Muslim Prisoners 'Refuse to Take Part in Group Therapy as It's Against Religion'
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim prisoners are refusing to take part in group therapy sessions saying it's against their religion to talk about their 'past crimes' in front of others.

Scores of Britain's 10,000 Muslim prisoners - one in eight of all inmates - are refusing to take part in Offending Behaviour Programmes (OBPs ), claiming it is 'forbidden' or 'Haraam'.

Haraam refers to anything that is prohibited by faith [Allah], and in Islamic culture criminals are barred from discussing their offences with others.

Previously, Muslim prisoners refused to take part in Sex Offender Treatment Programmes because it involved talking about offences against women, but now some are refusing to take part in all rehabilitation sessions where they have to 'open up' in front of other cons.

Among the courses some Muslims are declining to take part in are the Cognitive Self Change Programme (CSCP), just one of 13 OBPs on offer from the prison service,

The CSCP, which treats 7,000 prisoners each year, targets 'high risk violent offenders' and offers individual and group sessions to prisoners.

The course claims to: "Equip prisoners with skills to help them control their violence and avoid reconviction.

"It is aimed at offenders with a history of violent behaviour and is suitable for those whose violence is reactive and/or instrumental."

Other programmes on offer include Enhanced Thinking Skills, Cognitive Skills Booster Programme, Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it and various motivational courses.

One Muslim prisoner, Abu Dira, a maximum security prisoner at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, said this week: "Muslims cannot speak about their past crimes in a group setting. >>> | Monday, January 11, 2010

Keep the Faith: Should Muslim Children Receive Sex Education?
THE INDEPENDENT: A group run by a member of a radical Islamic organisation is opposing plans to give five-year-olds sex education.

In an underground hall at the London Central Mosque in Regent Street, a group of parents sitting on plastic chairs is clustered around a power point. A small, neatly dressed man at the front welcomes them, introducing himself as Yusuf Patel. "As Muslims we believe in values," he says, "We believe in haraam and halal, but sex and relationship education (SRE) teaching in this country does not provide this. It is the responsibility of parents to see their children educated, but not at the expense of these values."

Patel's organisation, SREIslamic, was established eight months ago to encourage Muslims to respond to the Government's consultation about whether to make SRE compulsory and extend it to five-year-olds. Since then, the organisation claims, it has held 40 workshops across the country and collected tens of thousands of signatures from Muslims opposed to the measures.

But Patel is not only a concerned parent and campaigner. According to his website, he is also a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist organisation that Tony Blair considered banning in 2005. Patel's brother, Jalaluddin, is the former UK head of the political party, which is barred in countries including Germany, Russia and Egypt. Should we be concerned that, like other far-right or religious groups in Britain, SREIslamic might be using a sensitive community grievance to pursue a wider political agenda?

Although Hizb ut-Tahrir says it does not advocate violence, it is opposed to Western-style democracy and believes in establishing a global caliphate under sharia law. There is no evidence of its involvement in terrorism, but some of its members have defended terrorist acts abroad, most recently when a member described Pakistani militants as "brothers". >>> Lila Green | Thursday, July 23, 2009