Islam in Denmark
Islam in Denmark, being the country's largest minority religion, plays a role in shaping its social and religious landscape. According to a 2020 analysis by Danish researcher Brian Arly Jacobsen, an estimated 256,000 people in Denmark—4.4% of the population—were Muslim in January, 2020. However, according to figures reported by the BBC in 2005, about 4.8% of the Danish population at the time are Muslim. The figure has been increasing for the last several decades due to multiple immigration waves involving economic migrants and asylum seekers. In 1980, an estimated 30,000 Muslims lived in Denmark, amounting to 0.6% of the population.
The majority of Muslims in Denmark are Sunni, with a sizeable Shia minority. Members of the Ahmadiyya community are also present in Denmark. In the 1970s Muslims arrived from Turkey, Pakistan, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia to work. In the 1980s and 90s the majority of Muslim arrivals were refugees and asylum seekers from Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Bosnia. In addition, some ethnic Danes have converted to Islam; In 2017, close to 3,800 Danish Muslims were converts to the religion. According to a survey by Aarhus University, the number of mosques is on a steady upward trajectory, rising from 115 in 2006 to 161 in 2017 —an increase of 40%.
History
Danish historian Jørgen Bæk Simonsen documents that encounters between Denmark and the Muslim world date back to the Middle Ages, when the Danish military participated in the Crusades to take control of Jerusalem from Muslim rule. King Frederick V of Denmark also travelled to South Arabia to collect information, plants, and artifacts. Among his co-voyagers was Carsten Niebuhr who observed and noted the customs of the region. One of the first Danish converts to Islam was Knud Holmboe, a journalist and writer of Desert Encounter, in which he detailed his first-hand account of the Libyan Genocide.An 1880 Danish census recorded 8 "Mohammadans" in the country. Censuses continued to be carried out until 1970. Large-scale immigration from Muslim countries began in the 1950s. Due to the expansion of Denmark's post-war economy and increase in industrialization in the 1950-1960s, a large number of immigrants migrated to the country from the highly-Muslim populated nations of Yugoslavia, Turkey, Pakistan, and North Africa. This period was the first wave of large-scale Muslim immigration to Denmark. The first purpose-built mosques belonged to Ahmadi Muslims and was constructed in 1967. In 1973, the Danish government stopped free migration to the country. Rules were laxed in 1974 so that people with family in Denmark, people marrying someone in Denmark, or people seeking asylum could come to the country. In the 1980s, a second wave of Muslims immigrated to Denmark, mainly from Iran, the Middle East, and Africa. Many of these immigrants were seeking political asylum.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Denmark, but the Church of Denmark enjoys certain privileges such as state subsidies that other religious groups in the country do not. As of 2013, 23 different Muslim communities are recognized as "acknowledged religious communities", giving them certain tax benefits.
2000s
The asylum seekers comprise about 40% of the Danish Muslim population.According to a survey conducted in the mid 2000s on mosques in Denmark, there were about 115 mosques in Denmark. Of these, about 105 were Sunni Muslim, with most others following the Shia branch. It was found that there were about 30 imams on work visas active in Denmark from abroad and most of these were sent by the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs agency. As a general rule, Friday prayers were not conducted in Danish but in the native tongues of the congregation.
2010s
In 2014, halal slaughter without electrical stunning was banned in Denmark, citing animal welfare concerns.In February 2016, the Mariam mosque in Copenhagen, Denmark's first female-run mosque, was founded by Sherin Khankan; it has only female imams. The mosque is open to male and female worshippers, with the exception of Friday prayers, which are only open to female worshippers. Khankan became Scandinavia's first female imam when she opened that mosque.
In August 2017, two imams, one of which is the head of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia, were added to the Danish list of hate preachers, which meant they could not enter Denmark, bringing the total to ten.
In autumn 2017, the Danish parliament agreed to adopt a law prohibiting people to wear "attire and clothing masking the face in such a way that it impairs recognizability". A full ban on both niqabs and burqas was announced on 31 May 2018. The ban came into force on 1 August 2018 and carries a fine of 1000 DKK ; with repeat offending, the fine may reach 10 000 DKK. It targets all garments that cover the face, such as fake beards or balaclavas. Supporters of the ban claim that the ban facilitates integration of Muslims into Danish society, while Amnesty International claimed the ban violated women's rights. A protest numbering 300-400 people was held in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, organised by the Socialist Youth Front, Kvinder i Dialog and Party Rebels.
According to a 2017 survey, there was an increase in the number of mosques in Denmark from 115 in 2006 to about 170 in 2017, which represented an increase of almost 50%. This increase corresponded roughly to the increasing numbers of Muslims in the country, which had risen from 200,000 to about 300,000.
