Western Media Framing (BBC) of the Qur’an-Burning Case in Sweden: A Robert Entman Framing Analysis from a Comparative Study of Religions Perspective
Author
Abstract
In contemporary society, the media are frequently perceived as non-neutral and lacking objectivity when reporting on religious issues in the public sphere. The media are not merely Disseminators of news; they function as active agents that significantly influence how events are perceived by the public through their selection of perspectives and language. This is exemplified in the case of the Qur’an burning in Sweden, where Western media tend to frame the incident primarily as a legal and freedom-of-expression issue rather than as a religious matter. This topic is particularly relevant because media framing plays a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of religion, especially Islam. This study examines how the BBC, one of the major Western media platform, frames the Qur’an-burning incident in Sweden. The research investigates whether religion is portrayed as sacred in these reports or primarily treated as a social disturbance and a public security concern. By applying Robert N. Entman’s framing theory within the framework of Comparative Study of Religions, the study seeks to reveal how the media present the role of religion in contemporary society. A qualitative literature-based approach and framing analysis were employed in this study. Primary data were collected from BBC news reports covering the Qur’an burning in Sweden, supplemented by academic literature, including books and scholarly journals relevant to media framing theory and Comparative Study of Religions. The analysis was guided by Entman’s four framing functions: problem definition, causal interpretation, moral perspective, and suggested remedies. This approach enabled the identification of patterns in the media’s construction of meaning when presenting religious news to the public. The findings indicate that the BBC tends not to frame the Qur’an burning as an act of religious desecration or an offense against sacred values. Instead, the incident is predominantly portrayed as a social and security issue related to freedom of speech. Religion is treated as the contextual background, while the reports focus on the consequences of civil unrest and governmental responses. This demonstrates that Western media often interpret religious issues through a secular lens that does not prioritize religious values, thereby diminishing the event’s perceived religious significance. This study recommends that next research broaden the analytical scope by comparing Western media framing with media from other countries or cultural contexts. Furthermore, employing a more diverse set of theoretical approaches in the study of religion and media is expected to enhance understanding of how religion is represented in the public sphere. The research also emphasizes the need for critical consumption of news, particularly regarding religious issues, which are susceptible to meaning reduction and framing bias, to prevent the public from being misled by partial or incomplete coverage