Last Updated:June 26, 2026, 12:59 IST
Denmark plans a nationwide ban on loudspeaker Islamic calls to prayer, citing integration and public space concerns.
A man calls for the Azan to alert people about a prayer time during the holy month of Ramadan at the Shah-i-Hamdan shrine in Srinagar on April 21, 2021. (AFP/File)
Denmark is planning to implement a nationwide ban on the public broadcasting of the Islamic call to prayer — Azan. The government cited concerns over integration and growing “Islamisation” concerns.
Denmark’s Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov said that some parts of the country feel like “a suburb of Islamabad”.
He added the government would resume work on examining the legal framework to prohibit loudspeaker-amplified calls to prayer from mosques across the country.
Speaking on the proposal, Bødskov said the Islamic call to prayer “has no place in Denmark.”
“It has no place in Denmark, and you shouldn’t be in any doubt whether you’ve ended up in a suburb of Islamabad when you walk around Denmark,” Bødskov was quoted as saying by The Copenhagen Post.
The proposal seeks to replace the current system, under which such broadcasts are largely regulated through local noise rules, with a nationwide restriction. A proposal submitted to the Danish Parliament calls for a ban on “loudspeaker-amplified prayer or calls to prayer in public spaces.”
The move comes amid Denmark’s broader push to tighten policies related to religious expression and integration.
Last year, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced plans to expand the country’s existing ban on full-face coverings, including the burqa and niqab, to schools and universities.
“You have the right to your faith and to practise your religion, but democracy takes precedence,” Frederiksen was quoted as saying by Danish news agency Ritzau.
She added, “God has to step aside.”
Denmark first prohibited full-face coverings in public spaces in 2018, although the law did not extend to educational institutions. The proposed expansion would bring schools and universities under the scope of the ban.
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