The Impact of September 11, 2001 on Anti-Islamic Hate Crimes in the U.S.

Abstract

The Hate Crime Statistics Act was originally passed in order to gain a better understanding of hate crimes and the extent of their presence in America. Since 1990, this data has also primarily been used to identify trends in hate crimes. The current study examines the data in order to better understand the impact of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the U.S. on anti-Islamic hate crimes. Initial studies examining anti-Islamic hate crimes only look at the immediate impact of 9/11, with most of the focus on 2000-2001. The present study expands on previous research by using a larger time frame than past studies (from 1996-2010). In order to determine if there was an association between the 9/11 attacks and hate crime incidents in general or if there was an isolated association between the attacks and anti-Islamic hate crimes exclusively, annual and monthly hate crime data were examined through independent samples t-tests. Ten hate crime categories showed an increase in the monthly analysis. In comparison to all of the hate crime categories listed in the UCR, anti-Islamic hate crimes had the second largest monthly mean difference from pre-2001 to post-2001, after anti-homosexual (both), but also had the second largest percentage increase from pre-2001 to post-2001, after anti-mental disability. Examination of monthly trends also suggests that trends in anti-Islamic hate crimes were uniquely affected by 9/11. Based on these findings, ideas for future research are explored.