The Image of Islam and Muslims in Swedish Radical Christian Press
In: Journal of Religion in EuropeSearch for other papers by Kristian Steiner in
Current site
Google Scholar
This is a case study on the construction of Islam and Muslims in sixty editorials 2006 in a Swedish Evangelical newspaper, Världen idag (“The World Today”). The paper was founded in 2001 and is officially independent and non-denominational. In reality, it is financially and ideologically dependent on the radical faith movement. Its circulation is about 8,500.
The main theme in the selected editorials is “Muslim threat,” in some cases combined with “Western retreat” and “Islam’s incompatibility with democracy.” Islam and Muslims are consistently described as causing these problems. However, terms denoting Muslims are rarely derogatory, instead Muslims are depicted in terms of broad denotation, like “Muslims” or “the Muslim world.” These labels are often combined with a stark derogatory complement. Aggressive acts like “demanding” and “murdering” or “mass-murdering” are the most common ones associated with Muslims. Good Muslim behavior is constantly disregarded; bad behavior reflects true character. Muslims are depicted as one homogeneous stereotypical and static group.
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Abrahamian Ervand, “The US Media, Huntington and September 11,”Third World Quarterly, 3/24 (2003).
-
Agnarsson Ruben et al.., “Mångfald i kristen pressinnebär ökad styrka,” Dagen (2004-02-18).
-
Azar Michael, Den koloniala bumerangen. Från schibbolet till körkort i svenskhet (Eslöv: Brutus Östlings bokförlag Symposium, 2006).
-
Bat Ye’Or (Gisélle Littman), Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005).
-
Bawer Bruce, While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West from Within (New York: Broadway Books, 2006).
-
Beeman William O., The “Great Satan” vs. the “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize (Chicago: Chicago UP, 2005).
-
Blanton, Shannon Lindsey, “Images in Conflict: The Case of Ronald Reagan and El Salvador,”International Studies Quarterly, 40/1 (1996).
-
Boréus Kristina, “Den försynta diskursiva vändningen i svensk statsvetenskap,” Kontraster och nyanser, Magnus Jerneck, & Jonas Badersten (eds.) (Lund: Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift, 2010).
-
Brasted Howard, “ The Politics of Stereotyping, Western Images of Islam,” Manushi, 98 (1997), 6–16.
-
Cahoone, Lawrence, From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology (Cambridge Mass.: Blackwell, 1996).
-
Cottam Martha L., “The Carter Administration’s Policy toward Nicaragua: Images, Goals, and Tactics,”Political Science Quarterly, 107/1 (1992), 123–146.
-
Devetak Richard, , “Critical Theory,”Theories of International Relations, Burchill Scott et al.. (eds.)(Basingtonstoke: Palgrave, 2001).
-
van Dijk Teun A., “Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis,”Japanese Discourse, I (1995), 17–27.
-
—— “Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis,”Discourse and Society, 4/2 (1993), 249–283.
-
—— “Critical Discourse Studies: A Sociocognitive Approach,”Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, Wodak Ruth, Meyer Michael (eds.) (London: Sage, 2009).
-
Ejvegård Rolf, Argumentationsanalys (Lund: Studentlitteratur, 2005).
-
Entman Robert M., “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm,”Journal of Communication, 43/4 (1993), 52–58.
-
Fairclough Norman, “Critical Discourse Analysis and the Marketization of Public Discourse: The Universities,”Discourse and Society, 4/2 (1993), 133–68.
-
Fekete Liz, “The Muslim Conspiracy Theory and the Oslo Massacre,”Race and Class, 53/3 (2011).
-
Festinger Leon, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1957).
-
Fredrickson George M., Rasism: En historisk översikt (Lund: Historiska media, 2003).
-
Globalisering Forskarvolym IX (SOU 1999:83), Globalisering: Demokratiutredningens forskarvolym (Stockholm: Fritzes, 1999).
-
Huntington Samuel P., The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996).
-
Israeli Raphael, The Islamic Challenge in Europe (New Brunswick: Transaction Publisher, 2008).
