Racial Profiling: Its Use in War Against Terrorism - Essay Sample

Introduction

Racial and ethnic profiling techniques have, in the recent past, been extensively used in the war against terrorism in the USA, Canada, and other European nations. Racial and ethnic profiling involves the use of an individual's race and ethnicity as a proxy for risk by law enforcement agencies (Harris, 2017). The arguments around racial profiling involve questions such as whether an individual's race can be used as a source of knowledge and as a determinant of the individual's connection to terrorist activities (Harris, 2017). Whether racial and ethnic profiling techniques should be used in the war against terrorism has been a subject of debate among many scholars. While some argue that the techniques should not be used because they undermine the overall national security of a country in addition to increasing the vulnerability of the races being profiled, others argue that the techniques are helpful in boosting national security, which is paramount.

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While racial and ethnic profiling was common in the USA, for instance, even before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, the profiling was heightened after the attack. Prior to the attack, racial and ethnic profiling was mainly towards the black people and other minority groups in the USA and often involved issues such as illegal immigration, drugs, and violence (Selod, 2015). However, after the September 11 attack, racial profiling drastically shifted its direction and was mainly directed to the Muslims and Arabs since the terrorists were said to be Muslims or Arabs (Selod, 2015). After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, racial profiling on the Arabs and Muslims was not only evident in the USA but also became more rampant in other countries such as Canada (Selod, 2015).

To those who support the use of racial and ethnic profiling techniques in the fight against terrorism, their argument is that the techniques help to boost national security and consequently help to protect and safeguard citizens against any terrorist attacks (Maira, 2016). They argue that racial profiling, especially in the airports for all Arab-looking and all suspected Muslim individuals such as women wearing 'Hijabs' is justified and that such individuals should be subjected to a thorough process of questioning and scrutiny to ascertain whether they are connected to any terrorist group or have any connection with terrorism (Maira, 2016). It has been argued that race is one of the major permissible factors when connecting individuals to terrorism (Maira, 2016). Scholars who support the use of racial profiling techniques in the fight against terrorism argue that often, terrorists are from a particular race, from a particular region, and are, in most cases, young males (Maira, 2016). Therefore, any individuals who meet the criteria of being from the suspected race, and from the suspected region and who happens to be young male should not be exempted from the intensive and extensive questioning at the airports, regardless of whether the individuals are citizens of that country or not.

It has also been argued that before the September 11 attack, the USA was sensitive to issues relating to racial profiling of the Muslims and Arabs, which created an avenue for the September 11 attackers to exploit and use it to their advantage (Semaan, 2014). It has been reported that two of the attackers had been flagged at the airport for having booked their flights with a credit card but preferred to pay the flight using cash (Semaan, 2014). While the airport officers had a suspicion about the activities and the plans of the two individuals, their actions were limited by the sensitivity against racial profiling on Muslims and Arabs at the time. Although the terrorists' luggage was taken through the normal checking processes at the airport, they have not searched individuality and were not questioned regarding their suspicious behavior. The supporters of racial profiling on Muslims and Arabs then argue that if the USA had not been as sensitive as they were on Muslim/Arab racial profiling, then the September 11 terrorist acts could not have occurred. The two terrorists fitted the description of being Muslims/Arabs, young and male, and they were traveling from regions known for terrorist recruitment and with that description, the young men could have been questioned and scrutinized, which could have helped to neutralize them in time, and the damage could not have occurred (Maira, 2016). In this sense, some scholars have argued that racial profiling techniques, especially in airports, can significantly help to reduce terrorism.

To those who argue against the use of racial and ethnic profiling techniques in the fight against terrorism, their main argument is that racial profiling is an infringement of the fundamental rights of individuals (Maira, 2016). The questioning and scrutiny of Arab/Muslim travelers at the airports is against their rights. Questions such as when individuals became Muslim or converted to Islam are personal questions that an individual is supposed to disclose at their own volition and not coercion. Because all citizens are the same and are all protected by the law equally, those who oppose the use of the techniques argue that all citizens, regardless of their race or ethnic group should be subjected to the same procedures and there should not be separate guidelines on how a particular race should be treated (Maira, 2016).

