Turks in Denmark, also referred to as Turkish Danes or Danish Turks ( da, Tyrkere i Danmark; tr, ) refers to ethnic

Turkish people The Turkish people, or simply the Turks ( tr, Türkler), are the world's largest Turkic ethnic group; they speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic ...

living in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. They currently form the largest ethnic minority group in the country; thus, the Turks are the second largest ethnic group in Denmark, after the ethnic

Danish people Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

.. The majority of Danish Turks descend from the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

; however, there has also been significant Turkish migration from other post- Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Denmark from the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

(e.g. from

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

), the island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, and more recently

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

History

At the end of the 1950s Denmark required a high labour demand which triggered labour immigration mainly from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

; consequently, alongside the Turkish migrants from Turkey, there was also a substantial number of

Balkan Turks The Balkan Turks or Rumelian Turks ( tr, ) are the Turkish people who have been living in the Balkans since the Ottoman rule as well as their descendants who still live in the region today. The Turks are officially recognized as a minority in Bos ...

(e.g. Romanian Turks, Bosnian Turks etc) who arrived in Denmark. More recently, Iraqi Turks and

Syrian Turks Syrian Turkmen, also referred to as Syrian Turkomans, Turkish Syrians, or simply Syrian Turks or Turks of Syria, ( ar, تركمان سوريا; tr, Suriye Türkmenleri or ) are Syrian citizens of Turkish origin who mainly trace their roots to ...

have also migrated to Denmark since the European migrant crisis.

Demographics

In 2008, a report published by the

Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...

stated that there was 70,000 people of Turkish origin who were

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. Thus, the Turks were the largest Danish Muslim population and accounted for 35% of the 200,000 Muslims. In 2015 the Turkish Danish population was around 75,000. The majority of Turkish Danish people descend from Turkey; however, some have also arrived from other post-Ottoman countries. For example, there was approximately 2,000 Turkish Iraqi immigrants in Denmark in 2010 (excluding descendants).

Culture

Language

Within the home environment the

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

is most dominant and children are expected to speak Turkish. However, Danish is spoken outside the home creating a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

identity.

Religion

The majority of Turks regard themselves as

. They worship their religion mainly within their own Turkish community and are subdivided mainly by political or religious differences.. The Diyanet supports mosque associations in Denmark and controls the majority of the religious organisations used by the community. The "Danish Turkish Islamic Foundation" ( da, Dansk Tyrkisk Islamisk Stiftelse) is part of the Diyanet and is the largest Muslim organisation in Denmark.. The Diyanet's major competing Islamic networks are the

Millî Görüş Millî Görüş (, "National Outlook" or "National Vision") is a religious-political movement and a series of Islamist parties inspired by Necmettin Erbakan. It argues that Turkey can develop with its own human and economic power by protectin ...

as well as the

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

association. In 2008 a report published by the

estimated that the Danish Turks formed 70,000 out of a total of 200,000 Muslims in the country. Hence, one-third of the country's Muslims were of Turkish origin.

Notable people

Yildiz Akdogan Yildiz Akdogan (born 29 April 1973) is a Turkish-Danish politician, who was a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2014 to 2019. Along with Özlem Cekic, she was one of the first female immigrant po ...

, politician * Hasan Al, boxer *, football player *, imam ( Turkish Cypriot origin) * Türker Alici, contestant on '' Robinson Ekspeditionen 2018'' *, politician * Mehmet Ali Avci, film maker * Yasin Avcı, football player *

Oğuz Han Aynaoğlu Oğuz Han Aynaoğlu (born 22 March 1992), also known as OG, is a Danish footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish club Balıkesirspor. He has amassed a total 11 youth caps for Denmark under three different age groups. Early life Oğuzhan pl ...

, football player * Büsra Barut, female football player *, politician *Zahide Bayram, crowned

Miss Denmark Miss Denmark () is a national Beauty pageant in Denmark. The pageant was founded in 1926, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe and other titleholders to Miss World, Miss International and Miss Supranational. Organization The Miss Dan ...

(1999) * Baris Balo Bicen, contestant on '' Robinson Ekspeditionen 2019'' *, football player * Seckin Cem, contestant on '' Robinson Ekspeditionen 2007'' * Dennis Ceylan, boxer * Ercan, finalist on the '' X Factor'' 2010 * Buket Genc, contestant on '' Robinson Ekspeditionen 2013'' *, chief physician at Sjællands Universitetshospital, Køge * Gökcan Kaya, football player *, actor and rapper * Sara Keçeci, handball player (Turkish father and Danish mother) * Erkan Kilic, contestant on '' Baren'' 2001 * Hasan Kuruçay, football player *

Emre Mor Emre Mor (born 24 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Turkey national team. Early life Emre Mor was born and raised in Brønshøj, Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Turkis ...

, football player (Turkish father and Turkish Macedonian mother) * Şaban Özdoğan, football player * Yusuf Öztürk, football player *, actress * Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye, ceramic artist * Aral Simsir, football player *, businessman and former athlete (Turkish father and a Danish mother) * Fatih Şahin, contestant on '' Robinson Ekspeditionen 2007'' * Tülin Şahin, model and actress *, actor, politician and CEO of the Danish-Turkish newspaper ''Haber'' *

Ertuğrul Tekşen Ertuğrul Tekşen (born 25 April 2000) is a Danish-born Turkish professional footballer who plays as a forward for TFF Third League club Belediye Kütahyaspor. Club career Early years Tekşen started playing football at an early age in Ishøj w ...

, football player *

Mona Tougaard Mona Tougaard (born 3 April 2002) is a Somali-Danish Model (person), model. Early life Tougaard was born in Aarhus, Denmark, to a half Turkish half Danish father and a Somali mother. She has two older siblings from her mother's previous marri ...

, fashion model (Turkish, Danish, Somali, and Ethiopian descent) *, rapper (Turkish and Italian origin) *, politician

References

Bibliography

* * * *. * {{Portal bar, Denmark, Turkey Muslim communities in Europe Middle Eastern diaspora in Denmark