Copenhagen: Denmark is considering a nationwide ban on the Islamic call to prayer (Azaan) over loudspeakers. The move has reignited a debate over immigration, religious freedom and national identity.
Morten Bødskov, immigration and integration minister, Denmark, announced the proposal that is currently under legal review to determine whether it complies with the country’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.
The Islamic call to prayer “should not be heard over Danish rooftops”, Bødskov said while speaking to Danish media, adding that people “shouldn’t be in any doubt whether they’ve ended up in a suburb of Islamabad when they walk around Denmark.”
Amplified calls to prayer have “no place in Denmark”, he argued and said the government wants to curb what it describes as the growing “Islamisation” of public spaces.
If the legislation gets passed, loudspeaker-amplified calls to prayer from mosques across Denmark will be prohibited. Now, such broadcasts are mainly regulated through local noise laws.
The government has not yet introduced a formal bill though and officials are first examining whether a nationwide restriction can withstand constitutional scrutiny.
This is the third attempt by a Danish government to introduce such a ban after similar efforts in 2020 and 2025 failed to become law, Republic TV reported.
Strict local noise regulations already prevent outdoor loudspeaker broadcasts from mosques In cities such as Copenhagen. This means that only a handful of mosques currently broadcast the Azaan publicly.
The move comes amid Denmark’s broader push to tighten immigration and integration policies under prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s government.
The country had introduced additional restrictions related to Islamic dress and prayer facilities in educational institutions earlier this year, continuing one of Europe’s toughest immigration agendas.
Those supporting the proposal say that a nationwide ban would create uniform rules governing public religious broadcasts and help preserve Denmark’s cultural identity.
The measure unfairly targets one religion and could violate constitutional protections guaranteeing the right to practise religion publicly, critics say.
An estimated 270,000 Muslims live in Denmark and the country has around 100 mosques. While the proposal only targets loudspeaker-amplified public calls to prayer and does not prohibit worship inside mosques, it has already sparked fresh debate across Europe over the balance between religious freedom, integration and the role of religion in public spaces.
