Press Release
The Danish governments coming initiatives regarding forced removal of children from their parents is a testimony to its cynical view on human beings and a despisement of Muslims

The Danish TV Channel TV2 published an article the 15th of January entitled: “The Government wants to oblige municipalities to remove children who grow up in radicalized environments.” The article described how the Danish government wants to set up a commission to “make rules that obliges the municipalities to place a child or young person outside of their home if it is estimated that they otherwise will grow up in a radicalized environment.”

Even though this despicable initiative is being introduced under the cover of an extension of the current law against foreign fighters, it is presented with general phrases such as “radicalized environments”, which opens a door so it can be used against any Muslim family who denounces the secular liberal values. Terms like “radicalization” and “extremism” has been used in an excessive way by politicians when then speak about Islam and Muslims in general.

This is happening only a few weeks after the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, made her New Year’s speech which was interpreted by several analysts as a call to force removal of more Muslim children.

Lars Trier Mogensen, a political commentator, commented her New Year’s speech saying: “It is not possible to be mistaken by her words. The tougher approach against parents of placed children will in reality be an extension of the so-called Ghetto Bill because most of the children who in the future will be force removed and given up for adoption will be children from foreigner and refugee families. She has just opened a new social democratic culture battle in which The Social Democrats for the first time is in the attacking position.

These statements are a testimony of a cynical view towards human beings a despisement of Muslims. To remove a child’s right to with its parent and vice versa can be compared to killing someone when it comes to inflicting harm an another human being. It has also been seen before in history how Denmark and other European countries have done this in the name of civilizing strange people with a different mindset. Their cynical view towards human beings has apparently not changed.

Even though serious problems such as sexual abuse, alcohol and extreme violence are widespread among many Danish families, the government chooses not to focus its attention here. It is not in these families the Prime Minister believes “too few force removals” are being conducted. In the year 2018, the municipalities conducted 3871 removals of children outside of their homes. In these cases, the authorities gave 7354 substantiation to explain these removals. Only 7 percent of these substantiations were about the parent’s abuse and only 6 percent was about physical abuse, sexual abuse or other types of abuse.

It also well known that the case handling when it comes to force removal of children is filled with flaws. An internal investigation conducted by the Municipality of Frederiksberg revealed flaws in all cases. However, the government does not want to correct this before municipalities are to be obliged to remove children from their “radicalized parents”.

They talk about force removals in such a cold fashion that one would think they were talking about the removal of baby animals from their mothers in a zoo. The Danish Prime Minister seems to be dreaming about accomplishing a state such as that in China were authorities in Xinjiang can remove Muslim children if the Chinese officers assess that the family is not Chinese enough and has shown signs of extremism.

We call all Muslims to resist these xenophobic plans against the Muslim community. We have witnessed before how anti-Islamic laws paves the way for even more extreme anti-Islamic laws. Forced removals of children can potentially be used in the future as tool of terror against Muslims if they do not accept to be assimilated. Just like we are seeing in China.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Denmark