Denmark to ban Azaan (call to prayer)… Immigration Minister says some parts of the country are starting to look like the suburbs of Islamabad

News Topical, Digital Desk : Denmark, a European country, is about to make a landmark decision on the call to prayer (Adhan). As part of this, the government has reiterated plans to ban the use of loudspeakers for the Adhan (call to prayer) across the country.

The plan was unveiled by Denmark’s hard-line Immigration Minister Morten Bodskov, according to a report in The Daily Mail. In a stinging statement, Minister Bodskov said some parts of the country now look like neighbourhoods in Islamabad, Pakistan. “The call to prayer should not be heard from the rooftops of Denmark.”

Denmark's Social Democrats leader, Bodskov, told news agency “Ritzau” that the country’s growing “Islamization” is taking up too much space in public spaces. He said emphatically: “The call to prayer should not be heard from the rooftops of Denmark.

Explaining the reason behind his statement, the minister said that no one walking on the streets of Denmark should suspect that he is roaming in any area of Islamabad.

Denmark’s Muslim population is 5 percent.

Muslims are the largest minority group in Denmark, representing around 5% of the population. Denmark already has some of the strictest immigration policies in Europe under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

This is not the first attempt to ban the Azaan (call to prayer) in Denmark. Similar laws were previously proposed in 2020 and 2025, but the issue didn’t reach Parliament.

The capital has prohibited azaan on loudspeakers.

In some cities such as the capital Copenhagen, mosques are currently banned from calling to prayer over loudspeakers because of strict noise pollution regulations. Even the main Grand Mosque does not have loudspeakers outside the building.

Is this a challenge to the Constitution and religious liberty?

But it is worth noting that for the government a blanket ban on the call to prayer (Adhan) across the country would not be legally simple. The Danish constitution guarantees its citizens the right to freedom of religion and the right to worship.

But Minister Bodskov himself has conceded that the government will first undertake a legal scrutiny of how a nationwide ban on adhan (call to prayer) can be implemented without violating constitutional rights to religious freedom. But critics argue the proposal targets one religion and could violate people's religious freedom.

These rules are already tough in Denmark.

It should be noted that this is not the first such stringent rule to have been imposed or considered in Denmark. Earlier this year, the full-face Islamic veil, or burqa, was banned in public. Besides, orders were issued to remove prayer rooms from schools, colleges and educational institutions.