Criminal Confrontation of Hate Crimes via the Metaverse A Study in Light of the Yazidi Genocide
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35246/1yhtj168Keywords:
Digital Hate Crimes, Metaverse, International Criminal Liability, Yazidi GenocidAbstract
This research examines the criminal confrontation of hate crimes committed through the Metaverse, a vast electronic sphere that enables incitement to hatred and the ideological justifications of terrorism aimed at excluding religiously and ethnically different groups from social participation. The significance of the study lies in addressing a novel issue and highlighting a new pattern of organized crime in the post-globalization era, by linking technological developments to criminal liability and exploring mechanisms of national and international response.
The research problem centers on whether existing criminal laws are capable of addressing hate crimes within the Metaverse, and what lessons may be drawn from the Yazidi genocide perpetrated by the terrorist organization ISIS, which relied on ideological indoctrination through cultural and media tools, exploiting cyberspace to promote the exclusion of “the other” from the social sphere.
To address this problem, the study adopts a descriptive-analytical and comparative methodology, analyzing provisions of national criminal law and relevant international conventions, while comparing them with the realities of the Yazidi genocide, which demonstrates how hate speech can escalate into genocide.
The study concludes that current legislative frameworks are insufficient to combat hate crimes in emerging virtual spaces. It therefore calls for a specific legal framework for the Metaverse, strengthened mechanisms of international cooperation, and precise digital evidentiary rules. Moreover, the Yazidi genocide provides a critical reference for understanding the dangers of digital hatred and the necessity of addressing it within the Metaverse itself before it evolves into virtual genocide.
Downloads
References
- The Holy Qur’an
First: Arabic Sources
A– Books
I. Al-Bukhari, A. A. M. I. (1993). Sahih al-Bukhari (M. D. al-Bugha, Ed.; Vol. 1, 5th ed.). Damascus: Dar Ibn Kathir; Dar al-Yamama.
II. Hassani, M. N. (2012). Explanation of the Penal Code – General Part (7th ed.). Cairo: Arab Renaissance House.
III. Al-Haydari, J. I. (2016). The legal treatment of hate crimes. Beirut: Al-Sanhouri Library.
IV. Giddens, A. (2005). Sociology (F. Al-Sabbagh, Trans.; 1st ed.). Beirut: Arab Organization for Translation.
V. Fadlallah, S. M. H. (1993). From the inspiration of the Qur’an – Exegesis (Vol. 8, 3rd ed.). Beirut: Al-Malak Publishing House.
VI. Al-Madā’inī, I. A. al-H. (1967). Sharh Nahj al-Balāgha (Vol. 17, 2nd ed.). Holy Qom: Library of Grand Ayatollah Al-Mar’ashi al-Najafi.
VII. Al-Minyawi, M. (2010). Discrimination and incitement to violence in international conventions. Cairo: Arab Renaissance House.
VIII. Lambert, W. W., & Lambert, W. E. (1993). Social psychology (S. Al-Mulla, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Cairo: Dar Al-Shorouk.
B– Peer-Reviewed Studies and Research Articles
I. Al-Husseini, H. M. (2023). Metaversal criminality. Journal of Legal and Political Sciences, College of Law and Political Science, University of Diyala, 12(2).
II. Al-Sayah, S. (2012, March 13–14). Virtual crimes. Paper presented at the 5th International Scientific Forum on the Virtual Economy and Its Impacts on International Economies, University Center of Khemis Miliana, Algeria.
III. Mohammed, I. K., & Hameed, S. N. (2018). The crime of inciting hatred between the problematic of interpreting Qur’anic texts and the effectiveness of legislation. Journal of Legal Sciences, University of Baghdad, (2).
IV. Al-Mulla, M. S. (2023). Metaverse technology – New challenges in criminal law – An analytical descriptive study. Journal of Kuwait International Law School, (14).
V. Mahdi, E. M. (2021). Cyber jihad – A study of ISIS and the U.S. strategy to counter it. Journal of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, University of Cairo, 22(2).
VI. Hashem, S. (2005). Exclusion and the problem of social cohesion. In Proceedings of the 4th Conference of the International Council on Social Work – Middle East & North Africa Region (pp. xx–xx). Cairo: Association for Studies and Research for Development.
