From Jail to Jihad? Panorama

Tonight, the convict released from prison into the arms of Islamic

extremists. The friend of one of the Woolwich killers who converted

others behind bars. When did you first embrace Islam? 2006.

A Prison Service worried about the threat of radicalisation. There is a

significant risk given the fact that we manage some dangerous people.

And we go inside to see what impact that can have on the outside. In

prison people say when you come out, brother, you should go and fight in

Syria. This is a journey to find out how

the threat of Islamic extremism is being dealt with in the one place

with the greatest concentration of terrorists and extremists, the

prison system. I'm on my way to Manchester Prison where a prisoner

who converted to Islam is going to be released.

He'll be met by fellow Muslims who have driven up from London. Among

the group who have made the trip are convicted extremists Abdul Muhid and

Mizanur Rahman. How do you think it is perceived you being here today by

the Prison Service, the police, the counter-terrorism unilt? I don't

really care. The police are on a witch-hunt. They will have an

attitude of well, you know, what are they up to? Forget about the fact

that he needs to get from Manchester to London somehow. After a three

hour wait, Michael Coe, whose Islamic name is now Mikaeel Ibrahim,

is released. He was jailed in 2006 for eight years for threatening

police officers with a shotgun while out on parole for a knifepoint

car-jacking. He went in a gangster and came out a convert to Islam. You

feel that your brother is coming to meet you today. They come to get me.

They come to bring me back 300 odd miles. When did you first embrace

Islam? 2006. Whilst you were in prison? Whilst I was in prison.

I want to find what attracted this 33-year-old from East London to

Islam. Even though I wasn't Muslim, I hung around with Muslims. After a

little time it rubs off. You start listening to people and believing

people and in the end, I decided this is the way forwards. My life

has been much better since. One of the people who showed him the

way forward was Abdul Muhid, who has been convicted of terror related

offences. Mikaeel Ibrahim had already converted to Islam by the

time they'd met in prison. I was on a different wing and I got

transferred and we became friends. We started talking. He taught me

some of the stuff I didn't know. In turn he was suspected of taking

other inmates under his wing and radicalising them. Some particular

officers were asking inmates was I radicalising them. They said, "Is he

trying to bring people to Islam?" That's what they seemed to fear.

Inmates identified as a potential threat because of their extreme

views are usually met by police or probation when they are released on

licence. But because Mikaeel Ibrahim has served all of his sentence he's

free to be met by Muhid and Rahman. Rahman, seen here, took part in the

Danish Embassy protests against a cartoonist accused of belittling the

Prophet Muhammad. He was jailed for four years for inciting racial

hatred and soliciting murder. Muhid was also at the protest. He was

jailed for four years for soliciting murder and also for encouraging

others to fundraise for terrorism. Over the last ten years the number

of Muslims in prison has doubled to nearly 12,000. That's one in seven

prisoners. The Prison Service can't tell us how many have been converted

inside or how many are adopting radical views. What we do know is

that there around 100 Islamist terrorists behind bars and around

500 more have been identified with links to extremist groups.

It does concern me that radicalisation is taking place in

prison and I feel that more of a holistic approach needs to be taken

in combatting it. Ishmael Lea South has worked with

Muslim offenders before and after their release. He's come across

prisoners who've been radicalised during their time inside. He says

some are being encouraged to go and fight in Syria. And this is a big

concern for the Security Services since the deaths of British Jihadis

there. They will be saying things like the foreign policy issue is

oppressing our Muslim brothers and sisters abroad. We need to go abroad

to fight the infidels who are oppressing our brothers and sisters

and we have to establish Sharia law. The Prison Service says that the

radicalisation of Muslims inmates is rare, but when it happens it's

serious. Shoe bomber Richard Reid who tried

to blow up an aeroplane converted in prison, so too did Jermaine Grant

now on trial in Kenya accused of being part of a bomb plot. Abdul

Miah convicted of plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange was

radicalised inside. What concerns me most is there a

significant risk given the fact that we manage dangerous people. Our job

is to minimise that risk becoming a reality. So minimise the risk that

somebody in prison becomes radicalised and commits a terrorist

offence. Our job is to protect the public. That's what we do every day

and what worries me is whenever we fail to do that in a range of

potential scenarios, people could be hurt.

