What did Jan Hjärpe choose from the Islamic basket? A study of the dominant voice on Islam in Sweden, 1980–2000
Document Type
Book Chapter
Edition
first
ISBN
9781399542791
Editor
Anders Ackfeldt and Jesper Petersen
Series
Advances in the Study of Islam
Publication (Name of Journal)
The Production and Consumption of Non-Muslim Islams
Department
Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, London
Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
City
Edinburgh
Abstract
This chapter analyses the non-Muslim Islam of a Swedish academic, Professor Jan Hjärpe, who was the most prominent voice in the public sphere of Sweden from 1979 until the first years of the twenty-first century.
While Hjärpe was always nuanced when writing about Islam, he produced – mainly as side-effect of choices – certain normalities and interpretations of Islam. I argue that these can be seen as expressions of non-Muslim Islam. This chapter is not a critique of Hjärpe’s writing, which has by and large stood the test of time, but a case-study aiming to discuss researchers’ awareness and control of the logical consequences of choices of words and topics. It addresses non-Muslim Islam as an often-unintended by-product of scholarly writing.
Recommended Citation
Otterbeck, J.
(2025). What did Jan Hjärpe choose from the Islamic basket? A study of the dominant voice on Islam in Sweden, 1980–2000. The Production and Consumption of Non-Muslim Islams, 7, 70-94.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/book_chapters/629