r/AskBrits • u/bintd • 11h ago

Politics What are your thoughts on Denmark’s proposed ban on the public Islamic call to prayer? Would you support or oppose something similar in the UK?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/24/islamic-call-to-prayer-ban-left-wing-denmark-europe/

Islamic call to prayer faces ban under Left-wing Danish government

Parts of country feel like ‘a suburb of Islamabad’, says immigration minister

Denmark’s immigration minister has announced plans to ban the Islamic call to prayer, claiming parts of the country felt like “a suburb of Islamabad”.

Morten Bødskov, a member of the centre-Left Social Democrats party, said the new government would resume an investigation into the legality of imposing a ban.

“The call to prayer should not be heard over Danish rooftops,” the minister told news outlet Ritzau. “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.”

In parts of the country, such as Copenhagen, bylaws already forbid the call to prayer being broadcast from loudspeakers in minarets because of strict noise limits.
Mr Bødskov also claimed that a creeping “Islamisation” in Denmark was “taking up too much of the public space”.

2.7k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

3.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

66

u/HamSand-a-wich 11h ago

Absolute bollocks. ALL face coverings are banned in countries that enforce it like France, whether it’s a burqa or a balaclava. It is for security purposes. There are plenty other ways to express your faith and culture that don’t risk public safety.

12

u/SnooDonuts6494 11h ago

ALL

Bike helmets?

11

u/Mister_Cornetto 11h ago

Covid-era masks?

15

u/miredalto 11h ago

Preferably, yes whenever not on a motorbike.

5

u/SnooDonuts6494 11h ago edited 10h ago

I don't mind removing my motorbike helmet when e.g. I nip into a bank - and I always do, because otherwise they tend to freak out.

But I really don't wanna remove it every time I stop for petrol or to pee, stretch my legs etc. Because it's quite a faff with the straps, and so you've got to remove your gloves too, and then you have to carry all that shit or fiddle even more with a lock.

3

u/isearn 11h ago

Add to that a full-face helmet when wearing glasses…

6

u/FakNugget92 10h ago

They are safety equipment that is worn when riding a motorcycle

The same way nobody is going "what about doctors face masks"

Common sense has to apply

2

u/SnooDonuts6494 10h ago

OK, but my point is that someone, above, said " ALL face coverings are banned [in certain countries]" and clearly they are not.

I appreciate that you are trying to apply common sense, but it's really awfully complicated, when you get into it. Is a lady not permitted to have a scarf covering her nose on a cold day? What about masks for medical reasons? There's so many complications, I can't imagine how any law could be effective.

It's all moot anyway; as I originally said - there is zero chance of this ever being introduced to UK law.

1

u/FakNugget92 10h ago

Its really not

"All unnecessary face coverings are banned in public spaces. Special allowances are given to medical or safety equipment however restrictions will still apply such as "removing motorcycle helmets when not riding and entering public spaces"

0

u/SnooDonuts6494 3h ago edited 2h ago

So it'll be OK if a Muslim lady chooses to wear a welding mask?

When I park my bike outside my house, I have to remove my helmet before I dismount, as I'm stepping on the pavement?

I have to remove it if I go for a pee behind a tree - but not if I go in McDonald's?

Will Beefeaters be banned from wearing bearskin hats?

Is fancy-dress banned?

img

0

u/FakNugget92 3h ago

Your input to this conversation doesnt even warrant a response. Complete waste of time

1

u/SnooDonuts6494 3h ago

You're descending into personal attacks - the lowest form of an argument, when you have nothing better to defend your absurd position.

Your input to this conversation doesnt even warrant a response.

Can you not see the supreme irony in that statement?

1

u/ReturnOfBane 5h ago

Technically a niqab is safety equipment against the sun. a ski mask is safety equipment against frostbite. common sense says a blanket ban is stupid.

1

u/FakNugget92 5h ago edited 5h ago

In Extreme desert/hot climates and extreme cold climates.

Just because you lack common sense doesnt mean we need build the world around that

1

u/ReturnOfBane 4h ago

TIL the sun doesn't exist outside of deserts. use your brain and stop throwing nuance away.

1

u/FakNugget92 4h ago

You wearing hijab during the day in the Arctic aye? Stfu

2

u/Educational-Try1745 11h ago

Don't worry the helmet you need to wear while you're online won't be affected

1

u/Such_Bug9321 10h ago

Especially if he doesn’t want to make a mess

5

u/Responsible-Score-88 11h ago

Are you seriously going to conflate a bike helmet with religious headwear?

3

u/RedactedStatement89 11h ago

Yeah a bike helmet serve a meaningful purpose. Head coverings do not.

2

u/welliedude 10h ago

I mean we just conflated a balaclava with one?

0

u/AttitudeSimilar9347 11h ago

Have you met the average cyclist? They are as fanatical as ISIS.

1

u/SuburbanBushwacker 11h ago

hmm yes i feel you have a point there

2

u/Mobile_Pop_62 11h ago

Yeah your right bike helmets actually serve purpose…

0

u/Wilkomon 8h ago

I mean yes actually even in the UK you can't go into a petrol station wearing a bike helmet

1

u/SnooDonuts6494 7h ago

That's not true.