It's now four days since prison convert Mikaeel Ibrahim was released

from jail. Today he's joined a protest against the sale of alcohol

in London's Brick Lane. It has been organised by Abdul Muhid and Mizanur

Rahman who met Mikaeel from prison. Those who serve alcohol. Those who

make alcohol. They want Sharia Law to replace

democracy in the UK. They follow Anjem Choudary, one time key player

of radical group al-Muhajiroun until it was banned under the Prevention

of Terrorism Act. Choudary's presence sparks anger from people

taking part in a larger unrelated rally nearby. This guy is a clown.

He represents nothing about Islam. Mikaeel Ibrahim appears to be acting

as the controversial cleric's minder. You are a big fool as well.

People come to a meeting like this and people get upset. I just came

here and I came to see some of my friends. That's it. I didn't do

anything. I didn't do anything. REPORTER: It is because of who you

are around, people think that it is trouble? It says that the people

upon the right path will always be in the minority.

He has adopted the same thinking of those around him. They sell alcohol.

It is not allowed. They put a curse on anyone who makes it, transports,

consumes it. Today's protest passes off

peacefully enough, it's been all talk, but when talk turns to action

the consequences can be deadly serious. Christmas Eve 2012 and

radical Islamists are protesting outside St Paul's Cathedral. Anjem

Choudary is present. So is Mikaeel Ibrahim while out of prison on

licence. Also there convert, Jordan Horner, who has taken an Islamic

name. He didn't convert in prison. He embraced Islam on the streets of

London as a teenager. Within two years he was voicing extreme views.

I hate everything that's associated with British society. It is

disobedient to the commands of God. The man on the right is Michael

Adebowale. Less than five months later, he murdered soldier Lee Rigby

in Woolwich. The other man is Royal Barnes. He's currently in prison for

glorifying the soldier's murder. Before he was sent down for that and

other crimes he and Horner filmed their attempt to bring Sharia law to

East London. Remove yourself away from the mosque. Go away from the

mosque now. Muslim patrol. We don't respect those who disobey God. We

don't respect them. It is Great Britain. We have rights... Not so

Great Britain, you understand? This night-time intimidation led to the

arrest of both Barnes and Horner. Horner was jailed for 16 months.

Unlike Mikaeel Ibrahim who went into prison a common criminal, Horner was

sent to jail as a convicted extremist and used the time inside

to convert other inmates. Prison officers witnessed people becoming

Muslim. They were becoming Muslim in front of the prisonsters and they

felt -- prison officers and they felt powerless. They said I was

trying to divide Muslims from non-Muslims and trying to get them

to follow an extreme version of Islam.

In less than a year Horner was transferred four times to try to

stop him radicalising other inmates. This is an important tactic deployed

by the Prison Service. Somebody is gaining authority or hierarchy

within a prison, moving that individual and disrupting that

hierarchy can be an effective tool in making sure the type of

radicalisation that you're referring to doesn't take place.

But according to Horner moving him from prison to prison didn't work

and may have helped spread his views. In Thameside a lot of people

became Muslim. I still spoke to people will Muslim. Th sent me back

to Feltham. When another individual became Muslim, they moved me on the

basis I forced them to become Muslim.

I want to find out more about what makes some convicted criminals turn

to extreme Islam and what the Prison Service is doing to try to stop it.

There are about ten convicted terrorists at Whitemoor High

Security Prison and around three times as many inmates with extremist

views. Governor Damian Evans says these prisoners pose a risk that has

to be managed. It is a challenge for staff between distinguish between

what a the proper practise of Islam and what might be a threat. My staff

are highly experienced. They have very, very good at observing

prisoners, forming appropriate relationships with them, gathering

intelligence and gathering information. They have been trained

in what to look out for in terms of potential radicalising behaviour.

But Mizanur Rahman who spent time in another high security prison says

this type of close monitoring can make Muslim prisoners feel

stigmatised. People praying together and that's, you know, a very basic

thing of Islam, we pray in congregation. It is better to pray

together. It is nothing to do with radicalism or extremism, but it was

treated as radicalism. Whitemoor has the highest proportion

of Muslim inmates of any jail in the UK, more than 40%. Like the majority

of British Muslims most are moderate. And the governor says it

would be wrong to view Muslim prisoners through the lens of

extremism. It is very important that we recognise the majority of

practise of Islam within prison is fundamentally a good thing. Islam

offers a sense of belonging, brotherhood and friendship. It is

important we recognise that and Islam very often can provide good

opportunities for change and development.