According to polls among Muslims in Denmark conducted in 2006 and 2018, religiosity shows an escalation over time; whereas 37% prayed five times a day in 2006, by 2018 this number had increased to 50%. This was contrary to expectations that Muslims had been expected to conform to mainstream Danish society, where not many people are not particularly devoted to religion. The possible cause of the trend, according to sociologist Brian Arly Jacobsen at Copenhagen University, was the construction of 20-30 new mosques in the intervening 10 years.
In April 2019, riots broke out in Nørrebro in Copenhagen, Denmark, after Islam critic Rasmus Paludan staged a demonstration in the district. 23 people were arrested for a range of offences, from refusal to obey commands issued by police to arson and violence against police. Emergency services responded to 70 fires connected to the disturbances.
2020s
In March 2021, legislation banned antidemocratic donations to recipients in Denmark, which according to Immigration minister Mattias Tesfaye was due to there being extremist movements abroad which are trying to turn Muslims against Denmark and undermining core values of Danish society. The legislation was prompted by media reports of millions being donated to mosques in Denmark having received millions in donations from the Middle East.Demographics
The Danish government does not collect data on citizens' religion so the exact number of Muslims in Denmark is not known with certainty. The Danish researcher Brian Arly Jacobsen from the University of Copenhagen, who makes regular estimations based on the national origin of immigrants and their descendants, estimates that by January 2020 Muslims made up 256,000 persons or 4.4% of the Danish population. One year earlier, Jacobsen had estimated the number of Danish Muslims to 320,000 persons, but adjusted his earlier estimates downwards after having accessed new and more precise data.The Danish Muslim population has been increasing for the last several decades. Jacobsen has estimated that in 1980, close to 30,000 Muslims lived in Denmark, i.e. 0.6% of the population. In 2009, the U.S. Department of State reported the share as approximately 3.7% of the population due to immigration. Earlier sources, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, have cited lower percentages. According to figures reported by the BBC in 2005, about 270,000 Muslims lived in Denmark at the time.
Over 70% of Muslims in Denmark are Danish citizens, and the majority are first- or second-generation immigrants. In 2017, close to 3,800 Danish Muslims were converts to the religion. Muslims are unevenly distributed around Denmark with the majority concentrated in major cities. An estimated 47.4% of Danish Muslims live in Greater Copenhagen, 9.4% in Aarhus, and 5.5% in Odense.
Ethnicity
In 2008 a report published by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation estimated that the Danish Turks formed 70,000 out of a total of 200,000 Muslims in the country. Hence, approximately 35% of the country's Muslims were of Turkish origin.In 2014, Brian Arly Jacobsen said that the largest ethnic group of Muslims in Denmark were Turks, followed by Iraqis, Lebanese, Pakistanis, Somalis, and Afghans.
Branches
According to a 2008 survey of immigrants to Denmark from Muslim-majority countries by IntegrationsStatus, 45% were Sunni, 11% were Shia, and 23% belonged to another branch of Islam. The other 21% belonged to another religion or had no religion.Religiosity
A 2002/2003 study of Danish youth in upper secondary school found that 100% of Muslims believed in God and 90% believed in heaven, hell, angels and devils. Only 52% of non-Muslim Danes in the survey said they believed in God while 15-25% said they believed in heaven, hell, angels and devils. Roughly half of the Muslims in the survey said they prayed often, while a third claimed to visit a mosque once a month. In a 2005 survey, 40% of Muslim immigrants and their descendants participated in religious ceremonies/services compared to 60% of Roman Catholic immigrants/ descendants did the same. In a 2008 survey of immigrants from Turkey, Pakistan, ex-Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia, 37% considered themselves very little/little religious, 33% considered themselves moderately religious, 24% considered themselves very religious. A 2011 survey found that 37% of Danish Muslims were non-practicing Muslims.In a 2006 survey, 82% of Danish Muslim parents answered that religion was an important issue in the upbringing of children compared to 67% of Danish non-Muslims who answered the same.
In 2006, Jyllands-Posten conducted a poll which found that 37% of Muslims prayed five times a day or more, in 2015 the figure had risen to just about half, or 50%. In 2006, 62% agreed that the instructions of the Quran should be followed completely, in 2015 the figure had increased to 77%. According to the poll, younger Muslims were the most religious. A researcher at Copenhagen University, Brian Arly Jacobsen, concluded that Muslims were becoming more religious but he also criticized the methodology behind the study and recommended more research. In 2020, a group of former Muslims in Denmark formed a Scandinavian chapter of Central Council of Ex-Muslims, an organization which started in Germany where people who had left the religion could support each other.
A 2017 Fundamental Rights Agency report found that on a scale from 1 to 5, the average Danish Muslim felt a 3.9.