-
—— “The Spread of Islamikaze Terrorism in Europe: The Third Islamic Invasion (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2008).
-
Jespersen Karen, Pittelkow Ralf, Islams Magt: Europas ny virkelighed (Copenhagen: Jyllands-Postens Forlag, 2010).
-
Karim Karim H., , “American Medias’s Coverage of Muslims: the Historical Roots of Contemporary Portrayals,” Muslim and the News Media, Poole Elizabeth, Richardson John E. (eds.) (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
-
Lebow Richard Ned, Between Peace and War: The Nature of International Crisis (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981).
-
Lindsey Hal, The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad (Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002).
-
Manning Peter, , “Australians Imagining Islam,”Muslim and the News Media, Poole Elizabeth, Richardson John E. (eds.) (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
-
Massad Joseph A., Desiring Arabs (Chicago: Chicago UP, 2007).
-
Midlarsky Manus I., “Democracy and Islam: Implications for Civilizational Conflict and the Democratic Peace,”International Studies Quarterly, 3/42 (1998).
-
Mudde Cas, “The Single-Issue Party Thesis: Extreme Right Parties and the Immigration Issue,”West European Politics, 3/22 (1999).
-
Ng, Sik Hung, “Language and Power,”Encyclopedia of Power, Dowding Keith (ed.) (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2011). SAGE Reference Online. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
-
Ottosen Rune, “Enemy Images and the Journalistic Process,”Journal of Peace Research, 32/1 (1995), 97–112.
-
Peterson Mark Allen, “Making Global News: ‘Freedom of Speech’ and ‘Muslim Rage’ in U.S. Journalism,”Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life, 1/3 (2007), 247–264.
-
Phillips Melanie, Londonistan (London: Gibson Square, 2006).
-
Poole Elizabeth, , “The Effects of September 11 and the War in Iraq on British Newspaper Coverage,”Muslim and the News Media, Poole Elizabeth, Richardson John E. (eds.) (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
-
Poole Elizabeth, Richardson John E., , “Introduction,”Muslims and the News Media, Poole Elizabeth, Richardson John E. (eds.) (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
-
Said Edward W., Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World (London: Vintage, 1997).
-
—— Orientalism (London: Penguin Books, 1978).
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Shaheen Jack G., “Media Coverage of the Middle East: Perception and Foreign Policy,”American Academy of Political and Social Science, 482 (No. 1985), 160–175.
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Spencer Robert, Religion of Peace: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t (Washington DC: Regnery Publishing Inc, 2007).
-
Steiner Kristian, “Vem är min nästa” Bilden av islam och muslimer i den kristna tidningen Världen idag (Uppsala: Swedish Science Press, 2010).
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Steyn Mark, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It (Washington DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc, 2006).
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Sverige. Utredningen om makt, integration och strukturell diskriminering (SOU 2006:21), Mediernas vi och dom: mediernas betydelse för den strukturella diskrimineringen: rapport (Stockholm: Fritzes: 2006).
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Vertzberger, Yaacov Y.I., The World in their Minds, Information Processing, Cognition, and Perception in Foreign Policy Decisionmaking (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1990).
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Wetherell Margaret, Potter Jonathan, Mapping the Language of Racism, Discourse, and the Legitimation of Exploitation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992).
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Jørgensen Winter, Marianne & Louise Phillips, Diskursanalyse som teori og metode (Roskilde: Roskilde Universitetsforlag, 1999).
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Zur Ofer, “The Love of Hating, The Psychology of Enmity,”History of European Ideas, 13/4 (1991), 345–369.
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Agnarsson, Ruben, “Övningen i Boden,” Världen idag, (2006-01-18).
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—— “Hatet mitt ibland oss,” Världen idag, (2006-01-27).
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—— “Meningslöst stöd till terrorister,” Världen idag, (2006-05-05).
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Björk, Hans-Göran, “Dödshoten islams rätta ansikte?,” Världen idag, (2006-01-13).
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—— “Ursäkten blev kapitulation,” Världen idag, (2006-02-03).
