More bad news about the naturalisation bill due to be brought through the Folketing in the first half of 2027.
Mikkel Bjørn, the Danish People’s Party’s (Dansk Folkeparti) chairman of the Naturalisation Committee, has raised concerns about one of the 2,055 applicants who appeared on the bill when it was first introduced in January 2026.
This follows Liberal Alliance’s leader Alex Vanopslagh raising concern about another applicant last week, whom his party had found to have praised leaders of Hamas on social media.
A Facebook post from 2016
The controversy arises over a Facebook post shared by an applicant about the murder of a governor in Pakistan.
Governor Salman Taseer of the Punjab province was murdered by one of his security guards, Mumtaz Qadri, for supporting a woman who was set to be executed for blasphemy.
The applicant for Danish citizenship shared a post on Facebook that read, “The case is not about Mumtaz Qadri. The question is whether a person who insults the prophet should be punished with death. It is on this point that we support Mumtaz Qadri.”
This was discovered by the Danish People’s Party, who are now calling on the applicant, who remains anonymous, to be removed from the bill when it is reintroduced next year.
“Strip him of the possibility of obtaining citizenship”
Speaking to DR, Mikkel Bjørn said, “I do not believe that one can be granted Danish citizenship by the Danish parliament if one has been an Islamist or has generally held the view that legal expressions should be punished with Islamic execution.”
He goes on to call for the government to take action: “The government should strip him of the possibility of obtaining citizenship. If they are not willing to do that, then they must at least be willing for us to meet this man face-to-face so that we can see for ourselves.”
In 2024, the Naturalisation Committee called three applicants in for these types of hearings due to concerns about previous alleged undemocratic views they had shared on social media.
“I support freedom of speech”
In a written statement to DR, the applicant, who responded to the public broadcaster in English, wrote, “I respect people of all religions, from all backgrounds and of all genders. I support freedom of speech, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.”
He could not explain the sharing of the controversial post but noted that his family was going through a tough time when he shared the post on social media.
The minister chimes in
Minister for Immigration and Integration Morten Bødskov of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet) answered DR in a written comment in which he wrote, “It follows from the Constitution that it is a matter for the Folketing to grant Danish citizenship.
“The Naturalisation Committee has the opportunity to ask me questions as minister once the bill has been introduced, including questions about the individual applicants.”
This is similar to the answer he gave last week, when Liberal Alliance had found another potentially problematic applicant amongst the aforementioned 2,055 people on the naturalisation bill earlier this year.
