Graduation Year

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Granting Department

Sociology

Major Professor

James Cavendish, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Donileen Loseke, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Margarethe Kusenbach, Ph.D.

Keywords

Bias crime, Discrimination, Continuation ratio logit model, Social context, Muslim

Abstract

This study investigates how hate crimes in general and anti-Arab hate crimes in particular were distributed across different regions of the United States during the 2001- 2002 period. The study explores how a historical event – the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on September 11, 2001 – and county population demographics affect the rates of hate crime against Arabs, Muslims or Middle Easterners. It was hypothesized that antiArab or anti-Muslim hate crimes displaced other forms of hate crime and were characterized by open acts of violence. According to the contact hypothesis, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes would be more likely to occur in counties with relatively high levels of poverty and economic inequality. The research materials were obtained from publicly available data. The hate crime data were obtained from the national hate crime incidents reported to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program. The population demographics were obtained from the U.S. Census 2000. The primary research methods employed in this study include descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, full and partial correlations, independent sample t-tests and continuation ratio logit models. The study indicates that hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent increased dramatically after September 11, 2001. The findings further reveal that anti-Arab hate crimes are more likely to occur in counties with relatively high racial diversity than in counties with low racial diversity. The study shows that anti-Arab hate crimes do not follow the same patterns as anti-Black hate crimes and thus cannot be explained by the “defended neighborhood hypothesis.” AntiArab hate crimes, instead, are best explained as a response to larger cultural and political threats available in mainstream society

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