-
—— “Hamas fick legitimitet i Sverige,” Världen idag, (2006-05-08).
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—— “Falsk rapportering är förödande,” Världen idag, (2006-08-09).
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—— “Sluta flirta med terrorister,” Världen idag, (2006-08-11).
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Stenström, Carin, “Utan Sharon vid rodret,” Världen idag, (2006-01-09).
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—— “Nu krävs samordnat försvar,” Världen idag, (2006-02-06).
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—— “När antisemitismen blir intellektuell,” Världen idag, (2006-08-14a).
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Tunehag, Mats, “Islam hotar Danmark: Persson tiger,” Världen idag, (2006-01-02).
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—— “Heja Norge,” Världen idag, (2006-01-25).
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—— “Val inte lika med demokrati,” Världen idag, (2006-01-30).
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—— “Islamsk intolerans når nya höjder,” Världen idag, (2006-02-01).
-
—— “Ska alla tvingas följa islam?,” Världen idag, (2006-02-13).
-
—— “Yttrandefrihet och ömma tår,” Världen idag, (2006-02-15).
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—— “Kan islam moderniseras?,” Världen idag, (2006-02-27).
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—— “Islamska republiken Sverige,” Världen idag, (2006-03-08).
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—— “Skamfläckar och hot,” Världen idag, (2006-03-10).
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—— “Svenska lagar och kulturell mångfald,” Världen idag, (2006-03-17).
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—— “Islams fyrkantiga cirklar,” Världen idag, (2006-03-31).
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—— “Kvinna rör om i saudisk gryta,” Världen idag, (2006-04-26).
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—— “Oljan bekostar folkmord och terrorism,” Världen idag, (2006-05-03).
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—— “Arabisk imperialism och Islamism,” Världen idag, (2006-05-10).
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—— “Vart går Turkiet?,” Världen idag, (2006-05-29).
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—— “Sekularister banar väg för jihadister,” Världen idag, (2006-06-07).
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—— “Mecka-kyrka och Malmö-moské,” Världen idag, (2006-06-14).
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—— “Kristna lever farligt,” Världen idag, (2006-07-12).
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—— “Mecka-kyrka och Malmö-moské,” Världen idag, (2006-07-14).
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—— “Sopspioner mot terrorister?,” Världen idag, (2006-08-14b).
-
—— “Folkpartister talar klarspråk,” Världen idag, (2006-09-06).
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—— “Påven och islam,” Världen idag, (2006-09-18).
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—— “Islams benägenhet till våld,” Världen idag, (2006-09-25).
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—— “Lika goda kålsupare,” Världen idag, (2006-11-08).
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—— “Kommer Iran att kollapsa?,” Världen idag, (2006-11-27).
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—— “Demokratin går framåt och bakåt,” Världen idag, (2006-12-13).
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1)
Kristina Boréus, “Den försynta diskursiva vändningen i svensk statsvetenskap,” Kontraster och nyanser, Magnus Jerneck, & Jonas Badersten (eds.) (Lund: Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift, 2010), 172.
-
2)
Teun A. van Dijk, “Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis,” Japanese Discourse, I (1995), 19.
-
3)
Edward W. Said, Orientalism (London: Penguin Books, 1978), 10.
-
6)
van Dijk, “Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis,” Discourse and Society, 4/2 (1993), 249; van Dijk, “Aims,” 18.
-
10)
Norman Fairclough, “Critical Discourse Analysis and the Marketization of Public Discourse: The Universities,” Discourse and Society, 4/2 (1993), 138; Winter & Jørgensen, Diskursanalyse, 79.
-
16)
Edward W. Said, Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World (London: Vintage, 1997), 7, 150.
-
17)
Jack G. Shaheen, “Media Coverage of the Middle East: Perception and Foreign Policy,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 482 (1985), 162.
-
19)
William O. Beeman, The “Great Satan” vs. the “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other (Chicago: Chicago UP, 2005), 140-8.
-
20)
Joseph A. Massad, Desiring Arabs (Chicago: Chicago UP, 2007), 45.
