Defining hate

Baghdadi, A

Abstract

This study explores how a sample of British Muslims in contemporary society
experience and define “hate” and “hate crime”. The research was conducted in
Northwest England utilising a qualitative phenomenological methodological
approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted within two community
centres, where British Muslims volunteered as participants for the study. The
participants were encouraged to freely articulate their experiences and to address
the main objective of the research – to define hate.
The findings showed that there was a distinct gap between formal or legal definitions
of “hate” and the everyday notion of how hate was conceived and experienced by
the sample population of Muslims in this study. As British Muslims, the participants
also raised the growing concern of Islamophobia and the impact it had on their lives,
with some defining hate and hate crime through this phenomenon.
This study adds to the growing literature on hate crime and primarily addresses the
lived experiences of British Muslims in contemporary society. It is hoped that this
study will provide a future framework for those studying and working within the area
of hate related crime by addressing the importance of victimology and lived
experiences when dealing with the complex issue of hate.

Citation

Baghdadi, A. Defining hate. (Dissertation). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Dissertation
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 17, 2014