On April 25, 2023, Collin Bloom, an independent faith advisor appointed by the UK government released his report “The Bloom Review” which made several alarming revelations. The report states that prisoners in jails across Britain are being converted to Islam by Muslim inmates and are also being provided ‘protection’ on converting.
The report adds that Qurans were left on the beds of the new prisoners and they were given the choice to either “convert or get hurt”.
“Failure to identify as a Muslim meant that at best the new prisoner would be denied ‘protection’ from the dominant Muslim gang on that wing, or at worst the new prisoner would be subjected to violence and intimidation from that same gang,” Bloom said.
He said, however, that the government must “redouble” its efforts to “reinforce the distinctions between extremist Islamism and Islam and between Islamist extremists and Muslims.”
The paper goes on to highlight certain statistics to highlight the frequency of in-prison conversions. Muslims made up around 18% of the prison population in 2021, an increase from 8% in 2002.192 “However, the Muslim male prisoner population in London prisons is reportedly almost 30%, which is considerably higher than the 15% in the general London population (as recorded in the 2021 Census),” the report reads.
Collin also recommended the government to conduct an immediate review of the claims that inmates are being forcibly radicalized and converted in jail as well as the issue of faith-based gangs.
Additionally, the report mentions that the Hindus make up for the lowest levels of prison rates of any religion but have the highest employment rates.
In his 159-page report, Bloom asserts that “insufficient action” has been undertaken and continues, saying: “There is one burning injustice from which this Government should not shrink, and that is the issue of forced and coercive marriages.
Some of the most pressing issues within the few Sikh communities in Britain, notably the strife brought on by the “extremist fringe ideology within the pro-Khalistan movement, have been brought to light by Collin Bloom.
“Propagating hate and divisions, trying to brainwash youth to cause divisions and hate in India, [is] really sad. [Some Sikh extremist groups] are using places of worship to fund or getting funds under the name of faith and spearheading hate, these types of organisations shouldn’t be allowed to operate in our great country,” the report reads.