15,000-Person Protest Against 'Islamization' in Dresden, Germany

Dresden, Germany witnessed its ninth consecutive week of protests against the refugee acceptance process and the 'Islamization' of German society on Monday night, December 15. According to Deutsche Welle radio, this protest, which started with 'a few hundred' participants in the early weeks, attracted 15,000 people this Monday. On the other hand, 9,000 people also held a counter-protest against the aforementioned demonstrators in the city. Previously, around 15,000 people protested against xenophobia in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday. The group 'Pegida', which calls itself 'European patriots opposing the Islamization of the West', organizes the weekly protests in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. 'Pegida' has emphasized that Islamist immigrants have changed the atmosphere in Germany and have initiated a wave of Islamization in the country. Although the demonstrators in Dresden consider themselves ordinary citizens, German media report that a larger percentage of far-right and anti-foreigner forces play a role in organizing and participating in these protests. 'Pegida' has stated that it has no problem with Islam and immigrants and refugees from Islamic countries, but that Islamic extremists are the source of the problem. 'Pegida' has denied carrying Nazi and neo-Nazi symbols but has not concealed its cooperation with right-wing parties, although it has officially refrained from announcing such cooperation so far. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, has urged the people of the country not to be 'misled' by the words of right-wing leaders. Merkel added that 'there is no place for Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and racism in Germany.' 'Pegida' emerged after supporters of ISIS and Salafi Islamists were involved in a series of widespread movements in various German cities, raising concerns among Germans. The British newspaper The Guardian has also reported that the increasing role of neo-Nazis in Germany indicates a radicalization of the German society against foreigners, especially against Islamic refugees. According to The Guardian, 'Pegida' has managed to hold its protests in Dresden, which it calls 'Nightly Strolls', with increasing participation each week, and while only about 200 people attended their first protest, their latest demonstration attracted between 12,000 and 15,000 participants. Ralph Jäger, the head of the Ministry of the Interior in North Rhine-Westphalia, wrote in Welt am Sonntag that 'Pegida' has adopted deceptive methods to attract public cooperation against foreigners. However, according to The Guardian, the question among German politicians is how to separate the concerned public from anti-foreigner extremists, as the worries of the German masses about the consequences of the current government's immigration policy are increasing day by day. According to a recent poll conducted for Spiegel, about two-thirds of Germans believe that Merkel's government has not taken sufficient steps to address the public's concerns about extremist Islamists. 34% of Germans in the Spiegel poll stated that 'German society has been Islamized.' 'We are the people', the slogan used by 'Pegida', is the same slogan that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. According to The Guardian, following the rise in popularity of 'Pegida' led by 41-year-old Lutz Bachmann, similar organizations have also been established in Leipzig under the name 'Legida', in Bonn as 'Bogida', and in the Darmstadt area as 'Dagida'. Haio Funke, a researcher on far-right movements at the Free University of Berlin, told The Guardian, 'We have not seen such a powerful emergence of the far-right for years, but the recent trend is attracting the masses, which is concerning.' Funke added, 'Even the name 'Pegida' has been as inspiring as a weapon for mass mobilization for the far-right and recalls some events from the rise of Hitler and the propaganda of the Third Reich.'