According to the annual report titled “Assessment of the Terror Threat against Denmark” published by Denmark’s Police Intelligence Service (PET), Islamic terrorism continues to pose the most significant terrorist threat against Denmark and Danish interests abroad. The report reveals that ISIS supporters with Danish citizenship have free entry from Syria. However, the nature of the terrorist threat is changing, and a new form of threat, termed “hybridization”, has emerged.
Hybridization refers to the mixture of both traditional ideological and religious as well as non-ideological narratives, expressions, and methods of contemporary extremists. According to Michael Hamann, the boss for PET’s Center for Terror Analysis (CTA), individuals are increasingly putting together their own cocktail of world and enemy images, characterized by ideological and religious ideas, supplemented by conspiracy theories, extreme fascination with violence, and close personal relationships. Societal currents and technological development create conditions for extremist narratives to be composed by individuals, and the internet has made it easier and faster to find inspiration to compose and pass on self-defined world and enemy images.
The report also highlights another trend, increased polarization in the political system in several countries in the West. The development is characterized by an increased normalization of conspiracy theories, which interweave with and influence established political narratives and claims about the political dominance of illegitimate power elites. This development, in conjunction with increased hybridization of the threat picture, may have the potential to influence, mobilize and radicalize not only existing extremists but also actors who have not previously been associated with extremism, and thus have a knock-on effect on the terrorist threat.
The report warns that the extent and nature of the threats can result in a “chilling effect”, where individuals opt out of taking part in the democratic debate or running for public office for fear of threats, intimidation, or harassment directed at themselves or their family. The report concludes that the overall effect can potentially challenge and contribute to the erosion of key prerequisites for Denmark’s democracy.
Terrorist and jihadist threats in Denmark
On April 30, 2020, police in Copenhagen claimed to have foiled a terrorist plot. According to sources, the attempted terror attack had a “militant Islamic motive”. Danish police arrested a man who attempted to obtain firearms and ammunition to carry out several attacks. It is suspected that the perpetrator acted alone – meaning it was a lone wolf bid.
From February 6 to February 8, 2021, authorities in Denmark and Germany arrested over 14 people on suspicion of planning “one or more” terrorist attacks. Working with police, PET—the Danish Security and Intelligence Service—arrested seven people between February 6 and 8 on attempted terrorism charges throughout the greater Copenhagen suburbs. Specifically, the charges included “planning one or more terrorist attacks or being accessory to attempted terrorism”, and “having acquired ingredients and components for manufacturing explosives as well as firearms or having aided and abetted in the offense”. On February 11, the Court of Holbaek ordered the detention of another six people allegedly connected to the incident.
German authorities also arrest one person “linked” to the investigation, who allegedly had a “self-painted” ISIS flag upon searching his Naumburg apartment. Among those arrested were three Syrian brothers.
Over the past decade, Danish authorities have identified Islamist extremist ideology as a serious and imminent threat. In particular, authorities have been concerned by the threat from Al-Qaeda since the publication of controversial cartoons in 2005 and 2008. More recently, Denmark’s participation in the US-led coalition against ISIS has put the country on a higher alert of Islamist attacks.
As of March 2020, at least 159 Danish citizens have gone to fight alongside extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. Of those that left, approximately 34 are currently fighting, about half of them have returned to Denmark or other European countries, around 50 have died, and about 9 are located in various third countries. Danish foreign fighters have also threatened Denmark from abroad. In August 2014, a Danish foreign fighter with ISIS warned in an interview with a Danish newspaper that “soon it will be Denmark’s turn”.
Sympathizers within Denmark have also declared support for ISIS. A number of such sympathizers are reported to attend the Grimhøj mosque in the city of Aarhus. The mosque’s leadership declared its support for ISIS in September 2014.
Danish authorities have carried out numerous arrests and prosecuted multiple terrorism suspects. In April 2020, Danish police arrested a man in Copenhagen who sought to carry out a terror attack with a “militant Islamic motive”. The suspect attempted to obtain firearms and ammunition to carry out several operations across the country. In December 2019, Danish police arrested 20 people in connection with plotting an Islamist inspired terrorist attack. The suspects allegedly sought to obtain explosives and firearms. In November 2017, a Danish high court sentenced a 16-year-old girl to eight years imprisonment for plotting to bomb two schools, including a private Jewish school in Copenhagen. In April 2016, Copenhagen police arrested four foreign fighter returnees suspected of having broken Danish counterterrorism law while fighting in Syria. Police found weaponry and ammunition during the raid.
