Key facts
- Muslim prisoners in the UK are disproportionately targeted by harsh prison regulations, according to new research by the charity Maslaha.
- Muslim men are more likely to receive severe punishments, including warnings and adjudications, and face longer additional sentences.
- Muslim prisoners are less likely to benefit from jobs, education schemes, and early release programs due to their outcomes in the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme.
- Between January 2023 and December 2025, Muslims accounted for 23% of adjudications and punishments and 29% of additional days given, despite being 18% of the prison population.
- The report suggests a 'culture of covert discrimination' and 'patterns of discrimination' persist within the UK prison system.
New research from the charity Maslaha indicates that Muslim prisoners in the UK face systematic discrimination, leading to harsher punishments and limited access to opportunities. The study, which analyzed data from January 2023 to December 2025, found that Muslim men are disproportionately subjected to disciplinary actions and receive more severe penalties compared to non-Muslims.
Muslims accounted for 23% of adjudications and punishments and 29% of the total additional days given to prisoners, despite representing only 18% of the general prison population. Furthermore, they received the worst outcomes from the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme, being least likely to receive privileges and most likely to be on low behavior levels. This disadvantages them in accessing jobs, education, and potentially early release schemes under the new 'earned progression' model introduced by the Sentencing Act.
A Prison Service spokesperson stated that they are committed to treating all prisoners fairly and equally, and that misconduct is not tolerated. They also noted that it is not possible to draw conclusions from the data in isolation, as many factors influence adjudication outcomes.
However, Maslaha's report, which includes testimonies from Muslim prisoners, suggests a 'culture of covert discrimination' and 'patterns of discrimination' persist. The charity's director, Raheel Mohammed, expressed concern that the government is failing to assess the equality impacts of new policies, risking that Muslim and other racialized prisoners will be left behind. He called for a review of oversight policies within the justice system, arguing that the underlying issues of disproportionate sentencing inflation are being ignored.