Hate crime against Muslims
What is hate crime?
Criminal Offence+ Bias Motivation= Hate Crime
• Hatecrimescomprisetwoelements:acriminaloffenceandabiasmotivation.Hatecrimesrequireabaseoffencetohaveoccurred.Inotherwords,theactcommittedmustconstituteacriminaloffenceundernationallaw.Ifthereisnounderlyingcrime,thereisnohatecrime.
• Thesecondelementofahatecrimeisthattheperpetratormustcommitthecriminalactwithaparticularmotive,basedona“bias”.Thepresenceofabiasmotiveiswhatdifferentiateshatecrimesfromordinarycrimes.
• Ahatecrimehastakenplacewhenaperpetratorhasintentionallytargetedanindividualorpropertybecauseofaprotectedcharacteristic,orexpressedhostilitytowardsthevictim’sprotectedcharacteristicduringthecrime.
Hatecrimessendamessageofexclusiontovictimsandtheircommunities.Thesecrimesrequireastrongresponse.
What are anti-Muslim hate crimes?
Anti-Muslimhatecrimesoftenhaveuniquecharacteristicsthatdifferentiatethemfromothertypesofhatecrimes.Thesehatecrimestargetpeopleorpropertyassociated,orperceivedtobeassociatedwithMuslims.Suchanti-MuslimhatecrimestakeplaceacrosstheOSCEregion.
Thesecrimesare,however,under-reported,foranumberofreasons.Recognizingthemagnitudeandnatureoftheproblemisthefirststeptowardseffectivelycounteringit.
Since2002,OSCEparticipatingStateshaveexplicitlycondemnedactsofdiscriminationandviolenceagainstMuslimsandfirmlyrejectedtheidentificationofterrorismandextremismwithanyreligionorculture.
MuslimcommunitiesacrosstheOSCE
regionarethevictimsofrhetoricthat
oftenassociatesthemwithterrorism
andextremism,orportraysthe
presenceofMuslimcommunitiesas
athreattonationalidentity.Muslims
areoftenportrayedasamonolithic
group,whosereligionandculture
areincompatiblewiththeconcepts
ofhumanrightsanddemocracy.
Thisintolerance,leftunchecked,can
enableaclimatethatfostershate
crimeagainstMuslims,whichisan
attempttoisolatethemfromsociety.
Onlyastrongresponsefromallactors
insocietycaneffectivelychallenge
discrimination,intoleranceandhate
crimesagainstMuslims.
Anti-Muslim hate crime
ParticipantsinaconferenceoncounteringintoleranceanddiscriminationagainstMuslimsheldinViennaon18October2017.Theeventwasco-organizedbytheOSCEOfficeforDemocraticInstitutionsandHumanRightsandGeorgetownUniversity.(OSCE/SalkoAgovic)
ParticipantsatacoalitionbuildingeventhostedbyODIHRandthe EuropeanParliamentAnti-RacismandDiversityIntergroup(ARDI),16and17June2016(OSCE/MichaelChia)
The2010AstanaDeclarationstressedthatinternationaldevelopmentsandpoliticalissuescannotjustifyanyformofintoleranceordiscriminationagainstMuslims,andencouragedparticipatingStatestochallengeanti-Muslimprejudiceandstereotypes.
ThenumberofhatecrimesagainstMuslimsreportedtoODIHRincreasesfollowingterroristattacksandontheanniversariesofsuchattacks.AttacksagainstpropertytendtooccuraroundFridayprayersandreligiousholidays,andoftenincludewritinggraffitiorleavingtheremainsofpigsoutsidemosques,communitycentresandMuslimfamilies’homes.Therearealsonumerousreportedincidentsinwhich,forexample,womenwearingheadscarvesarethevictimsofassault.
How to recognize hate crimes against Muslims?
ThereareanumberofindicatorsthatidentifybiasagainstMuslimsinacrime.Itisveryimportanttoproperlyidentifybiasindicatorsforhatecrimes,astheycanhelpauthoritiesdecidewhetherthecaseshouldbeinvestigatedasapossibleanti-Muslimhatecrime.
Examplesofquestionstohelpidentifyanti-Muslimhatecrimesare:
• DothevictimsorwitnessesperceivetheincidenttohavebeenmotivatedbybiastowardsMuslimsorIslam?
•Weretherecomments,writtenstatements,gesturesorgraffitithatindicatebias?ExamplesofthisincludeequatingMuslimswithterrorism,usingimagesandlanguagerelatingtotheCrusades,orsymbolspromotingtheprotectionoftheperpetrator’sreligionorcountry,suchasnationalflagsorcrosses.
•Wasthetargetaplaceofreligiousorculturalsignificance,suchasamosque,Muslimcemeteryorschool?
•Wasthetargetadifferentproperty,suchasashop,housingassociationbuildingassociatedwithMuslims,asiteselectedfortheconstructionofamosqueoranIslamicculturalcentre?
•Wasthepropertypreviouslytargetedinananti-Muslimincident?
•Whatwasthenatureoftheattackagainstproperty?WasanobjectperceivedtobeoffensivetoMuslims,suchasporkfleshorblood,leftatthescene?Orwasareligiouslyimportantitem,
suchasacopyoftheKoran,desecrated?
•Whatwasthenatureoftheviolence?WeresymbolsrepresentingIslamtargeted?Forexamplewasaheadscarfremovedfromawoman’sheadoraMuslimman’sbeardshaved?
