The European country of Denmark is considering banning the azaan, the Islamic call to prayer. The country’s government is anxious about the rising number of Muslims, and it is out of this concern that the Scandinavian state has taken up a plan to ban the call to prayer.
Denmark’s immigration minister, Morten Bodskov, gave the information in an interview. English versions of the interview, given to the Danish news agency Ritzau, were published by the British dailies the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.
Bodskov said growing “Islamisation” was taking over much of Denmark’s public space. Five percent of the country’s total population are currently Muslim, and Muslims have become Denmark’s largest minority community.
The Danish minister said clearly in the interview that the call to prayer should not be heard from the rooftops of homes in Denmark.
The immigration minister made the remarks at a time when Denmark, on the instructions of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, is sharply tightening immigration policy. Denmark currently has the strictest immigration policy among the member states of the European Union (EU).
The Danish government faces some legal challenges in implementing the plan to ban the call to prayer, because the country’s constitution recognises people’s right to practise religion freely. Critics argue the plan disproportionately targets a particular religion and could interfere with religious freedom.
That challenge does not appear likely to be very strong, however, because anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe has reached a worrying level in recent years, with Islamic practices such as the call to prayer and the wearing of the hijab viewed harshly.
Early in 2026, the Danish government passed a law in parliament banning the face-covering hijab and niqab nationwide.
In the interview with Ritzau, Denmark’s immigration minister said there was no room for the Islamisation of Denmark. “If, while walking around Denmark, you feel you have ended up in some suburb of Islamabad, that is a big problem,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report