A review by the government's been looking into radicalisation in jails.
All extremist literature will also be banned under a range of new measures.
Speaking to Premier's News Hour, Parvaneh Nicholson said: "I would say that is not a good step to make them calmer it will actually make them rise more.
"It actually will provoke them and make them angry.
"This is not the way to deal with the radical Muslims at all.
The review found evidence that Islamist extremism is a "growing problem" within prisons.
Examples given include offenders advocating support for IS, while "charismatic" prisoners acted as "self-styled emirs" - exerting a "controlling and radicalising influence" on the wider Muslim prison population.
Justice Secretary Liz Truss said: "Islamist extremism is a danger to society and a threat to public safety - it must be defeated wherever it is found."
She told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme that prison staff will get the training and authority to root out extremism.
She said: "There are a small number of individuals, very subversive individuals, who do need to be held in separate units."
Listen to Parvaneh Nicholson speaking to Premier's Marcus Jones: