Hate_Crimes_Analysis__Muslims

Hate Crime Analysis: Muslims April Cox CJA 540 October 21, 2011 Angela Williams Hate Crime Analysis: Muslims The United States of America claims to be the melting pot of the world, and claims to welcome anyone that wants to become a citizen and enjoy the rights that other Americans have. However, in reality this is not the truth, because hate crimes and racism have existed in the United States of America since the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the White man. Racism and hate crimes began with the White man pushing the Native Americans off their land and progressed through the arrival of the slave era. There exists a variety of other incidents where hate crimes have been the center of issue here in America. However, since September 11, 2001 when terrorists hijacked four American passenger flights and crashed three of them into the Twin Towers in New York City, New York; and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. killing thousands of Americans Muslims have become a large target for perpetrators of hate crimes. This paper will define Muslims and Hate crimes, explain the factors that serve as the basis for Muslim victimization, provide applicable case examples of hate crimes against Muslims. The paper will also identify restorative justice models that could be used for Muslims, provide a contemporary research instrument to measure the victimization of Muslims and a rationale for the research instrument, and finally the paper will identify the criminological theory explains the victimization of Muslims, and a rationale to support the theory. Definition of Muslims and Hate Crimes: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2003) defines Muslims as, “a believer in or an adherent of Islam, and as a member of the Nation of Islam.” Collins English Dictionary (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, and 2003) defines Muslims as, “followers of the religion of Islam, or supporters of the Islamic faith, doctrines and culture.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2003) defines hate crimes as, “a crime motivated by prejudice against a social group.” Collins English Dictionary (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, and 2003) defines hate crimes as, “a crime, especially of violence, in which the victim is targeted because of his or her race, religion, sexuality or some other difference that offends the social norms.” Applicable Case Examples of Muslims victimized by Hate Crimes in America: According to The Leadership Conference (n.d.) since the terrorist attacks on America in September of 2001 hate crimes, which have been directed against groups such as Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs increased tremendously. According to the report, “Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate Crimes in America 200” in 2001, 482 out of the 9,730 reported victims of hate crimes were Arab Americans, Muslims and Sikhs. This was a 17 fold increase over the year 2000. Reports have shown that there exists a decline in the victimization of these people since 2001 the numbers are still above pre-2001 levels. Examples of hate crimes against Arabs Americans, Muslims and Sikhs are numerous. According to B.A. Robinson (2001) within the first 36 hours after the attacks of September 11, 2001 the following examples of hate crimes against Muslims were as follows: the windows of a Mosque in Irving, Texas were broken by six bullets, resulting in $3,000 damage. A Mosque in San Francisco, California had a bag of blood and was labeled as Pig’s blood thrown on the door. In Alexandria, Virginia there was a Muslim bookstore, which was vandalized by four bricks being thrown through the window. According to the Leadership Conference (2011) some additional case examples of such hate crimes are: the September 2004 accosting of eight female Muslim students at the University of California, in which three white males sprayed the women with water, threw water bottles at them, screamed cruel derogatory statements, made fun of the hijabs worn by the women and called them names such as “East Oakland Niggers.” In July of 2007 on a Lake Tahoe beach 38 year old Vishal Wadhwa approached Joseph and Georgia Silva after the two called Wadhwa, his fiancée, and her cousin various names including terrorists and relatives of Osama Bin Laden. The Silva’s began kicking and beating Wadhwa which resulted in Wadhwa suffering the fracturing of several facial bones and an orbital eye fracture (Leadership Conference, 2011). Gagandeep Sing, a 10 year old Sihk boy, was walking home from school in October of 2008 in Wayne, New Jersey when he was attacked by an unknown assailant who threw the lad to the ground and cut his hair. Sikhs treasure their hair and value it as a gift from God (Leadership Conference, 2011). On January 1, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee an African American was killed during a confrontation with a Middle Eastern Store Clerk. The clerk was charged with murder. However, the killing stirred up several attacks on Muslims and other Middle Easterners in the community. Attacks included unknown individuals setting fire to the store of the clerk who was charged with murder and an employee’s car, and the murder of store clerk Mohammed Al Hadi at the hands of Hadi’s store (Leadership Conference, 2011). Factors that Serve as the Basis for Victimization: According to jen’nan ghazal read 2008 the terrorist’s attacks of September 11, 2001 launched Muslims into the American spotlight and sparked a rein of hatred grounded in concerns and fears over the Muslim presence and assimilation, which remains high years after the attack. According to recent national polls four out of every 10 Americans possess an unfavorable view of Islam. Five out of every 10 Americans believe that compared to any other religion Islam is more likely to encourage violence. Six out of every 10 Americans believe that Islam is very different from their own religion. Islam is defined as the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal God, known as Allah (dictionary, n.d.). The biggest reason that Muslims are victimized by hate crimes in America is the fear that Muslims pose some form of threat grounded in world dominance of religion to the American way of life and to American Society. This fear is reinforced by such things as the United States Patriot Act and other Policies that are implemented to the American Government in the name of National Security and alter the manner in which Americans have grown custom to living their lives. Restorative Justice Models that could be used for Muslims: According to Braithwaite, of Australian National University (1996) restorative justice is defined as the restoration of victims, a criminal-justice system that is more focused or centered on the victim, and the restoration of offenders and the community. According to Gordon Bazemore and Mark Umbreit (n.d.) there are two models of restorative justice conferencing that could be used to improve relationships between Americans and Muslims. These models are victim-offender mediation and Community reparative boards. In the victim-offender mediation victims have the ability to face the offender in a safe, structured setting with a mediator and explain to the offender how he was affected by the offender’s criminal act. The offender can also ask the offender questions as to why he committed his criminal act and help establish a restitution plan. With regard to the Community Reparative Board the offender meets with a panel or board of individuals to go over the nature of the offenses and the negative consequences associated with the offense. The board then develops a restitution plan that the offender must