mick silver
13th January 2015, 11:18 AM
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html ...
German Anti-Islam Rally Draws Record Crowd After Paris Terror Attacks By Leon Mangasarian Jan 13, 2015 10:22 AM CT 468 Comments (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#disqus_thread) Email (?body=Chancellor%20Angela%20Merkel%20will%20join% 20a%20vigil%20to%20support%20tolerance%20after%20a %20German%20group%20opposing%20Islam%E2%80%99s%20i nfluence%20in%20Europe%20drew%20a%20record%20crowd %20for%20one%20of%20its%20rallies%20as%20both%20si des%20hardened%20their%20stance%20over%20Muslims%2 0in%20the%20country.%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fbloom.bg%2F 1AJAXD0&subject=Bloomberg%20News%3A%20German%20Anti-Islam%20Rally%20Draws%20Record%20Crowd%20After%20P aris%20Terror%20Attacks) Print (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html) Speed
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http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iBLe4tVoNXLs.jpg (http://www.bloomberg.com/photo/germany-/-iHfJ3hwXHysE.html) Photographer: Robert Michael/AFP via Getty Images Sympathizers of German right-wing populist movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) attend their twelfth march in Dresden on Jan. 12, 2015. Close (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
Sympathizers of German right-wing populist movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against... Read More (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
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Open Photographer: Robert Michael/AFP via Getty Images Sympathizers of German right-wing populist movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) attend their twelfth march in Dresden on Jan. 12, 2015.
Related
Germany Worries Paris Attacks Boost Pedgia Movement (http://www.bloomberg.com/video/germany-worries-paris-attacks-boost-pedgia-movement-WHwL0mgSSz6PucOBlCcv~g.html)
Chancellor Angela Merkel (http://topics.bloomberg.com/chancellor-angela-merkel/) will join a vigil to support tolerance after a German group opposing Islam’s influence in Europe (http://topics.bloomberg.com/europe/) drew a record crowd for one of its rallies as both sides hardened their stance over Muslims in the country.
Merkel, President Joachim Gauck (http://topics.bloomberg.com/joachim-gauck/) and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel are among senior politicians who will participate in the ceremony this evening in Berlin organized by Muslim organizations that will include Christian and Jewish leaders.
“People who come to us out of deprivation or fear, who need protection, deserve to be treated here with dignity,” Merkel said today. “We need to turn against everything that places into question our fundamental values, the values in our constitution.”
The event to promote religious inclusion comes the day after 25,000 people turned out for the anti-Islam rally in the city of Dresden. The group wrote on Facebook that the killings last week of 17 people in Paris by Islamists “ram home our point.” Organizers of tonight’s demonstration, which will take place at the Brandenburg Gate (http://topics.bloomberg.com/brandenburg-gate/) next to the French Embassy, plan to remember those who died in the Paris terror last week.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany will take part in today’s event, with Vice President Abraham Lehrer giving a speech. The council confirmed a report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (http://topics.bloomberg.com/deutsche-presse--agentur/) that security at synagogues and Jewish centers in Germany has been increased following the attacks in Paris, where some of the victims were Jews.
http://www.bloomberg.com/image/i1SjTQgw8wJE.jpg (http://www.bloomberg.com/photo/pegida-demonstration-/-icZjG_7vwaf8.html) Photographer: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images Demonstrators are seen during a march of supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida, movement in Leipzig, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2014. Close (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
Demonstrators are seen during a march of supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against... Read More (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
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Open Photographer: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images Demonstrators are seen during a march of supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida, movement in Leipzig, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2014.
Clear Words“I am thankful for the clear words in the last days from the Muslim groups” in Germany, said Volker Kauder (http://topics.bloomberg.com/volker-kauder/), the CDU’s parliamentary caucus leader. “That they’ve distanced themselves from this terror that has misused religion, and that they have organized a vigil for this evening.”
The rise of the Dresden movement, which calls itself Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida in German, follows successes last year in state and European Union elections by the anti-euro Alternative for Germany. The AfD, which is critical of German immigration policy, is taking voters from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (http://topics.bloomberg.com/christian-democratic-union/) and other parties. Bernd Lucke, the AfD’s leader, said in an interview published yesterday in Die Welt that Pegida supporters would be welcome in his party.
