In spite of misconceptions around radicalization, incarcerated people converting to Islam are finding freedom behind prison walls.

In the United States, there is a perception that incarcerated people who accept Islam are being radicalized, according to CBS News. 

The National Institute of Corrections stated that radical violence by Muslims in U.S. prisons is rare; there is no evidence that says while in prison Muslims are hostile or aggressive.

“The numbers don’t show that. Does it exist? Yes,” said Rami Nsour, director of the Tayba Foundation. “It’s a rare instance in the same way…people who are Christian extremists…are radicalized in prison.”

Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in U.S. prisons. The Tayba Foundation has served more than 10,000 people through an Islamic correspondence course. Their service to the incarcerated people has resulted in 90% of them accepting Islam as a new way of life, CBS News reported.

There is a great deal of mental and physical confinement within the walls of prison. By contrast, new converts find mental and physical freedom in the Islamic faith. According to CBS, people often accept Islam based on the positive characteristics of Muslims in their communities. 

“They’ll notice that a person is different. He’s not falling into the same ruts of how other people might behave in prison,” Nsour said. “So, they ask them and then he’ll say, ‘Well, it’s my Islam and my Islam teaches me about my character.’”

San Quentin resident Karl “Ishmael” Freelon, 65, has been incarcerated for 45 years of a 79-year-to-life sentence. He stated that Islam is not a gang — it’s a spiritual practice of making amends with oneself and one’s creator. 

“I witnessed my co-defendant convert to Islam, I saw the light. I saw the change,” he said.

Royce Miller, 42, a resident at SQ, has served 20 years. He said that Islam is more than just a religion; it is a way of life. The faith has codes of conduct called Adab (mannerism) on how Muslims conduct themselves. 

“Because it has a level of submission, so you submit to a certain regiment; there [are] five daily prayers, there’s a method,” Nsour said. 

According to Miller, another misconception about Islam is how it treats women. He said that women are the first teachers of our children, which is very important. 

“Prophet Mohammad said that, ‘paradise (Heaven) was at the feet of his mother,’ referring to the closeness of a woman and child,” Miller said.

Rahan Asaan has spent 35 years in prison on a 15-years-to-life sentence. He said that conversion entails how a person is introduced to Islam. Every faith has a culture as its own “dogma” (statement of belief), which translates into how and why people convert.

“I would first suggest that people who have an interest in Islam to research it, in the event a person uses the faith to mislead them,” Asaan said. “As a member of the Five-Percent Nation of Gods and Earths; we view Islam as a culture based on science and peace, and as such the interpretation will vary.”

Vernon “Abdul Mu’meen” Richardson, 60, also a resident at The Q, has served 22 years of a 66-years-to-life sentence. In order to have purity of thought, he said, a person has to get past tribalism and racism.

“When we identify by race, we take ourselves out of being human. Islam has nothing to do with race,” Richardson said.