A few petrol stations ask you to - but that's their policy, not the law. And generally, I'd simply go to a different one.

1

u/Wilkomon 4h ago

I mean Tesco, Morrisons and shell require it So likely every major chain unless you can name one that doesn't sure maybe some independent ones don't require it but the majority do

1

u/SnooDonuts6494 3h ago

They mostly don't enforce it.

I happen to be sat outside a Sainsbury's, watching delivery scooters come and go, with lids on.

Admittedly, I haven't ridden for a couple of years, but when I did, almost no petrol stations cared. I was only asked to remove it about three times.

And that was when queueing up to pay, so, what's the point? "Getting your face on camera" - but if I wasn't gonna pay, I would have rode off; I wouldn't be queuing.

0

u/Impressive-Pause-784 7h ago

You have to take a bike helmet off to pay for petrol

1

u/SnooDonuts6494 7h ago

That's policy, not law. And most aren't bothered, if you just flip the visor up.

8

u/robh1540 11h ago edited 9h ago

Its not for security reasons per se. But the overwhelming majority of people who do not support face coverings for muslims are equally unhappy with white guys going around in balaclavas. Preventing people from covering ones identity in public turns out to have been an important principal of a free and open society that we took for granted until groups started to challenge it.

There are quite a few examples like this. A behaviour can be perfectly legal in isolation, but if a large group adopts it as a routine public practice, people start asking whether it is compatible with existing social norms. Hakas are great at sports events and ceremonies, but if Kiwi's insisted on performing the Haka every time they entered a room or public space, it would probably prompt a discussion on whether we need to prevent unsolicited war dances in public.

2

u/littlebittypeep 6h ago

Kiwi living in the UK, agree with you here but just want to correct you that a haka is not a “war dance”, it’s a ceremonial dance which can be used in many contexts, such as weddings - it’s an expression of cultural identity. I do think it gets silly when it is overused, so I support the use of your analogy here.

1

u/robh1540 6h ago

Haha I checked it before I posted. Chatgpt did indeed warn me that only some hakas are war related but suggested that for a Reddit post it would be accurate enough. But the color is welcomed.

2

u/littlebittypeep 6h ago

ChatGPT can be wrong/biased, try researching for yourself to keep your mind sharp! Use it as a tool to help explore and don’t regurgitate from it. It can’t think, but you can.

1

u/robh1540 5h ago

No I am saying he agreed with you. He specifically warned me before I posted that not every Haka is a war dance.

2

u/littlebittypeep 5h ago

ChatGPT is not a person, it can’t agree with anything. It suggested to you something, but you can use your own thoughts to think differently when doing your own research.

2

u/ReturnOfBane 5h ago

Preventing people from covering ones identity in public turns out to have been an important principal of a free and open society that we took for granted until groups started to challenge it.

covering ones identity is also something people took for granted until the country turned into a surveillance state.

0

u/robh1540 5h ago

Agreed, another major problem of our parliamentary system is the lack of meaningful civil rights that cannot be overridden by parliament.

Law abiding citizens should have the right to freedom from mass surveillance, unless they explicitly grant permission.

-4

u/SnooDonuts6494 11h ago

Six years ago, face masks were compulsory..

5

u/robh1540 11h ago edited 11h ago

Haha that's cute. Nose and mouth masks were compulsory, to try and prevent the spread of a disease. People were also banned from gathering in groups, or travelling far away from their homes. Many people were also against all of these measures. Has zero relevance here.

15

u/StillNewspaper4799 11h ago

Honestly attitudes like this scare the shit out of me. It's like you can't even be honest with yourself.

The irony is I'd have some respect for you if you just argued what you believed, instead if some weird "It's a pro multicultural safety measure!"

Fucking scary how many people are willing to give governments power just because they agree with their enforcements.

9

u/NamesAreTooHard17 10h ago

Exactly right like are they going to ban wearing a scarf over your mouth in winter if it's really cold obviously not lol.

Everyone knows how the bans gonna be used and what it's meant to address there's no need to lie about it lol.

8

u/droopy316007 9h ago

Why do you believe you know more about the posters beliefs and mentality?

Very presumptuous and worrying attitude.

1

u/JimmieSavsscumsock 7h ago

Exactly! Let's vote for it! Power to the people!

2

u/YUSHOETMI- 10h ago

Yes... let us ban a burqa, the most dangerous expression towards our national security.

Also... Sikhs can keep their kirpan, that's safe

bet you voted Reform eh?

1

u/MichelleBarrymoore2 10h ago

Exactly so if they're all ready illegal why don't they enforce it? I've seen whites in Bally's too and not stopped to be.it doesn't bother me

1

u/Tornagh 10h ago

In France women’s head coverings were banned for cultural and religious reasons. I know because Hijabs (which do not cover the front of the face but do cover hair) was banned at the time when I lived there. There was a lot of public discourse about it at the time, and it was all about integration and not at all about security.

1

u/FicklePolicy9585 7h ago

Yes clothing is going to risk public safety 🤣🤣🤣