Doing News Coverage Through Scripture: A Critical Analysis of Intertextuality and Metaphors in Aljazeera Media Discourse

The current paper is a critical cognitive corpus-based analysis of Aljazeera Arabic news reports that have utilized the Qur’anic scripture in an implicit way to report on political events that took place in Egypt in 2011. While it is well-known in academic research that intertextuality can be determined by metaphors in media discourse (Semino, 2008; Otaif, 2015), the current paper found that intertextuality can also constitute a main discourse metaphor that serves as an effective discursive tool to influence or manufacture the public ideological stance and consent to social events. The findings raise ethical concerns over the use of the Qur’anic scripture in political news discourse and call for further critical research.