Exploring Media and Criminal Justice Responses to Faith-Based Extremist Offending

• In Event: Applying Conventional Criminological Findings to Extremist Populations: A Series of Studies by Incarcerated Researchers

Abstract

Following the events of 9/11, social, institutional, and political rhetoric sought to villainize Muslim faith-based individuals and groups. Now, a generation later, public narratives have shifted, focusing on issues more immediately relevant to the Western world today. Although anti-Muslim narratives are less central now, it is unclear whether the underlying sentiment remains and, if it does, how that affects social and institutional responses to the faithful. This study seeks to examine whether Islamophobia persists by assessing responses to a highly visible sample of participants: individuals convicted of extremism in Canada and the United States. Using content analysis of media reports and judicial proceedings, this study examines 24 matched individuals who differ only in respect to their specific religious orientation. Results indicate that social and criminal justice narratives remain punitive towards Muslim extremists, suggesting that Islamophobia retains an implicit presence in the Western world.

Authors

• Anthony Trammel, University of Idaho

• Grace Smith, University of Idaho

• Omi Hodwitz, University of Idaho