In Denmark, we have a very brave politician. She is a women named Birthe Rønn Hornbech. She belongs to the right wing of the government, and is the minister for integration and the Church of Denmark. An unusual cocktail of ministries, I know, but this was how the government preferred it to be. Even though the government is very much against head scarfs and other symbols that have anything to do with Islam, this brave woman last week wrote a very clever and interesting article in a Danish newspaper. The case was, that a lot of politicians on the right wing wants to ban head scarfs from the Danish Court rooms, so that no judge should be allowed to wear one. Birthe Rønn argued, against the government and her party, that it would not be wise with such a ban. She argued, that no judge should be forced to wear any symbols, and therefore not be baned from searing them either. Any such ban would be bad for the impartiality of the court room. The union of Danish Judges agreed with Birthe Rønn Hornbech, since they could not see how any such ban would support the court, and keep it free from religious prejudices. As one of the Danish judges argued: 'It takes at least 15 years for a person to go through the juridical system, before he or she will be choosed as a judge. Any person who has shown any sign of religious extremism would no be chosen anyway. A Muslim women who has been through this process, and has been chosen, would obviously not be an extremist, whether she wears the veil or not'
Today, Birthe Rønn Hornbech's own party, Venstre, has ordered her not to speak in public about head scarfs at all. The government will soon vote on a ban on head scarfs and other 'religious symbols' in Danish Court Rooms. -From now on, I can only talk about my own silk scarfs, Birthe Rønn Hornbech said today, after a meeting with her party, Venstre.
The Danish Government is voting on the ban later this week.

I know that the headline is a bit hard on my subject. Firstly, because this of course is a way of getting as many readers as possible. It is however also pretty much how I feel about the country I am living in at the moment. The case is, that I am a Dane who has been living in the UK for more than ten years. Last year, my family and I got the opportunity to move back to my dear little father-land, Denmark. The beautiful little spot on the map, with the little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen and all the other fairy tales. What I forgot about, was the latest addition to what Denmark has become famous for: The Danish Cartoons. After ten years in the UK, is has been rather sad to realize, that those cartoons were more than an editorial mistake on a right wing newspaper. From my point of view, I think the Danes over the years have become so xenophobic and paranoid, in their fight to protect their tribe of blond welfare society, that they can do whatever they like when it comes to avoiding foreigners. This blog is therefore not going to be about the Danish Cartoons ... I am a bit fed up by them, to be honest. What I would like to tell you all about, is how I experience my little country, and the ways in which the Danes are trying to keep it completely Danish. Don't get me wrong: I love my country. I think the Danes - after all, I am one of them myself! - have so many good qualities, and I do have a lot of fantastic Danish friends ... but I think the xenophobia has become an ingrained habit in the population, and therefore more or less 'acceptable behaviour'.