Danish government party wants to ban quiet rooms at universities - AU has four already and is planning to open another one

Reflection room. Quiet room. Meditation room. Contemplation room. Multi-faith room. The rooms, which provide space for reflection of a more existential nature, have many different names at universities across the country. Despite their differences, they have one thing in common: they are heavily debated at the moment, especially at Christiansborg, after a government commission on the rights of women with minority backgrounds published its recommendations earlier this year.  

Half of the commission’s ten members believe that the government should investigate whether it is possible to ban "public educational institutions from making premises available for religious practice, including preaching and prayer”. 

Eight out of ten of the commission's members also believe that the government should consider introducing laws that ensure that the reflection rooms – as the commission calls them – invite everyone "regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion, and that everyone has the opportunity to use the rooms on equal terms”. The commission highlights several publicly reported cases of the rooms being used for gender-segregated religious activities.

SDU has temporarily closed its reflection room on February 19th, following the discovery that the room had been decorated with items, that made it appear non-neutral to all students and staff, according to a press release from SDU.  

In April last year, it was a quiet room in the Panum building at UCPH that made headlines. An anonymous student had documented how the room was divided by a partition so that men and women could pray separately. Henrik C. Wegener, then rector of UCPH, explained to Danish newspaper Berlingske that it went against the university's principles. In September 2024, a video surfaced from UCPH’s quiet room at the Faculty of Law. In the video, the Muslim Student Association City Campus explains one key rule for the prayer room: “If it says ‘occupied’, it means only sisters are inside. If it is half occupied and half available, there are brothers in there.”

Four become five 

AU recently conducted a survey on the number of quiet rooms at the university at the request of the Ministry of Education and Research, following an inquiry from the Education and Research Committee in Parliament regarding quiet rooms in Danish universities. 

Steen Dahl Pedersen, Legal director at AU, states that the survey was initiated by the university’s senior management team and has since been presented to the AU board.  Minutes from senior management team meetings from February and March this year show that quiet rooms have been discussed at least three times previously. 

According to the survey, Aarhus University has three quiet rooms as of now. One in Studenternes Hus on Nordre Ringgade by the student chaplains. One at the Faculty of Health, building 1264 on Bartholins Allé. And one at Campus Emdrup, located in Copenhagen. Because another quiet room is on the way on Jens Baggesens Vej, AU has disclosed to the ministry that there are four quiet rooms. It turns out, however, that four rooms already exist and a fifth is in the making - there is also one at Navitas.

“Only for short time use”, it reads on the door to the room, located on the third floor of the building. When the Ministry of Research and Development made a similar statement in 2017 about the number of quiet rooms at the country's educational institutions, AU stated that it had one quiet room. In December 2024, Muslim Student Association Aarhus (MSUA) took to Instagram to share a photo of the door, captioning it: “Good news! Alhamdulillah (thank God, ed.), a prayer room has now been established at Navitas”.  

According to information shared with Omnibus, the new quiet room at Katrinebjerg will be situated in the basement of a building housing teaching spaces for the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Production. It is expected to open in April. 

Rector: "Social control must not occur”

In a written response, AU rector Brian Bech Nielsen addresses the quiet rooms. 

“For some students, the rooms are important for their well-being at the university. Quiet rooms provide a space for a break in silence. Users of the rooms can immerse themselves, meditate or say a prayer. The rooms are open to everyone and are used across religious beliefs. They have a neutral decor and are not meant for preaching. The spaces are open to many uses, but social control is not one of them. Personal belongings, for example those of a religious nature, must not be left in the room and should be taken with you when leaving. The rooms must be checked at regular intervals, and any forgotten items removed,” says Brian Bech Nielsen. 

Chief Legal Counsel at AU: "It should be open to everyone"

Steen Dahl Pedersen, Head of the Legal Office, explains that he has been tasked with outlining the framework for quiet rooms at the university to the management. 

“The rules state that rooms may be made available to students to a limited extent, provided it is related to their activities at the university. That is the basis for having quiet rooms. The framework is that it should be open to everyone. Gender segregation must not take place. There should be no discrimination. And they must be decorated neutrally. Students are allowed to reflect, sit, or say a prayer. We should not support specific religious acts; that is not a university purpose. But the purpose could be to create a space for students to immerse themselves in something other than their books,” says Steen Dahl Pedersen. 

AU has not received any complaints about how the rooms have been used, explains Steen Dahl Pedersen. 

“Once things start heading in a certain direction, you have to say no”

AU apparently has no problems keeping its quiet rooms neutral. Omnibus finds no signs of religious affiliation in the rooms at Navitas, Studenternes Hus, or Health. University chaplain Jens Munk emphasises the importance of quiet rooms being neutral. When he took over the room, it had a more religious tone, but he made the decision to make it neutral so that it would be open to everyone, he explains.

“The problem at UCPH was that the room was claimed. It was gender-segregated and had prayer rugs. Of course, you won’t go in there. It is important to keep it neutral. We don't have those problems at AU at all," Jens Munk says and continues:

“Once things start heading in a certain direction, you have to say no. A few years ago, a Muslim student left his rug in the quiet room. I immediately told the student to take it with him. You need to be clear about what that space is and what it should be used for. That it is neutral and that people take with them what they bring. It's easy to say to people,” he says.

The students use the quiet room in the Studenternes Hus in different ways, Jens Munk explains. Some students go there before an exam to find peace, for example those who struggle with social anxiety. He himself is in charge of meditation sessions in the room on Mondays. Some Muslim students also use it to pray. 