But one former prisoner recently released after serving nine years in

various prisons for armed robbery says there are other reasons why

criminals convert to Islam. When you come into prison, you see a lot of

gangsters or whatever and they want protection and see Muslim brothers

stick together. They practise religion so they don't get harmed by

other people. They know if you mess with one Muslim, you mess with them

all. Becoming a Muslim in prison may offer safety in numbers. On the

other hand, many Muslim inmates say they feel unsafe.

After Abdul Muhid was released he started a campaign called Muslim

Prisoners. Today he is outside Paddington Green Police Station,

where many suspects have been held. He says he was badly treated in

prison and says he believes other Muslims are as well. I was

transferred to Frankland a week after a massive riot. I was among

the first Muslims that the prisons in -- that the prisoners could get

hold of. They burnt my cell. A week later somebody attempted to stab me.

Muslim prisoners tell us they feel less safe than non-Muslim prisoners.

They have done that consistently for a number of years. They feel

threatened by other prisoners and sometimes they feel threatened by

staff. The danger is of prisoners feeling unsafe, is they look for

protection. If they do not feel they are being protected by staff,

they'll join a join that they think can provide that protection.

It is that sense of feeling unsafe and seeking protection that some

fear can play into the hands of extremists seeking to radicalise

their fellow inmates. One of the first things they do is

look, if anyone troubles you, tell me, we will deal with them. If

anyone tries to bully you, tries to take liberties with you, you are an

akhi, you are a brother, we'll defend you. It is like it is in the

school playground. The same way but in the prison.

But rather than offer extremists the chance to spread their ideology,

prisons should be the one place where it can be challenged by the

state. Key to this is the Prison Service's specially vetted Imams. We

have a strong group of Imams to support Muslims in prison, to

understand the Islamic faith, which is not about extremism and hatred.

We asked to interview a prison Imam, but the Prison Service said no.

Part of an Imam's job is to decide what inmates can read and watch in

order to follow their faith. This is the list from Whitemoor

Prison of the DVDs and books inmates are allowed. On it is a DVD by the

radical preacher Bilal Philip, who was stopped from entering the UK in

2010 after appearing to justify suicide bombing.

I have seen the DVD and although it's not extreme, I still wanted to

know why it was allowed at Whitemoor.

He's been banned from entering the UK by Theresa May, yet his material

is allowed in a prison. Is that right? Governors have the authority

to ban material. I don't know what that material is or says. It is for

the governor to make that decision. The Prison Service says the contents

of the DVD do not contravene existing restrictions, but it is

considering how best to deal with material from people who are

excluded from the UK. Back on the outside, it is now four

months since I last saw Mikaeel Ibrahim. I have come to see if he

turns up at another protest organised by the men who met him at

the prison gates. Like many of their protests they are confronted by the

far right. He arrives with Izzadeen iz, who was

charged with terrorist fundraising. They met in prison.

Mikaeel Ibrahim told me more about his life now he's a free man.

When you haven't got a cause for your life, OK, your life is like any

of these other - we get out and we try and make as much money, sleep

with as as many. I want to see a state of Khalifah. A changed person?

100%. He has been promoted as a role model.

In this video made in 2012, while he was out of prison on license, the

role model reveals how 9/11 was an inspiration.

I was thinking to myself, they were saying Bin Laden already. Within a

day they were trying to say it was Bin Laden, yeah? I was thinking, oh,

my God, this man is a gangster. This man is on top. This is one guy

taking on the might of a country. That I can respect. That's the sort

of stuff that initially drew me to Islam. It was a terrorist he met

five years later inside Frankland Prison, near Durham, who convinced

him to convert to Islam. One brother who was on to me, he's doing 40

years for no reason. He said to me, why, why don't you come to Islam.