-
24)
Howard Brasted, “The Politics of Stereotyping: Western Images of Islam,” Manushi, 98 (1997), 7.
-
36)
Peter Manning, “Australians Imagining Islam,” Muslim and the News Media, Elizabeth Poole & John E. Richardson (eds.) (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006), 131.
-
37)
Elizabeth Poole, “The Effects of September 11 and the War in Iraq on British Newspaper Coverage,” Muslim and the News Media, Elizabeth Poole & John E. Richardson (eds.) (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006), 101-2.
-
40)
van Dijk, “Critical Discourse Studies: A Sociocognitive Approach,” Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, Ruth Wodak & Michael Meyer (eds.) (London: Sage, 2009), 63.
-
41)
Ruben Agnarsson, et al., “Mångfald i kristen pressinnebär ökad styrka,” Dagen, 2004-02-18.
-
42)
Robert Entman, “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm,” Journal of Communication, 43/4 (1993), 52.
-
43)
Mats Tunehag, “Islam hotar Danmark: Persson tiger,” Världen idag, 2006-01-02.
-
44)
Hans-Göran Björk, “Dödshoten, islams rätta ansikte?,” Världen idag, 2006-01-13.
-
45)
Carin Stenström, “Nu krävs samordnat försvar,” Världen idag, 2006-02-06.
-
47)
Tunehag, “Islamska republiken Sverige,” Världen idag, 2006-03-08.
-
48)
Tunehag, “Ska alla tvingas följa islam?,” Världen idag, 2006-02-13.
-
49)
Björk, “Ursäkten blev till kapitulation,” Världen idag, 2006-02-03.
-
50)
Tunehag, “Sekularister banar väg för jihadister,” Världen idag, 2006-06-07.
-
53)
Agnarsson, “Meningslöst stöd till terrorister,” Världen idag, 2006-05-05; Björk, “Hamas fick legitimitet i Sverige,” Världen idag, 2006-05-08.
-
54)
Stenström, “När anti-semitismen blir intellektuell,” Världen idag, 2006-08-14a.
-
55)
Björk, “Falsk rapportering är förödande,” Världen idag, 2006-08-09.
-
56)
Tunehag, “Kan islam moderniseras?,” Världen idag, 2006-02-27.
-
57)
Tunehag, “Val inte lika med demokrati,” Världen idag, 2006-01-30.
-
59)
Rune Ottosen, “Enemy Images and the Journalistic Process,” Journal of Peace Research, 32/1 (1995), 100.
-
61)
Rolf Ejvegård, Argumentationsanalys (Lund: Studentlitteratur, 2005), 16.
-
62)
Agnarsson, “Hatet mitt ibland oss,” Världen idag, 2006-01-27.
-
63)
Tunehag, “Yttrandefrihet och ömma tår,” Världen idag, 2006-02-15.
-
67)
Sik Hung Ng, “Language and Power,” Encyclopedia of Power, Keith Dowding (ed.) (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2011), 372-73. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
-
72)
Tunehag, “Folkpartister talar klarspråk,” Världen idag, 2006-09-06.
-
75)
Tunehag, “Islamsk intolerans når nya höjder,” Världen idag, 2006-02-01.
-
76)
Tunehag, “Islams fyrkantiga cirklar,” Världen idag, 2006-03-31.
-
78)
Tunehag, “Sopspioner mot terrorister?,” Världen idag, 2006-08-14b.
-
81)
Tunehag, “Mcka-kyrka och Malmö-moské,” Världen idag, 2006-06-14; Tunehag, “Kristna,” 2006-07-12.
-
82)
Tunehag, “Sekularister,” 2006-06-07; Tunehag, ”Mecka-kyrka,” 2006-06-14b.
-
84)
Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1957), 3-8.
-
85)
Yaacov Y.I. Vertzberger, The World in their Minds: Information Processing, Cognition, and Perception in Foreign Policy Decisionmaking (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1990), 162.
-
86)
Richard Ned Lebow, Between Peace and War: The Nature of International Crisis (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981), 103-4.