“We don’t understand the debate because we've never had problems. It's great to have a room where two Muslim girls, two Hindus, some who want to sit in silence, and others who want to meditate can all come together. It sets an example of living in harmony. Atheists and religious people meet there. I think you should cherish that. Banning it doesn’t work. People become afraid of each other," Jens Munk says. 

AU professor on the commission does not want government regulations 

Lene Kühle is a professor of Sociology of Religion at Aarhus University and is one of the ten members of the government’s commission on the rights of women with minority backgrounds. She is opposed to banning quiet rooms and, along with former member of parliament Özlem Cekic, does not support government regulations for quiet rooms at Danish universities.

“I was part of the group that didn't want to legislate on it but leave it up to the universities to decide if they want such rooms and how to implement them. But I understand that universities need to be aware that it's their responsibility to ensure that nothing problematic happens in these rooms. 

What could be problematic? 

“The focus of the commission is the rights of minority women and how to prevent honour-related social control. Some believe that this could happen in these quiet rooms, and the university should therefore take responsibility to prevent it”.

Is social control a problem in relation to these spaces?

“That’s a good question. Overall, I don't think that it is. But I wouldn't completely deny that it could be a problem in some places," says Lene Kühle. 

The professor is specifically against bans in this area because they are too extensive. She also opposes guidelines, as, in her view, the rooms serve a broader purpose than just prayer rooms, which is what eight of the commission members focus mostly on, she suggests. The quiet rooms at AU are used for "all sorts of things," Lene Kühle estimates, and therefore the rules will apply very broadly. Here, she refers to her research, in which she, along with Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian colleagues, compared the quiet room at Studenternes Hus with those at universities in Norway and Sweden. Each one was used very differently. Therefore, Lene Kühle believes the issue is too complex to set general guidelines for. However, she understands the position of the eight members, she explains. 

Lene Kühle acknowledges that there are examples of gender-segregated quiet rooms, and that this can be problematic both in relation to "the stated purpose of the rooms and the objectives of universities”.

“That's why it may be worth discussing and important to advise universities to monitor it closely. I believe that the scope of the problem so far is something that the universities can handle. It won't be easier with external supervision," she says. 

Government party set to introduce ban

The governing Danish Liberal Party wants a ban on quiet rooms. This was announced in February by the party's immigration and integration spokesperson, Hans Andersen. He explained that the rooms "are, in practice, gender-segregated prayer rooms," in an interview with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). The Moderates, who are also part of the government, oppose a ban. The last governing party, the Social Democratic Party, believes that more groundwork and research are needed before the party will support a ban. However, Minister of Immigration and Integration Kaare Dybvad Bek (Social Democrats) has expressed opposition to the rooms, while Immigration and Integration Spokesperson Frederik Vad (Social Democrats) has supported closing the room at SDU, stating, “we are not afraid of closing the rooms”. 

On Tuesday, March 11, the commission will present its report to the Immigration and Integration Committee in the Danish Parliament. The commission's recommendations explain why the majority is in favour of regulations in this area.

“A majority of the commission agrees that there is a need to introduce measures in relation to quiet rooms and the like, as the practical use of these rooms in certain cases conflicts with fundamental principles of gender equality and can contribute to creating collective pressure for a particular use of the rooms. This pressure can function as a tool for honour-related social control, where women in particular can be subjected to restrictions that undermine their freedom and self-determination," the commission writes.

The majority is in favour of subsequent supervision to ensure that educational institutions comply with the obligations set out. 

Muslim student associations: “Token politics at the expense of Muslim students”

In recent weeks, several student associations with Muslim roots have entered the debate on quiet rooms. Seven of them, MSUA AU, SSO Odense, MENAPT SDU, MSA City Campus KU, MSA Søndre Campus KU, MSA DTU and SSO Copenhagen, have, for example, "clearly distanced themselves from SDU's closure of reflection rooms" in an Instagram post.

“The decision, which comes at a time when reflection rooms at universities are on the political agenda, can only be understood as an approval of the Liberal Party's proposal for a general ban. We demand that SDU withdraw their unjustified decision and instead enter into dialogue with the users of the space to strengthen the study and working environment at the university. Until then, we urge all students and employees - and representatives - to express their dissatisfaction with this unjustified decision via the relevant forums at the university," the associations write. 

Several editorials have also been written. In Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, one of the signatories to the debate piece from February 19th "Seven student organisations:" Politicians' desired ban on prayer rooms creates a false and unnecessary conflict" is from the Muslim Student Union Aarhus (MSUA).

“It looks more like tokenism at the expense of Muslim students and employees, rather than a real solution to the problem. When introducing interventions that limit rights and opportunities without being able to point to a specific need, we must ask: "What is this really about?" the students write in the post. 

Female students from MSUA are also co-signatories to the debate post "Female Muslim students on the ban on prayer rooms:" It is an authoritarian attempt to control how we practice our faith”, published in Berlingske on February 28.

“Removing reflection rooms under the guise of equality is not a protection of women's rights, but an encroachment on our freedom and an authoritarian attempt to control how we practice our faith,” they write. 

Omnibus has attempted to get an interview with MSUA, but the association has not returned our request. 

The Danish Students' Council (DSF) has also joined the debate. Chair of DSF Christoffer Rosenkvist calls political interference in the quiet rooms a slippery slope. 

"Students are best acquainted with their local conditions, and the conversation about quiet rooms should take place in study councils and between faculty and students," he said in an interview with Ritzau, Denmark's national news agency, in February. 

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Cecillia Jensen.