All the time. Dhiren Barot is one of the UK's most

dangerous terrorists. This reconnaissance video filmed by him

of New York landmarks was seized during 2004, into an investigation

into the 42-year-old from London. Computers, his hand book and

terrorist training notes were discovered. The Hindu who converted

to Islam had also filmed the twin towers in a way he suggested he knew

what was coming. It was in prison, serving a minimum

of 30 years that Barot gave Mikaeel Ibrahim the invitation to Islam,

known as Da'wah He was opposite me. When he saw me, he came over and

said, are you Muslim? I said, no. I have been learning a bit. He said,

trust me, there is nothing but Islam. Two weeks after I got take on

the the block and moved to another prison. Within that week, the Da'wah

he gave me, it hit me. That is a problem for the Prison

Service. Converts like Ibrahim are part of a growing Muslim population

which are white or Afro-Caribbean. Many Imams do not share their

experience or background. Most of the prisoners that I have

seen in prison they are UK-born and bred. They eat fish and chips, they

watch Eastenders now and again. You need someone or someone other than

the Imam to liaise with them on their level. The sad reality is a

lot of the Imams in prison, a lot of them are not UK-born. So, this

leaves a big gulf of separation. So, what has happened is sometimes the

person with the largest clout, the biggest mouth, the they are seen as

the Imam in the prison. In some cases where people don't have

confidence in the Imam and certainly it will be wrong to load all the

responsibility for dealing this on to him. I think extremism is a

security issue. Dhiren Barot, the Al-Qaeda terrorist

was moved from Frankland Prison to Full Sutton, near York. It was there

last May that three men asoshed with him carry -- associated with him

carried out an attack. It happened four days after the killing of Lee

Rigby. Feroz Khan, Feroz Awale and convert

David Watson are all convicted murderers suffering life sentences.

-- serving life sentences. They became devote inside, growing

beards and praying five times a day. There were signs of radicalisation.

Khan had walked out of Friday prayers after the Imam offered

condolences to the Rigby family. He told a prison officer, Muslims have

a duty to fight back and that is why people were getting killed.

Just after 4pm, Khan and his accomplices lay in wait.

Their target, a prison officer, Richard Thompson, who they thought

had been in the military. They took Thompson by surprise and

bundled him into a room. Awale threatened a prison officer

with a make-shift knife. I have killed people already. I'll

kill you. I'll kill you! The three inmates were now in control.

Khan made his demands over the prison Tannoy - the release of a

radical cleric and a woman who attempted to murder an MP.

We have taken a hostage. Thompson suffered a fractured

cheekbone during the siege, which only ended when his attackers were

persuaded to surrender. Khan and Awale were found guilty of

threats to kill. Khan also of assault. All three were cleared of

false imprisonment. Do you think the incident in Full

Sutton was an act of terrorism? I think it was a serious and

unacceptable criminal act and it is not for me to define whether it is

terrorism or not I was a pretty horrific incident for the officer to

go through. After the siege, the three men were

moved to other prisons. It was at bell marsh high security prison that

Jordan Horner said he met two of them.

I was in segregation with Awale. I was on the main population with

Brother Khan. These people are beautiful individuals who love Allah

and Islam. It has been eight years since the

Government's prevent strategy to combat the spread of radical Islam

was rolled out in prisons. Some programmes have been introduced

to challenge the extremist mind set. These courses are voluntary and few

convicted terrorists and extremists have been willing to engage.

You cannot force somebody to change a view. There's no evidence of

anyone forcing somebody to change a view. We have to work hard,

sometimes over a very long period in order to make effective change with

people. Did they attempt to deradicalise

you? To a certain extent, I would say there's only so much they can

do, you know? When you allow me to come for association, you give me

the ability to praise Allah, as a congregation among Muslims. Neven

the hard hardest times there is a blessing that Muslims can take out

of the prison system. On the outside the Government is giving extremists

like Jordan Horner less choice. He has been given a new type of an y

social behaviour order. The aim is to restrict him. Conditions have

been put on me. It says you cannot do the basics of Islam. You can't

invite people to Islam. I can not make any unsoe lised approach to

people. How long is th ASBO imposed? Five years. They are trying to put

as much restrictions on me, for as long as possible, so they can, as

you know, they can sleep well at night.

But the authorities have limited control over Mikaeel Ibrahim. He has

never been on a deradicalisation programme inside or outside of

prison and doesn't believe he needs to. I follow the rules of Islam to a

T. The people that teach me. They teach me only that of Islam. What

the other people who have ulterior motives deem as extreme is their

business. For me, I am not an extremist.

And that is a big challenge for the prison system. All the former

prisoners we have spoken to say the tactics used to challenge them don't

work. Unless a way is found, what the

Prison Service calls the small but significant risk of prisoners

becoming radicalised, could become a much bigger threat.