Denmark Has Banned Muslims from the Country-Mostly Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Denmark has banned Muslim refugees and immigrants from settling in the country.
The Truth:
Denmark has not banned Muslims, but the country has tightened immigration laws and has made the religious slaughter of animals for Halal and Kosher meat illegal.
Immigration has been a hot issue in Denmark for years. Back in 2011, the country tightened immigration laws by implementing a “points system.” The goal was to make it more difficult for immigrants to gain citizenship through marriage, the BBC reports:
There are new stricter requirements for would-be immigrants, and for those already in Denmark, who wish to marry a Dane. This is in addition to the already high minimum age of 24 for both the Danish and the foreign would-be spouse, proof of financial independence and an “active commitment to Danish society.”
Then, the right wing, anti-immigration Danish People’s Party became the second largest party in Danish parliament after elections in June 2015. Party leaders said their top priorities were to cut the number of asylum seekers the country accepts, reintroducing border controls, reforming border controls and preventing migrants from claiming benefits, the Guardian reports.
Within three months of the election, the country had cut benefits for asylum seekers in half, implementing a one-year waiting period for refugees before they can bring their families to the country and establishing a five-year wait for a permanent residence permit. Then, the Danish government took out advertisements in Middle Eastern newspapers that detailed the new restrictions in an effort to deter migrants, Deutsche Welle reports.
Also, in 2014, Denmark banned the religious slaughter of animals for Kosher and Halal meat. European regulations require that animals are stunned before they are slaughtered but grants exceptions on religious grounds. Kosher and halal animals must be conscious while slaughtered, the Independent reports:
The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called “anti-Semitism” by Jewish leaders and “a clear interference in religious freedom” by the non-profit group Danish Halal.
European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed.
Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that “animal rights come before religion”
So, reports that Denmark has outright banned Muslims from the country are mostly fiction. But Danish officials have made it much for difficult for all immigrants — including those from Islamic countries — to go there. They have also made the religious slaughter of meat illegal, which makes it more difficult for Muslims and Jews to practice their religions there.