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The Burning Qur'an and the Benign Bible : Representation of Scripture(s) in the Swedish Media Debate on the Qur'an Burnings

Jensdotter, Linnea LU orcid and Liljefors, Hanna LU orcid (2025) In Postscripts 15(2). p.151-177
Abstract
In this article, we examine the way the (Christian) Bible and the Qur’an are represented in Swedish press in the wake of the Qur’an burnings that took place in Sweden 2020–23. Through critical discourse analysis we investigate debate articles and identify prominent discourses that stress the Bible as benign and the Qur’an as malign for Swedish society. The Bible is framed as harmonizing with Swedish values, including freedom of speech, while the Qur’an is framed as non-compatible with a modern, secular society. The result is then related to biblical reception studies on various notions of Bibles in the public sphere and the theory of the politicization of religion as applied in sociology of religion. Ultimately, we argue that an increasing... (More)
In this article, we examine the way the (Christian) Bible and the Qur’an are represented in Swedish press in the wake of the Qur’an burnings that took place in Sweden 2020–23. Through critical discourse analysis we investigate debate articles and identify prominent discourses that stress the Bible as benign and the Qur’an as malign for Swedish society. The Bible is framed as harmonizing with Swedish values, including freedom of speech, while the Qur’an is framed as non-compatible with a modern, secular society. The result is then related to biblical reception studies on various notions of Bibles in the public sphere and the theory of the politicization of religion as applied in sociology of religion. Ultimately, we argue that an increasing politicization of the Bible risks reinforcing problematic notions of the religious Other, through framing sacred scriptures as contrasting symbols for groups of people, even in the world’s most secularized country. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biblical reception, Qur’an burnings, politicization of religion, critical discourse analysis
in
Postscripts
volume
15
issue
2
pages
27 pages
publisher
Equinox Publishing
ISSN
1743-8888
DOI
10.1558/post.32955
project
Scripture and Secularism: Mapping the Impact of the Bible on Conceptualizations of Europe
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6fb9398c-890f-4e30-a5dc-8d1b1a75d7dc
date added to LUP
2025-03-05 17:33:35
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:31:44
@article{6fb9398c-890f-4e30-a5dc-8d1b1a75d7dc,
  abstract     = {{In this article, we examine the way the (Christian) Bible and the Qur’an are represented in Swedish press in the wake of the Qur’an burnings that took place in Sweden 2020–23. Through critical discourse analysis we investigate debate articles and identify prominent discourses that stress the Bible as benign and the Qur’an as malign for Swedish society. The Bible is framed as harmonizing with Swedish values, including freedom of speech, while the Qur’an is framed as non-compatible with a modern, secular society. The result is then related to biblical reception studies on various notions of Bibles in the public sphere and the theory of the politicization of religion as applied in sociology of religion. Ultimately, we argue that an increasing politicization of the Bible risks reinforcing problematic notions of the religious Other, through framing sacred scriptures as contrasting symbols for groups of people, even in the world’s most secularized country.}},
  author       = {{Jensdotter, Linnea and Liljefors, Hanna}},
  issn         = {{1743-8888}},
  keywords     = {{biblical reception; Qur’an burnings; politicization of religion; critical discourse analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{151--177}},
  publisher    = {{Equinox Publishing}},
  series       = {{Postscripts}},
  title        = {{The Burning Qur'an and the Benign Bible : Representation of Scripture(s) in the Swedish Media Debate on the Qur'an Burnings}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/post.32955}},
  doi          = {{10.1558/post.32955}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}