Islamism in Denmark

In February 2015, a few weeks after the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, a young man with Palestinian background attacked a public meeting about freedom of speech and subsequently a synagogue in central Copenhagen. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which are considered to be the first perpetrated Islamist attack in Denmark. In recent years, the security focus on violent Islamism has coalesced around the issue of foreign fighters travelling to Syria and the potential threat, when they return. According to the Danish security and intelligence service, PET, approximately 135 people have travelled from Denmark to Syria since 2012.

The history of militant Islamism in Denmark, however, dates back to the 1990s, when veterans of the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union found safe haven in the country. Today, violent Islamism in Denmark remains far from a well-organized domestic phenomenon, although there have been notable instances of homegrown extremism among Danish Muslims, with individuals joining foreign militant movements such as al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab or Islamic State. In the main, however, violent Islamists are very few in number and vastly outnumbered by non-violent Islamist groups.