ABSTRACT
On Monday, 17 January 2005, a woman stops her car at a pedestrian crossing in Amsterdam. 1 A young man takes this opportunity to steal the woman's handbag and escapes on the back of a friend's scooter. The woman responds by immediately reversing and starts a chase. She hits the scooter, and the purse snatcher is killed. In the debate in the days that follow, the background of the Moroccan purse snatcher plays a decisive role. For many Moroccan Dutch people, his death is proof that Moroccans run the risk of getting killed solely for stealing a handbag. Feelings of anger and the idea that Moroccans, as second-class citizens, are discriminated against and criminalized come to the surface. Many native Dutch have a different interpretation: the thief has himself to blame for his death, and the whole event is evidence of widespread Moroccan crime, the growing Islamic threat, and the failure of Dutch integration policy.