Another argument against the use of racial profiling in the fight against terrorism is that it increases the amount of hate and hate crimes directed towards the profiled race. Since the September 11, 2001 attack, the number of hate crimes directed towards Muslims in the USA increased by 500% in the period between 2000 and 2009 (Hanes & Machin, 2014). Often, Muslims are discriminated in workplaces and denied job opportunities, simply because they have been profiled as terrorists and are therefore a risk to other employees in the company and to the country in general. It has been argued that rather than increasing national security, the racial profiling techniques undermine the same national security it claims to fulfill (Mason & Matella, 2014). As a result of the racial profiling of the Muslims and Arabs, there has been an increase in the number of anti-Semitism cases against the Muslims that have been reported. In 2018, for instance, the Pittsburgh shooting in a Synagogue by Robert Bowers was primarily due to the racial profiling of Muslims as terrorists and as a threat to national security (Vogel-Scibilia, 2020). Bowers believed that the Jews were working together with the 'evil' Muslims, and therefore, they too deserved to be punished. Such an attack indeed undermined the national security of the USA as a country (Vogel-Scibilia, 2020).

Additionally, use of racial profiling in the fight against terrorism has also been associated with a rise in international terrorism attacks, where terrorists claim that their attacks are a means to find justice for their sisters and brothers who are being profiled and oppressed in countries such as the USA (Hanes & Machin, 2014). Therefore, scholars have pointed out that rather than reducing the risk of terrorism in a country, the racial profiling of Muslims increases the risk, both domestically and internationally. Racial profiling is likely to be used as a basis for the recruitment of terrorists who would then commit terror attacks in not only the countries that perpetrate the profiling but also in countries which are seen to be sympathizers of the profiling countries (Hanes & Machin, 2014).

In my opinion, racial and ethnic profiling techniques should not be used in the war against terrorism. Racial profiling techniques should not be used because such techniques are a risk to national security, denies individuals their fundamental rights and freedoms, and disrupts the peace and harmony of a country. Isolating and questioning the Arabs and individuals who only looks like Muslims is not an effective technique in the fight against terrorism because even though Arabs and Muslims are often associated with terrorism, terrorist are not always Arabs and Muslims. Profiling someone primarily because of their race is an insufficient strategy that could easily be used by the terrorists to their advantage. To counter the profiling at the airports, the terrorist can recruit a white young man who is vulnerable to radicalization and use him to perform the terrorist activities. Therefore, it is not sufficient to the only question and scrutinize individuals who are Arabs and Muslims, instead, every passenger regardless of their race, ethnicity and religion should be subjected to equal questioning and scrutiny to ensure that no terrorist, whether white, black or Arab or any other race is able to accomplish their mission.

Moreover, I oppose the use of racial profiling techniques in fighting against terrorism because it denies profiled citizens, such as the Arabs and Muslims, an opportunity to live normal lives. Often the innocent profiled citizens live in fear for their lives in their community since should any terrorist attack happen, they would be the first suspects and are likely to be wrongly convicted. Additionally, people from the profiled race often miss out on job opportunities, which they might be qualified simply because of their race. The continued use of racial profiling techniques in fighting terrorism is detrimental and infringes peoples' rights and should, therefore, not be used.

References

Hanes, E., & Machin, S. (2014). Hate crime in the wake of terror attacks: Evidence from 7/7 and 9/11. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 30(3), 247-267. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1043986214536665

Harris, D. A. (2017). Racial profiling. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3086232

Maira, S. (2016). "Racial Profiling" in the War on Terror Cultural Citizenship and South Asian Muslim Youth in the United States. Contemporary Asian America: A Multidisciplinary Reader, 444. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sQHMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA444&dq=racial+profiling+and+terrorism&ots=_FvtX3OzRz&sig=6GQQpR2FMgfL5WzwsuJ0M-oBco8

Mason, P. L., & Matella, A. (2014). Stigmatization and racial selection after September 11, 2001: self-identity among Arab and Islamic Americans. IZA Journal of Migration, 3(1), 20. https://www.biomedcentral.com/openurl?doi=10.1186/s40176-014-0020-9

Selod, S. (2015). Citizenship denied: The racialization of Muslim American men and women post-9/11. Critical Sociology, 41(1), 77-95. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0896920513516022

Semaan, G. (2014). Arab Americans: Stereotypes, Conflict, History, Cultural Identity, and Post 9/11. Intercultural Communication Studies, 23(2). https://web.uri.edu/iaics/files/Gaby-Semaan.pdf

Vogel-Scibilia, S. (2020). Community Resilience and the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting. In Anti-Semitism and Psychiatry (pp. 223-241). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-37745-8_18