Muslims Living in Copenhagen Feel Closer Ties to Their City Than to Denmark

COPENHAGEN—Copenhagen has taken major strides to integrate Muslim and minority populations but more needs to be done to address discrimination against the city’s Muslim population, according to a report released by the At Home in Europe Project of the Open Society Foundations.

“Muslims and non-Muslims alike feel a strong sense of belonging to Copenhagen, which is an encouraging sign for community cohesion and for local policymakers. We are however troubled by evidence of ethnic and religious discrimination towards visible minorities, especially young Muslims”,” said Nazia Hussain, director of the Open Society Foundations' At Home in Europe Project.  

The report released today, titled Muslims in Copenhagen, focuses on the district of Nørrebro, traditionally a working-class area with a dynamic and multi-ethnic population. It explores the everyday experiences of Nørrebro inhabitants and analyses a number of important policy measures and initiatives taking place. There are approximately 180,000 Muslims in Denmark, representing 3.6 percent of the total population of the country.

“The report gives us valuable information about how we co-exist in Copenhagen, how we perceive each other and why it is so important that diversity permeates everything we say and do. It is a thorough break with all myths about parallel societies and the report gives a strong message that it is easy to become a Copenhagener—that all groups feel at home. The message ties in well with our new diversity and inclusion policy,” said Anna Mee Allerslev, Mayor for Employment and Integration in Copenhagen.

Key Findings

• Muslims felt a very strong or fairly strong sense of belonging to Nørrebro. At the city level, a high proportion of both Muslims and non-Muslims reported a very strong or fairly strong sense of belonging to Copenhagen. 
• A majority of Muslims surveyed want to be seen by others as Danish; only a small minority of Muslims indicated that they are viewed as Danish by others in Denmark.  
• Mainstream national media is instrumental to forming public opinion and shaping discourse towards minorities which, over the last two decades in Denmark, have become increasingly negative towards Muslim citizens and residents. Local media is fairer towards ethnic minorities and Muslims but is also far less influential in shaping societal attitudes towards these groups.
• The survey results reveal that the majority of both Muslims and non-Muslims showed very little or no trust in the national government.  

The Muslims in Copenhagen report involved in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with Muslim residents, local government officials, Muslim leaders, academics, journalists, and activists in the district of Nørrebro. 

This study is part of a series of monitoring reports entitled Muslims in EU Cities. It focuses on 11 cities in the European Union with significant Muslim populations: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Leicester, Marseille, Paris, Rotterdam, Stockholm, and the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

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The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities in more than 70 countries, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education.