Muslims in the EU: Cities Report Preliminary research report DENMARK and literature survey 2007 Researcher: Mustafa Hussain, External Lecturer, Dept. of Social Science, Roskilde University Centre Open Society Institute Muslims in the EU - Cities Report EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program Denmark Table of contents Background ...................................................................................................................................4 Executive Summary......................................................................................................................5 PART I: RESEARCH AND LITERATURE ON MUSLIMS ..................................................9 1. Population..............................................................................................................................9 1.1 Muslim population estimates ........................................................................................9 1.2 Muslim migration trends.............................................................................................11 1.3 Citizenship ..................................................................................................................12 2. Identity.................................................................................................................................14 3. Education.............................................................................................................................16 4. Employment ........................................................................................................................19 5. Housing ................................................................................................................................24 5.1 Settlement patterns......................................................................................................24 5.2 Housing conditions .....................................................................................................24 6. Health and Social Protection..............................................................................................27 7. Policing and Security ..........................................................................................................29 8. Participation and Citizenship ............................................................................................32 PART II: POLICY CONTEXT.................................................................................................34 1. Perception of Muslims ........................................................................................................34 2. Administrative structures ..................................................................................................41 PART III: CITY SELECTION .................................................................................................44 1. Selection criteria..................................................................................................................44 2. Copenhagen .........................................................................................................................47 3. Aarhus..................................................................................................................................48 4. Odense..................................................................................................................................49 5. Høj Taastrup .......................................................................................................................51 Annex 1. Bibliography................................................................................................................52 In English.................................................................................................................................52 In Danish..................................................................................................................................55 2 Open Society Institute Muslims in the EU - Cities Report EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program Denmark List of Tables Table 1. Immigrants and their descendants (2006) Table 2. Immigrants and their descendants (January 2001) Table 3. Employment rates among the economically active age group from selected predominantly Muslim countries (1 January 2005) Table 4. Employers and ethnic minority recruitment (2000) Table 5. Number of Danes and of people with origins from non-Western and Western countries, in the four selected residential areas. Table 6. Number of Danes and of people with origins from non-Western countries, on welfare benefits (Welfare Transfer Incomes, WTI), in selected residential areas. Table 7. Number of migrants with origins in predominantly Muslim countries in Copenhagen Municipality (Jan 2003) Table 8. Number of migrants with origin in predominantly Muslim countries in Aarhus Municipality (Jan 2003) Table 9. Number of migrants with origins in predominantly Muslim countries in Odense Municipality 3 Open Society Institute Muslims in the EU - Cities Report EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program Denmark Background This research paper, focusing on the situation of Muslims in Denmark, was commissioned by the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP)1, of the Open Society Institute (OSI).2 Similar reports have also been prepared for Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. The overall aim of this series of research papers is to provide a comprehensive review of available research and literature on Muslims in each of these countries, including a bibliography covering the most relevant recent publications. Another aim is to facilitate the selection of a number of EU cities for inclusion in a proposed new OSI monitoring project to be initiated in 2007 — “Muslims in the EU: Cities Reports”. This project will address policy on Muslims at the city, or municipal, level, as opposed to the national level, which is the more usual level of analysis for cross-country monitoring. It follows on from previous EUMAP reports addressing the situation of Muslims in Europe, in particular the 2004 report, Muslims in the UK: Policies for Engaged Citizens.3 Each of the research reports follow the same methodology, to provide comparative information across the countries covered, according to a common methodology prepared by EUMAP.4 Part I of the report evaluates the availability of data and other information on the situation of — specifically — Muslims in Denmark, in the following areas: population, identity, education, employment, health and social protection, policing and security, and participation and citizenship. Part II addresses the policy context in Denmark, in particular with regard to the perception of Muslims, integration policy and administrative structures. Part III looks more specifically at the potential suitability of three cities in Denmark with significant Muslim populations for inclusion in the OSI “Muslims in the EU” city monitoring project — Aarhus, Copenhagen and Odense. 1 Full details on the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) can be found at www.eumap.org. 2 Full details on the Open Society Institute (OSI) can be found at www.soros.org. 3 The full report, as well as previous EUMAP reports on the situation of Muslims in France and Italy, can be found here: http://www.eumap.org/topics/minority/reports/britishmuslims 4 The methodology for the research papers is available on the EUMAP website (www.eumap.org) 4 Open Society Institute Muslims in the EU - Cities Report EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program Denmark Executive Summary It is estimated that there are around 175,000–200,000 Muslims in Denmark, including both immigrants and their descendants. Reliable figures are not available, however, as Danish law prohibits the registration of citizens on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. Official demographic data recognises two main ‘ethnic’ categories: Danes, and foreigners and their descendants (this category is further subdivided into those from Western and non-Western countries). Of Denmark’s total population of 5.4 million, 8.4 per cent (452,095 people) are immigrants and their descendants. Muslims constitute the majority of all non-Western immigrants and their descendants, as well as the single largest group among all minority faith communities in Denmark. Over the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the diversity of culture, language and customs in the Danish population. Significant levels of Muslim emigration to Denmark began in the late 1960s with the arrival of labour migrants from Yugoslavia and Turkey, as well as a small number from non-European countries (mainly Pakistan and North Africa). From the 1980s, there was a second wave of emigration, mainly of political asylum- seekers. These were mainly from predominantly Muslim countries — from Iran, the Middle East and Africa. There were also many new arrivals through family reunification. During the 1990s a further influx of, mainly Muslim, asylum seekers arrived from the Balkans, following the political disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. The largest numbers of Muslims are concentrated in Copenhagen County and its sub-districts, followed by Aarhus, the second largest city, and Odense, the third largest. As in other European countries, migrants in Denmark settled mainly in the decaying inner city areas or in newly constructed high-rise suburbs around the larger cities. During the late 1980s, a number of mayors from Greater Copenhagen County