complete within a given timeframe. Regardless of which model is used retribution can be such as the restoration of the loss of property, injury, sense of security, dignity, and social support (Braithwaite, 1996). Benefits and Challenges of the use of Restorative Justice: According to the City of Fort Collins (n.d.) there exist specific benefits associated with restorative justice for the victim, the offender, affected community members and the community as a whole. With regard to the victim the benefit is that he or she is granted a voice in the justice process, which in turn gives him or her sense of closure regarding the crime and thus lowers the level of fear he or she feels for the offender and the possibility of being re-victimized. With regard to the offender he or she is given the ability and opportunity to take responsibility for his or her actions and fix the consequences of those actions to the best of his or her ability, Another benefit to the offender is that he or she gains a better understanding about how the crime affected the victim and the community and in some cases the offender can have the crime expunged from his or her record after restitution has been completed. In regard to the members of the community affected by the offender’s criminal behavior the benefit of restorative justice is that the community members get the opportunity to explain how the crime affected them and in determining what repercussions the offender should face in order to atone for his or her actions. Finally as the community in whole the benefits are that there is a strengthening of community involvement and sense of security (City of Fort Collins, n.d.). Just as there are benefits to restorative justice models there also exist challenges. Such challenges include getting members of the community and society in general to accept the models of restorative justice. Another challenge is in getting offenders and victims to agree to such programs. Finally the most noticed challenges to such programs include the lack of preparation on the side of the facilitator, a lack of appropriateness on the side of the participant, financing, and finally in developing and implementing a change in how the criminal justice is seen (Ames, 2007). Contemporary Research Instrument to Measure the Victimization of Muslims and Rationale for choice: According to Kraska and Neuman (2008) there exist two ways to measure the victimization or anything else for that matter. The first is known as the Quantitative Research Measurement which has a distinctive step in the research process, uses a deductive approach and has a goal of measurement designed to precisely quantify the concept. The second method is known as the Qualitative Research Measurement, which possesses a more flexible process, which takes place throughout the entire research process, uses a more inductive approach and has a goal of measurement, which is designed to accurately capture the essence of the concept through the use of words and images. With regard to the contemporary research Instrument that is best used to measure the victimization of Muslims is both measures. The quantitative research measurement seems to be the best suited. The rationale behind this is that by collecting data regarding the number thus quantity of Muslims victimized by crime in America one has a better insight to the issue of such victimization. However, one could follow it up with a more qualitative research method to determine the quality of such victimization Identification of Criminological Theory which explains the Victimization of Muslims and Rationale for the choice: There exist a variety of criminological theories that explain the victimization of Muslims. However, the theory that best explains it is labeling especially as a result of societal reaction. According to Williams and McShane (2009) societal groups create deviant acts by making rules, that once violated constitutes deviance, and by applying the rules to specific groups of people and labeling them as outsiders. With regard to Muslims in America after the attacks of September 11, 2001 anybody in America that resembled Muslims were labeled as terrorists, or supporters of Al-Qaeda, therefore, victimizeing them was and often still is seen as justified. Summary: This paper has attempted to briefly describe the spefic factors associated ot the victimization of Muslims in America. The paper has provided specific examples of cases where Muslims were victimized by crime in America, identified restorative justice models that could be used for Muslims, explained the benefits, and challenges of using restorative justice, identified contemporary research instruments designed to measure the victimization of Muslims and provided rationale for the selection, and finally identified a criminological theory best suited for explaining the victimization of Muslims and the rationale behind such decision. One thing that is certain as long as Americans see Muslims as a threat to the American way of life Muslims will always be a target of violence. Resources Ames, Jessica C, Smith College, (2007), Restorative Justice: including victims, offenders, and communities in criminal justice dialogue, retrieved October 31, 2011 from http://dspace.nitle.org/handle/10090/963 Bazemore, Gordon and Umbreit, Mark, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, (2001), A Comparison of Four Restorative Conference Models, retrieved October 31, 2011 from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/184738.pdf Braithwaite, John, Australian National University, International Institute for Restorative Practices, (1996), Restorative Justice and a Better Future, retrieved October 31, 2011 from http://www.iirp.edu/article_detail.php'article_id=NDk4 City of Fort Collins, (n.d.), Restorative Justice Conferencing Program: Benefits, retrieved October 31, 2011 from http://www.fcgov.com/restorativejustice/benefits.php Hate Crimes. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved October 30 2011 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Hate+Crimes Hate Crimes. (n.d.) Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003). Retrieved October 30 2011 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Hate+Crimes Islam. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved October 31, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Islam Kraska, P. B. & Neumann, W. L. (2008). Criminal justice and criminology: Research methods. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Muslim. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved October 30 2011 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Muslim Muslim. (n.d.) Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003). Retrieved October 30 2011 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Muslim Read, Jen’nan Ghazal, (2008),Muslims in America, retrieved October 31, 2011 from http://contexts.org/articles/files/2008/10/contexts-fall08-muslims-in-america.pdf Robinson, B. A. (2001), Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, Aftermath of the 9-11 Terrorist Attack: Attacks on Muslims, retrieved October 30, 2011 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter1.htm The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, (2011), Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate Crimes in America 2009, retrieved October 30, 2011 from http://www.civilrights.org/publications/hatecrimes/arab-americans.html Williams, F. P., III, & McShane, M. D. (2009). Criminological theory. (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. References This is a hanging indent. To keep the hanging indent format, simply delete this line of text using the backspace key, and replace the information with your reference entry.