The Legal Framework of Hate Crimes in Iraqi Legislation (A Comparative Study).

Crime is considered one of the phenomena deeply rooted in antiquity, existing alongside humanity. Regardless of its type, severity, or danger, it is necessary to acknowledge that (every crime must have a motive), and there must be a driving force that compels the perpetrator to commit it. A motive is defined as the internal force that moves behavior and directs it towards a certain goal. Some specialists define it as a latent or hidden physiological and psychological energy, or an internal predisposition that causes a state of tension, which stimulates behavior and directs it towards achieving specific objectives. Although the concept of motive and related ideas are considered topics within the field of psychology; However, it has proven its importance and its connection to criminal law. Motivation is the driver of behavior, and a crime is merely behavior, albeit criminal behavior punishable by a penal sanction. Nevertheless, most criminal legislations have not recognized motivation as an element of the crime or as a component of it. Instead, within very narrow limits, or in mitigation, they have limited its role to affecting the severity of the penalty. Scholars of criminal law have paid attention to the classification of crimes, relying on several criteria in this classification, such as categorizing crimes based on their severity and degree of danger, or based on their material element and the resulting divisions according to the nature of the act and its outcome, but few have classified them based on their mental element or according to their nature.