The demonstration from both sides is planned for Cologne which saw a huge outpouring of concern for the Islamization of Germany last October. However, the largest demonstrations against further Muslim immigration to Germany have occurred in Dresden on recent Mondays.
From the World Bulletin (emphasis is mine):
At least 13 non-governmental organizations of Muslim and ethnic-Turkish immigrants in Germany announced Thursday their joint decision to protest against the right-wing populist PEGIDA movement.
“We are calling on all citizens to join demonstration in Cologne on Jan. 5 and take a stance against racism, xenophobia, hatred against foreigners and hostility against Islam,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
“We will support all democratic initiatives and allies that oppose PEGIDA and other groups inspired by it,” the statement added.
Germany’s Muslim Coordination Council, a platform of four large Muslim organizations in the country, signed the joint statement along with associations representing Turkish-German businessmen, TUMSIAD and MUSIAD-NRW.
Union of European Turkish Democrats, one of the most influential organizations among Germany’s three million Turks, also backed the call for joining the counter-protests in Cologne, organized by a German citizen initiative supported by political parties, trade unions and church organizations.
Cologne is one of Germany’s most populated cities known for its multi-cultural plurality and large number of immigrants.
A recently formed right-wing anti-Islam movement, Cologne Against Islamization of the West, is also planning a demonstration in the city Monday. The initiative is a copycat group inspired by the Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West or the PEGIDA, which gathered more than 17,000 protesters in the city on Dec. 22. The rise of the right-wing group made headlines in Germany and abroad.
Germany witnessed an increase in suspicion and negative feelings towards Muslims in recent months as far right and populist parties sought to benefit from a growing fear of Islam and Muslims, largely influenced by reports of murders and atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorist group in the Middle East.
Nearly 30 percent of Germans polled by the Stern magazine said they believed anti-Islam demonstrations organized by PEGIDA were justifiable.
Meanwhile, Merkel says we love our Muslims (underlying message, our economy needs those cheap laborers!)
From OnIslam:
CAIRO – Addressing the nation on the eve of the New Year, German chancellor Angela Merkel urged people to help refugees fleeing conflicts, telling them to turn their backs to the “racist”, “full of hatred” anti-Muslim grass-roots movement.
“It goes without saying that we help them and take in people who seek refuge with us,” the chancellor said, Deutsche Welle reported.
Merkel also urged Germans to welcome immigrants, adding that Europe’s biggest economy must welcome people fleeing conflict and war.
She also lamented the rise of the new movement, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA), that has been holding weekly rallies in the eastern city of Dresden for weeks.
Referring to protests that took place before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Merkel said, “Today many people are again shouting on Mondays: ‘We are the people’. But in fact they mean: You do not belong – because of the color of your skin or your religion,” Reuters reported.
“So I say to everyone who goes to such demonstrations: Do not follow those who are appealing to you! Because too often there is prejudice, coldness, even hatred, in their hearts.”
She really does have that Leftist lingo down!
Don’t you think it’s interesting that some never learn from history. Germany, of all places, should know the perils of silencing speech.
See our ‘Invasion of Europe’ series for more information.