• DoesthesuspectbelongtoahategroupthattargetsMuslims?Thesecouldincludedifferentfar-rightgroups,groupsadvocatingagainstMuslims,orotherreligiousgroups.Doesthesuspect’sbackgroundorcriminalrecordshowthatheorshehascommittedsimilarincidentsinthepast?
•WasthevictimvisiblyidentifiableasaMuslim,forexample,awomanwearingaheadscarf,amanwithabeard,apersonwearinglongclothingorwearingArabiclanguageinscriptionsonclothingorjewellery,orapersonwithaMuslimsoundingname?WasthevictimwronglyperceivedtobeaMuslimduetotheirattire(e.g.,Jewishwomenwearingheadscarves,Sikhmenwearingturbans?
•WasthevictimaMuslimcommunityleaderorahumanrightsdefenderdealingwiththeprotectionandsafetyofMuslims?
• Didtheincidenttakeplaceinthedaysfollowingaterrorist
attack,ontheanniversaryofsuchanattackoronsomeotherdateofsignificanceforeithertheperpetratororMuslimcommunities?DidtheincidenttakeplaceonaMuslimholidayorinthecourseofapoliticalcampaign?
• Isthereanyotherclearmotive?Lackofothermotivesisalsoareasontoconsiderbiasmotivation.
Anti-Muslimhatecrimeshouldbemonitoredasaseparatecategoryofcrime,enablingatailoredresponsetothephenomenon.HatecrimedatashouldberecordedinamannerthatallowsfordisaggregationofhatecrimedatabygendertoshowhowhatecrimesaffectMuslimmenandwomendifferently.Inmanyexistingofficialstatistics,anti-Muslimhatecrimesarebroadlycategorizedasanti-religioushatecrimesorconflatedwithanti-Araboranti-migranthatecrimes.Sometimesthisisbecauseoffendersexpressmorethanonebiasintheseattacks.
Reporting hate crime against Muslims
HatecrimesagainstMuslimsareunder-reported.Thereareahostofchallengesassociatedwithreportingthesetypeofhateincidents,notablythevictims’potentialisolationorproximitytotheperpetrator.Victimsmayalsolacktrustintheauthorities,
Examples of Hate Crime against Muslims
1) Sixworshipperswerekilledand19injuredwhenanarmedperpetratorenteredamosqueduringprayersandfiredatworshipers.Theperpetratorhadshownsympathytowardsfar-right,anti-Muslimandwhitesupremacistmovements.
2) AmosquewasthetargetofanarsonattackinwhichsevenMolotovcocktailswerethrownatthebuilding.
3) Awomanwearingaheadscarfwasinsulted,toldto“gobacktohercountry”andphysicallyassaulted.Theperpetratorbrokeoneofherfingersandrippedoffherheadscarf.
4) Pigs’headsandjarsfilledwithbloodwereleftonamosqueconstructionsite.Thesamesitehadalreadybeenvandalizedafewweeksbefore.
More information:
Fordetailedinformationabout
ODIHR’shatecrimeinitiativesand
toviewitsfullrangeofresources
andpublications,pleasevisit:
www.osce.org/odihr/tolerance
OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights
ul.Miodowa10
00-251Warsaw
Poland
Tel.:+48225200600
Fax:+48225200605
E-mail:[email protected]
duetofearsthattheirclaimwillnotbetakenseriouslyorthattheywillbevictimizedagainbypoliceofficers.
AccesstojusticeforvictimsremainsacriticalchallengeandonethatparticipatingStatesneedtoovercome.Governmentshaveacentralroletoplayinensuringaccesstojustice;fromtheinitialassessmentofvictims’needsbypoliceofficers,tosupportmechanismsforvictimsthroughgovernmentalornon-governmentalinstitutions.
ParticipatingStatescanonlydevelopeffectivepoliceresponsestocounterthesecrimesiftheyareabletocollectreliabledataonthem.Increasedawarenessofhatecrime,reportingofitbyvictimsandrecordingofitby
stateswillhelprevealthefullmagnitudeoftheproblemandenablepolicy-makerstoidentifyappropriateresponses.Muslimcivilsocietygroupsaredevelopingtheirmonitoringcapacitythroughoutreachandonlinereporting,inrecognitionoftheimportanceofhatecrimemonitoringasanimportantadvocacytool.Under-reportingofanti-MuslimhatecrimehasasignificanteffectonhatecrimefiguresreportedtoODIHR.
ODIHRhasbeencollectingandpublishingdataonhatecrimesagainstMuslimssince2006.FindoutmoreaboutthesecrimesandhowtoreportthemtoODIHRathatecrime.osce.org.
What can you do?
OmbudsinstitutionsaddressingdiscriminationandlocalassociationsworkingwithMuslimcommunitiesplayacentralroleincounteringhatecrimesbecausetheyserveasavitallinkbetweenvictims,communitiesandlocalauthorities.Contactyourlocalsupportassociationorombudsinstitutiontofindoutmoreaboutanti-Muslimhatecrimes:
• Contacttheequalitybodyclosesttoyou.Youcanfindanon-exhaustivelisthere:http://www.equineteurope.org/
• TheInternationalOmbudsmanInstitute(IOI):www.theioi.org
• TheEuropeanNetworkofNationalHumanRightsInstitutions(ENHRI):http://ennhri.org/
ODIHR guides on hate crime
ODIHRhascompiledgoodpracticesfromOSCEparticipatingStatesforaddressinghatecrimeandhassharedtheseinanumberofpublications.Thesepublicationsareavailableonourwebsiteat:http://www.osce.org/odihr/124602
VisitODIHR’sdedicatedhatecrimereportingwebsiteat:www.hatecrime.osce.org