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Blood on a Mosque: Religion, the Sacred, and the Finnish Criminal Court Process

Blood on a Mosque: Religion, the Sacred, and the Finnish Criminal Court Process This article analyzes a Finnish criminal court process concerning a spattering of blood on a mosque. Initially ruled as a religious insult, the charge was eventually dropped on the grounds that the Islamic community in question did not have the proper legal personality. The article utilizes a non-normative discursive perspective to analyze the construction of ‘sacredness’ and the category of ‘religion’ in the legal process. First, it is argued that several officials were influenced by the prevailing discourses on religion and blood, as well as the meaning of ‘sacred,’ to the point where they contradicted the prevalent legalistic discourse. Second, the legalistic discourse observed in the final ruling demonstrates how the prohibition of religious insult is part of the Finnish association-oriented model for managing a society perceived as religiously diverse. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Religion in Europe Brill

Blood on a Mosque: Religion, the Sacred, and the Finnish Criminal Court Process

Journal of Religion in Europe , Volume 10 (3): 27 – Oct 6, 2017

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1874-8910
eISSN
1874-8929
DOI
10.1163/18748929-01003002
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article analyzes a Finnish criminal court process concerning a spattering of blood on a mosque. Initially ruled as a religious insult, the charge was eventually dropped on the grounds that the Islamic community in question did not have the proper legal personality. The article utilizes a non-normative discursive perspective to analyze the construction of ‘sacredness’ and the category of ‘religion’ in the legal process. First, it is argued that several officials were influenced by the prevailing discourses on religion and blood, as well as the meaning of ‘sacred,’ to the point where they contradicted the prevalent legalistic discourse. Second, the legalistic discourse observed in the final ruling demonstrates how the prohibition of religious insult is part of the Finnish association-oriented model for managing a society perceived as religiously diverse.

Journal

Journal of Religion in EuropeBrill

Published: Oct 6, 2017

There are no references for this article.