Religion as a Social Problem in the Swedish Parliament: Constructions of the "Religious Other" in Motions on Banning the Muslim Veil and Call to Prayer.
This article examines how the Muslim veil and call to prayer are constructed as social problems in motions to the Swedish parliament between 2010 and 2024. Analyzing 120 political proposals, the study reveals how these religious practices are portrayed as problematic by constructing them as threaten...
| Published in: | Scandinavian Studies Vol. 98; no. 1; pp. 93 - 120 |
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| Format: | Article |
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University of Wisconsin Press
2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=191502241&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 191502241 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00365637 SVT jtl: Scandinavian Studies issn: 00365637 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2026 vid: 98 iid: 1 pid: 249 pub: University of Wisconsin Press artinfo: ui: 191502241 ppf: 93 ppct: 27 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.3MB tig: atl: Religion as a Social Problem in the Swedish Parliament: Constructions of the "Religious Other" in Motions on Banning the Muslim Veil and Call to Prayer. aug: au: Jensdotter, Linnea su: Hijab (Islamic clothing) Legislative bodies Secularism Other (Philosophy) Social problems National character Gender inequality Prayer Sweden sug: subj: Sweden Hijab (Islamic clothing) Legislative bodies Secularism Other (Philosophy) Social problems National character Gender inequality Prayer keyword: call to prayer Muslim veil politicization of religion social problems ab: This article examines how the Muslim veil and call to prayer are constructed as social problems in motions to the Swedish parliament between 2010 and 2024. Analyzing 120 political proposals, the study reveals how these religious practices are portrayed as problematic by constructing them as threatening to Swedish values, particularly gender equality and secularism. Using Carol Lee Bacchi's "What's the problem represented to be?" approach, the article identifies underlying assumptions that frame Muslim practices as incompatible with Swedish identity. The analysis demonstrates how these problematizations contribute to the construction of Muslims as "religious others" who remain outside the imagined Swedish Folkhem (the people's home). While initially dominated by the Sweden Democrats, this framing has gained wider political acceptance over time. The article argues that these political constructions reflect tensions in the Swedish social contract and governance mechanisms that determine which religious expressions are acceptable in public spaces. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Scandinavian Studies is the property of University of Wisconsin Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Scandinavian Studies holder: University of Wisconsin Press dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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