality of some of the prisoners - they couldn't find a job, they couldn't find the support that they needed from the government or the family so they found it in another area which is on the street and in the gangs," he says.

Re-offending has become a serious problem for Muslim prisoners when they're released from jail.

The volunteers sent out a questionnaire with last year's Eid gifts asking if this was the first time in jail.

We can change the world for the better Mizan, volunteer

"A lot of the very young ones - like 16, 17, 18 years old - they ticked 'no' - that it wasn't their first time in prison," says Simbal. She thinks more has to be done to rehabilitate young Muslims when they come out of jail the first time.

Mizan says he knows Muslim prisoners who have deliberately re-offended in order to go back to prison because they cannot cope with the world outside.

Every report and survey finds huge problems of inequality. Muslims in Britain are more likely to underachieve at school, more likely to be unemployed even if they have a university degree, more likely to live in overcrowded housing and more likely to get involved in crime. But it is a predominately youthful population, and some think it is time they took the initiative themselves.

"It's no good watching the news any more and just thinking - oh, these youth nowadays - the elders need to understand" says Mizan.

"The youth out there think that life is all about getting the bling bling - getting the money - but there is a sense of underachievement there and I just want everyone to know that we as a community - we can change the world for the better".

www.myh.org.uk is the website of the Muslim Youth Helpline. Their Eid gifts are funded entirely by private donations and collections.