C– Theses and Dissertations
I. Ibrahim, R. K. (2019). The vile motive in the penal code – An analytical study (Master’s thesis). College of Law, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
II. Abdul-Faraj, W. B. (2015). Hate crimes – A comparative study in national and international laws (Master’s thesis). College of Law, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
III. Abdullah, M. M. (1975). Motive in Iraqi law – A comparative study (Master’s thesis). College of Law, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
IV. Nasser Al-Rahamneh. (2018). Hate speech on Facebook in Jordan – A survey study (Master’s thesis). Middle East University, Department of Media, Jordan.
V. Al-Baydani, F. M. H. (2009). Collective violence and its relation to prejudice and social facilitation (Doctoral dissertation). Iraqi Center for Information and Studies, Baghdad, Iraq.
D– Arabic Online Articles
I. Buratha News. (2025). Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani: The Yazidis are a trust in our care. https://burathanews.com/arabic/news/247260
1. Al-Izidi, I. (2019, August 25). Childbearing, conversion of religion, and fear hinder the return of hundreds of Yazidi kidnapped women from Al-Hol Camp. KirkukNow. https://kirkuknow.com/ar/news/60003
E– Iraqi Judicial Decisions
I. Central Criminal Court in Al-Rusafa, Second Panel. (2016, September 29). Decision No. 1750/J2/2016. Iraq.
F– International Conventions
I. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. (1948).
II. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. (1965).
III. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (1966).
G– Laws and Legislation
I. Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005.
II. Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 (Amended).
III. Law No. 2 of 2025 – Second Amendment to the General Amnesty Law No. 27 of 2016.
IV. Yazidi Survivors Law No. 8 of 2021.
Second: Foreign Sources
A– Peer-Reviewed Foreign Studies
I. Davis, T. E. (2009). How the Rome Statute weakens the international prohibition on incitement to genocide. Harvard Human Rights Journal, 22.
II. Navarro, J. I., Marchena, E., & Menacho, I. (2013). The psychology of hatred. The Open Criminology Journal, 6(1).
III. Wibke, K., & Temmermaun, K. (2006). Incitement in international criminal law. International Review of the Red Cross, 88(864).
IV. Mystakidis, S. (2022). Metaverse. Encyclopedia, 2(1). MDPI.
B– Foreign Theses
I. Karadima, S. (2016). New trends in terrorism: The use of social media, cyber-terrorism, the role of open-source intelligence, and the cases of right-wing extremism and lone-wolf terrorism (Master’s thesis). University of Piraeus, Greece.
C– Foreign Online Articles
I. Pomerleau, M. (2017, August 15). How ISIS harnesses commercial tech to run its global terrorist network. C4ISRNET. https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/dodiis/2017/08/15/how-isis-harnesses-commercial-tech-to-run-its-global-terrorist-network.
D– Judicial Decisions
I. Tribunal judiciaire de Paris. (2023). Decision No. 22/01293. France.
Downloads
Published
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright and Licensing:
For all articles published in Journal of Legal Sciences, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work.
Reproducing Published Material from other Publishers: It is absolutely essential that authors obtain permission to reproduce any published material (figures, schemes, tables or any extract of a text) which does not fall into the public domain, or for which they do not hold the copyright. Permission should be requested by the authors from the copyrightholder (usually the Publisher, please refer to the imprint of the individual publications to identify the copyrightholder).
Permission is required for: Your own works published by other Publishers and for which you did not retain copyright.
Substantial extracts from anyones' works or a series of works.
Use of Tables, Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks if they are unaltered or slightly modified.
Photographs for which you do not hold copyright.
Permission is not required for: Reconstruction of your own table with data already published elsewhere. Please notice that in this case you must cite the source of the data in the form of either "Data from..." or "Adapted from...".
Reasonably short quotes are considered fair use and therefore do not require permission.
Graphs, Charts, Schemes and Artworks that are completely redrawn by the authors and significantly changed beyond recognition do not require permission.
Obtaining Permission
In order to avoid unnecessary delays in the publication process, you should start obtaining permissions as early as possible. If in any doubt about the copyright, apply for permission. Journal of Legal Sciences cannot publish material from other publications without permission.
The copyright holder may give you instructions on the form of acknowledgement to be followed; otherwise follow the style: "Reproduced with permission from [author], [book/journal title]; published by [publisher], [year].' at the end of the caption of the Table, Figure or Scheme.
