Association keeps Isam B song in Danish songbook

The song Ramadan in Copenhagen by Isam B and other contributors will remain in Højskolesangbogen, a Danish songbook, the Folkehøjskolernes Forening, which publishes it, said in a written statement reported by DR.

The decision follows criticism from several politicians of comments by Isam B, also known as Isam Bachiri from the band Outlandish, describing it as feminist when women wear the Muslim garment niqab.

The committee behind the songbook’s 19th edition and the association said the songs were selected primarily for their content and quality. The artists behind them were not screened for potentially controversial statements or views that might conflict with the values of the folk high school movement.

Social Democratic integration and immigration spokesperson Thomas Skriver Jensen said Isam B’s contribution should be removed. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described his comments as an insult to people who fight an unreasonable struggle every day. Denmark Democrats’ political spokesperson Susie Jessen called Isam B a “woman-hater”.

Isam B recently told P1 Morgen that he wanted to add nuance to the debate, arguing that there is also freedom in choosing to cover oneself. He said women who wear a niqab make a powerful statement and express a defiant attitude, while social control and oppression were wrong and should be fought.

Folkehøjskolernes Forening said people should be cautious about rejecting art because of artists’ lives and views. It pointed to Harald Bergstedt’s songs Jeg ved en lærkerede and Solen er så rød, mor, which are also included in the songbook despite his openly Nazi views.

Association chair Lisbeth Trinskjær said disagreement with an artist was not enough to revise the songbook after publication.

“Strong statements can make it harder to separate a song’s poetry from its creator’s politics,” she said, adding that freedom of expression meant Isam B was free to express his views. She said his comments about the niqab were far from the association’s understanding of freedom and equality, but stressed that it did not endorse all the views held or later expressed by composers.

The songbook’s website says Ramadan in Copenhagen gives non-Muslim Danes insight into a world that seems foreign and exotic to most people and helps build greater understanding of a diverse Denmark. The song was added to the 19th edition, published in 2019.

A new committee will decide which songs are included in the 20th edition. Wearing a niqab or burka in public has been prohibited in Denmark since 2018 and is punishable by a fine.