Journal article
TERRORISM, PANIC, AND PEDOPHILIA
Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, Vol.10, pp.345-410
01 Apr 2003
Abstract
When Southern Baptist leader Reverend Jerry Vines recently declared that Mohammed was a "demon-possessed pedophile," and that Allah leads Muslims to terrorism, his comments received national attention. 1 Yet many people, particularly outside the South, may have dismissed the speech as reactionary nonsense 2 from the group that, four years earlier, pronounced that a wife "should submit herself graciously" to her husband's leadership. 3 This article argues that Vines' speech drew links between Islam, terrorism, and pedophilia in ways far more significant than dismissive readers might have anticipated. While Vines' statement was among the most explicit efforts tying Islam and terrorism to pedophilia, close scrutiny of rhetoric following September 11th suggests that this link is becoming increasingly common and natural. Why should this seemingly tenuous metaphor be consequential to legal scholars? Because this rhetorical connection may help create the social conditions necessary to support for radical detention policies that currently seem implausible. In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, many commentators feared a frontal assault on civil liberties. Muslims and Arabs were targeted for surveillance and detention. The Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated closed deportation hearings and the Department of Justice imposed new policies significantly impairing attorney-client confidentiality. To be sure, the United States government did not completely obliterate civil liberties. 4 After early criticism, the President modified plans for short-cut military tribunals, the Department of Justice claimed its attorney monitoring policy applied to a small number of inmates, and federal courts slowly pushed back ...
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Details
- Title
- TERRORISM, PANIC, AND PEDOPHILIA
- Creators
- Daniel M. Filler
- Publication Details
- Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, Vol.10, pp.345-410
- Publisher
- Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Thomas R. Kline School of Law
- Identifiers
- 991020542464004721