What makes Islam so appealing to prisoners? Converts are protected by fellow converts. Plus, they are accepted into a new and different culture, while learning religious self-discipline and as part of a large and growing community, prisoners feel equal. Angry inmates are ideal candidates for recruitment to Radical Islam organizations. In England, police found al-Qaeda training manuals that encourage the recruitment of prisoners "disenchanted with their country's policy". Muslims teach that upon conversion, all previous deeds are wiped away. The convert becomes a new person; clearly an attractive point of view for a convict. Although these prisoners are provided with a community, the kind of Islamic rehabilitation taught in prisons is suspect. Many Imams (Muslim leaders) are hired based upon recommendations from organizations with clear ties to terrorist entities. Wahhabi-trained Imams have gained a monopoly on prisons and teach their radical interpretations of Islam to new converts. When no federally-trained Imams are available, prisoners themselves often lead their communities without direct supervision. Convicts are supposed to be learning the tools to return to society as mentally-stable individuals, offering positive contributions, and avoiding further criminal behavior. Instead, many inmates are learning and practicing Radical Islam. Upon their release from prison, these former convicts return to society with an 'ax to grind' and a new found perversion of religion which preaches Jihad against western values. Many former inmates prefer to stay in an Islamic community setting. These individuals have been recruited to Radical Muslim enclaves such as Islamberg, NY. Others return to typical communities across the country. Chicago gang member Jose Padilla, became a Radical Muslim while in a Florida prison. Following his release in 2002, Padilla was later arrested on the suspicion of planning to explode a “dirty bomb". In 2001, Richard Reid became a Radical Muslim while incarcerated in a UK prison. He attempted to blow up an American Airlines plane by igniting explosives in his shoes. The conversion of inmates to Islam in prisons is one very alarming example of creeping Sharia, or the spread of Radical Islam in the United States, right under our noses.