Poll: One Third of Germans Support Protests Against 'Islamization'

At the beginning of 2015, support among Germans for protests against what they call the 'Islamization of the West', in light of the increasing influx of refugees from Islamic countries to Germany, has grown. The latest poll conducted in the last days of 2014 shows that one-third of the people in this country support demonstrations and protests against the 'Islamization' of their country, and one-eighth of them are willing to personally participate in these rallies. According to Deutsche Welle and Reuters, this poll was conducted about three months after the start of street protests in Germany against the 'Islamization of the West' and the activation of the 'PEGIDA' movement. 'PEGIDA', which stands for 'Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West', began its protests in the city of Dresden, in eastern Germany, in October of the previous year, in response to the increasing signs of Islamization in the country and the rising number of Muslim refugees residing in Germany. While initially only a few participated in the first protests of the 'PEGIDA' group, the number of participants in their weekly Monday night protests has multiplied, and similar groups have formed in several other cities in Germany. The poll shows that among supporters of German far-right organizations, the highest level of support for the 'PEGIDA' protests is expressed; meanwhile, current politicians in the German government consider these organizations to be 'marginal' and insignificant. One of the most important points of the conducted poll is that more than a quarter of supporters of the German Left Party have also stated that they would be willing to participate in similar protests against Islamization in their city. At the same time, the poll indicates that two-thirds of Germans believe that supporters of the 'PEGIDA' movement exaggerate the dangers posed by the Islamization of Germany. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, also warned against anti-foreign protests in her New Year message for 2015 and criticized the demonstrators of the 'PEGIDA' movement for following protests with the slogan 'We are the people'. Germany faced about fifty percent more asylum requests last year than the previous year, particularly from Islamic countries. The largest number of refugees last year in Germany were Middle Eastern Muslims, especially from Syria, which is still facing a bloody war. Concurrently, according to Euronews, following attacks by unknown individuals on the third mosque in Sweden in less than ten days, several Muslims residing in the country participated in a protest on Friday, January 12, demanding support from Swedish institutions for Islamic places. Demonstrators in the cities of Stockholm, Malmö, and Gothenburg, among others, said 'Leave the mosque alone'. Alongside Muslims residing in Sweden, several people from this country also participated in the protest on Friday in solidarity with Muslims based on a call from the anti-racism campaign; the Swedish Minister of Culture and Democracy was among the marchers. Stefan Löfven, the leftist Prime Minister of Sweden, condemned the attacks on mosques, stating that no one should be worried about performing their religious duties in this country. Following a fire on Christmas Day at a mosque in central Sweden and then a fire at one of the mosques near the southern city of Uppsala, the third fire occurred last week at a mosque in the city of Skellefteå. The Swedish police have stated that they have increased security measures near mosques across the country. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Islamic countries live in Sweden and are considered equal citizens. Despite Muslims making up only five percent of the population, discussions about foreign migrants have intensified recently. In recent months, the Sweden Democrats party has been promoting opposition to immigration policies more vigorously. This party recently did not support the government’s budget bill in opposition to the new government's policies.