Hate Crimes and the War on Terror

HATE CRIMES: PERSPECTIVES AND APPROACHES, Barbara Perry, ed., 2008

GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 442

GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 442

30 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 2008

See all articles by Cynthia Lee

Cynthia Lee

George Washington University Law School

Abstract

This chapter, which will be part of a 5 volume treatise entitled, Hate Crimes: Perspectives and Approaches (Barbara Perry ed. forthcoming 2009), situates the private acts of hate violence committed against Arab-Americans, Muslim-Americans, Sikh-Americans, and South Asian-Americans in the aftermath of 9/11 into the broader context of the war on terror. In Part I, after providing some general background information on hate crimes, I discuss some of the hate crimes committed in the aftermath of 9/11. In Part II, I examine two common stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims which likely contributed to the post 9/11 backlash against Arabs and Muslims and those perceived to be Arab or Muslim: the Arab-as-Terrorist stereotype and the Arab-as-Foreigner stereotype. In Part III, I suggest that government action in the war on terror was influenced by and reinforced these stereotypes. I conclude by discussing broader possible implications of the Arab-as-Terrorist stereotype.

Keywords: hate crimes, terrorism, Arab, Muslim, stereotype

JEL Classification: J71, K14

Suggested Citation

Lee, Cynthia, Hate Crimes and the War on Terror. HATE CRIMES: PERSPECTIVES AND APPROACHES, Barbara Perry, ed., 2008, GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 442, GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 442, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1268355

Cynthia Lee (Contact Author)

George Washington University Law School ( email )

2000 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20052
United States
(202) 994-4768 (Phone)

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