New data shared exclusively with Middle East Eye has shown evidence of Muslim prisoners being disproportionately targeted by harsh prison regulations in the UK.
The report by the charity Maslaha revealed that Muslims in prison are more likely to receive severe punishments, and less likely to be considered for jobs and education schemes.
The campaign group suggests the need for an urgent review of the disparities in the punishments and incentive and privilege schemes in prisons in what they have called a “culture of covert discrimination”.
Maslaha, a social justice charity for Muslim communities in the UK, has also raised concerns that policies being brought in under the new Sentencing Act will be applied unevenly in a way that will disadvantage Muslims and other minority ethnic groups.
The Sentencing Act, which was passed in January 2026 but has not yet become law, was introduced to deal with prison overcrowding.
