Anti-Islamic Protests in Cologne, Germany

The anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic group in Germany (PEGIDA) has invited its supporters to participate in a demonstration scheduled for Saturday, January 19, in the city of Cologne. Leftist groups and pro-immigrant supporters are also holding a separate demonstration in the city, calling for an end to racism and sexual violence against women. According to AFP, PEGIDA has announced the location of the demonstration to be in front of the central train station and the Cologne Cathedral; the same spot where on the night of January 1, 2016, hundreds of boys and men, primarily 'Arab and North African,' assaulted dozens of women and young girls, with some cases involving sexual assault. This incident has fueled discussions about how German society and the government should handle refugees coming from war-torn and unsafe Islamic countries with different cultures into Europe's largest economy. PEGIDA claims that the New Year's Eve incident in Cologne is another indication of the ineffectiveness of Angela Merkel's immigration policies. Last year alone, about 1.1 million refugees, most of whom came from Islamic countries, registered their asylum applications in Germany. Now, German news agency reports that the Christian Democratic Party, of which Chancellor Merkel is a member, is voting on changes to the country's laws that would give police greater authority to scrutinize the documents of refugees. If this proposal is approved, the German government could deport refugees who commit crimes in the country back to their home countries. Merkel has also expressed her support for this proposal. Another consequence of the Cologne incident was the dismissal of the city's police chief aimed at 'restoring public trust.' As of Friday, 200 complaints had been registered with the Cologne police regarding the events of New Year's Eve. The Cologne police have arrested 31 suspects in this incident, 18 of whom are refugees. Five of the detainees are Iranian. The city of Cologne, located in the North Rhine-Westphalia state, is a cultural and artistic center of Germany. This city hosts one of the most diverse racial, religious, and gender compositions in Germany.