Denmark, like many other European countries, has had to face the growing presence of radical Islam within its own borders. From Sharia Patrols harassing bars and individuals that drink alcohol or do anything deemed contrary to Islam, to the prevalence of women being treated as second class citizens and getting sexually assaulted by Muslim men.  One report shows how high the rate of sexual assault has become in countries like Sweden and Denmark.  Danes are witnessing a parallel society within their country. The widespread abuse of women and girls in their Islamic community is one such result.

Let’s first exam the issue of sharia. Even though there is no one single interpretation of sharia law, there are a lot of commonalities between different Islamic schools of thought – the Reliance of the Traveller states, “[t]he four Sunni schools of Islamic law, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali, are identical in approximately 75 percent of their legal conclusions[.]” While sharia is an all-encompassing legal system as well as an ideology, in non-Muslim majority countries like Denmark it is typically limited to sharia councils, Muslim neighborhoods and the Islamic family.  Nevertheless, these councils have national and international aspirations.

One way the values of this ideology manifest themselves is through Muslim interaction with non-Muslims in schools.  Some Muslim Arab boys treat their female counterparts with contempt. Analysis of Jalal El Derbas’ Ph.D. thesis reported by Denmark’s Berlingske reveals a sharia culture that’s penetrating Denmark’s schools.  After reviewing footage from video recordings of 12 and 13-year-old kids from two schools with a heavy concentration of minority students for his thesis, Jalal El Derbas, a teacher at the University of Southern Denmark, found disturbing behavior on how some bilingual students were behaving toward their peers.  Arab boys would use their Arabic language skills as a means to racially and sexually harass other pupils and even their superiors, with an emphasize on girls, Somalis, and teachers that are Danish. Jalal El Derbas states (translated by Bing):

“All bullying takes place in Arabic. All the nasty and evil words being said in Arabic. The Arab boys’ hierarchy creates a very violent environment. I have video footage of serious sexual harassment against Arab girls and I have filmed sequences where Arab boys bully a Somali boy in a really nasty way. You can see the tears in his eyes. They destroy him. It is very violent[.] “

So, where does this alleged male hierarchy come from? Perhaps sharia principles derived from the Quran and other Islamic texts such as:

Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females… –Quran 4:11

…And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses – so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her… –Quran 2:282

And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four… –Quran 4:3

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: Once Allah’s Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o ‘Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, “O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women).” They asked, “Why is it so, O Allah’s Apostle?” He replied, “You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her religion.”  –Sahih Bukhari 1.6.301

Jalal El Derbas says the Danish teachers were essentially clueless to the harassment because it was done in Arabic.

Denmark schools are not the only place where this subculture of Muslim male chauvinism is taking place. For example, see the male Muslim students in Switzerland and Germany refusing to shake their superior’s (teacher, principal) hand because they were female. In Halifax, Canada, Syrian refugee students are allegedly assaulting girls at school.  Are they learning this at home?  Some Islamic scholars even encourage acts such as wife beating in certain situations based upon Islamic verses, such as:

Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them… –Quran 4:34

Denmark provides a case where sharia ideology has affected the attitudes and behavior of adolescent Muslim boys toward females and others they think are inferior. This is heart breaking, and also indicative of a larger sharia ideology that treats non-Muslims in a degrading manner. Denmark’s government must get serious about combatting this sharia culture in Denmark, or they will continue to see the increase in abuse of girls and women, rape, and worse. It might not be convenient for Danish politicians and leaders to address sharia because of the politically correct environment, but the future of Denmark is on the line. Danes must choose!