-
89)
Lawrence Cahoone, From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology (Cambridge Mass.: Blackwell, 1996), 16; Ofer Zur, “The Love of Hating, The Psychology of Enmity,” History of European Ideas, 13/4 (1991), 357.
-
90)
Martha L. Cottam, “The Carter Administration’s Policy toward Nicaragua: Imagesz, Goals, and Tactics,” Political Science Quarterly, 107/1 (1992), 126.
-
91)
Shannon Lindsey Blanton, “Images in Conflict: The Case of Ronald Reagan and El Salvador,” International Studies Quarterly, 40/1 (1996), 26.
-
94)
Tunehag, “Kvinna rör om i saudisk gryta,” Världen idag, 2006-04-26.
-
98)
Tunehag, “Arabisk imperialism och Islamism,” Världen idag, 2006-05-10.
-
99)
Tunehag, “Oljan bekostar folkmord och terrorism,” Världen idag, 2006-05-03.
-
102)
Tunehag, “Islams benägenhet till våld,” Världen idag, 2006-09-25.
-
108)
George M. Fredrickson, Rasism, En historisk översikt (Lund: Historiska media, 2003), 130; Michael Azar, Den koloniala bumerangen, Från schibbolet till körkort i svenskhet (Eslöv: Brutus Östlings bokförlag Symposium, 2006), 90.
-
113)
Tunehag, “Demokratin går framåt och bakåt,” Världen idag, 2006-12-13.
-
119)
Richard Devetak, “Critical Theory,” Theories of International Relations, Scott Burchill et al. (eds.) (Basingtonstoke: Palgrave, 2001), 159-60.
-
129)
Ervand Abrahamian, “The US Media, Huntington, and September 11,” Third World Quarterly, 3/24 (2003); Shaheen, “Media.”
-
132)
Cas Mudde, “The Single-Issue Party Thesis: Extreme Right Parties and the Immigration Issue,” West European Politics, 3/22 (1999) 182, 185.
-
134)
Robert Spencer, Religion of Peace: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t (Washington DC: Regnery Publishing Inc, 2007); Raphael Israeli, The Spread of Islamikaze Terrorism in Europe: The Third Islamic Invasion (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2008).
-
135)
Hal Lindsey, The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad (Murrieta: Oracle House Publishing, 2002).
-
138)
Raphael Israeli, The Islamic Challenge in Europe (New Brunswick: Transaction Publisher, 2008).
-
139)
Liz Fekete, “The Muslim Conspiracy Theory and the Oslo Massacre,” Race and Class, 53/3 (2011), 34-5.
-
140)
Bruce Bawer, While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West from Within (New York: Broadway Books, 2006).
-
142)
Melanie Phillips, Londonistan (London: Gibson Square, 2006).
-
143)
Mark Steyn, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know it (Washington DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc, 2006), 134.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 472 | 68 | 9 |
| Full Text Views | 65 | 0 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 61 | 0 | 0 |
The Image of Islam and Muslims in Swedish Radical Christian Press
In: Journal of Religion in EuropeSearch for other papers by Kristian Steiner in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This is a case study on the construction of Islam and Muslims in sixty editorials 2006 in a Swedish Evangelical newspaper, Världen idag (“The World Today”). The paper was founded in 2001 and is officially independent and non-denominational. In reality, it is financially and ideologically dependent on the radical faith movement. Its circulation is about 8,500.
The main theme in the selected editorials is “Muslim threat,” in some cases combined with “Western retreat” and “Islam’s incompatibility with democracy.” Islam and Muslims are consistently described as causing these problems. However, terms denoting Muslims are rarely derogatory, instead Muslims are depicted in terms of broad denotation, like “Muslims” or “the Muslim world.” These labels are often combined with a stark derogatory complement. Aggressive acts like “demanding” and “murdering” or “mass-murdering” are the most common ones associated with Muslims. Good Muslim behavior is constantly disregarded; bad behavior reflects true character. Muslims are depicted as one homogeneous stereotypical and static group.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 472 | 68 | 9 |
| Full Text Views | 65 | 0 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 61 | 0 | 0 |