“Politicians cannot ignore this: they have to do something even if it’s only symbolic on immigration or security,” Joerg Forbrig, the senior program director at the German Marshall Fund (http://topics.bloomberg.com/german-marshall-fund/) of the U.S., said by phone from Berlin. “The CDU must take this seriously. They have to preempt the AfD, otherwise there will be a stronger momentum building behind the party.”
Growing SupportPegida demands tighter immigration laws, measures to fight “religious preachers of hatred” and a zero-tolerance policy for immigrants who commit crimes. The group has seen growing support for its almost weekly demonstrations in Dresden that began in October with just a few hundred people.
“My worst fears have been confirmed by what happened in Paris,” said Juergen Uhlemann, 73, a retired electrical engineer dressed in a fur-fringed parka against temperatures just over freezing and gusting winds. “This kind of attack could happen here. I want lots of money for a program to pay Muslims to go home.”
Germans also came out in large numbers last night to protest against the anti-Islam demonstrators, with more than 100,000 joining rallies across the country in cities that included Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Dusseldorf, according to figures from DPA.
AlarmingThe turnout in Dresden despite Merkel urging Germans not to attend in a New Year’s address where she said some of the organizers have “hatred in their hearts” is indicative of the difficult task the region’s leaders face in combating the rise of groups that use immigrants and foreigners as scapegoats.
“What’s now happening on German streets is alarming,” Justice Minister Heiko Maas said. “We won’t allow that the Paris events are misused and that Muslims are put under general suspicion.”
In Germany (http://topics.bloomberg.com/germany/), citizens are increasingly worried about Islam, according to a Bertelsmann Foundation poll (https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/topics/aktuelle-meldungen/2015/religion-monitor/) published Jan. 8. Islam is seen as a threat by 57 percent of the nation’s non-Muslims, up from 53 percent in 2012. Overall, 61 percent of Germans say Islam isn’t compatible with life in the West, up from 52 percent three years ago. The country has 4 million Muslims out of a population of 81 million.
An Infratest-Dimap poll showed 21 percent of Germans have “sympathy” for Pegida. The backing was higher, 31 percent, in formerly communist eastern Germany, which has far fewer foreigners, and 19 percent in the western part of the country.
The support for the anti-immigrant movement comes as the number of refugees arriving in Germany, mainly from the Middle East (http://topics.bloomberg.com/middle-east/) and Africa (http://topics.bloomberg.com/africa/), surged by almost 60 percent last year, with the government estimating that 200,000 entered the country.
To contact the reporter on this story: Leon Mangasarian in Dresden, Germany at lmangasarian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net Chad Thomas (http://topics.bloomberg.com/chad-thomas/), Tony Czuczka
German Anti-Islam Rally Draws Record Crowd After Paris Terror Attacks By Leon Mangasarian Jan 13, 2015 10:22 AM CT 468 Comments (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#disqus_thread) Email (?body=Chancellor%20Angela%20Merkel%20will%20join% 20a%20vigil%20to%20support%20tolerance%20after%20a %20German%20group%20opposing%20Islam%E2%80%99s%20i nfluence%20in%20Europe%20drew%20a%20record%20crowd %20for%20one%20of%20its%20rallies%20as%20both%20si des%20hardened%20their%20stance%20over%20Muslims%2 0in%20the%20country.%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fbloom.bg%2F 1AJAXD0&subject=Bloomberg%20News%3A%20German%20Anti-Islam%20Rally%20Draws%20Record%20Crowd%20After%20P aris%20Terror%20Attacks) Print (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html) Speed
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http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iBLe4tVoNXLs.jpg (http://www.bloomberg.com/photo/germany-/-iHfJ3hwXHysE.html) Photographer: Robert Michael/AFP via Getty Images Sympathizers of German right-wing populist movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) attend their twelfth march in Dresden on Jan. 12, 2015. Close (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
Sympathizers of German right-wing populist movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against... Read More (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
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Open Photographer: Robert Michael/AFP via Getty Images Sympathizers of German right-wing populist movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) attend their twelfth march in Dresden on Jan. 12, 2015.
Related
Germany Worries Paris Attacks Boost Pedgia Movement (http://www.bloomberg.com/video/germany-worries-paris-attacks-boost-pedgia-movement-WHwL0mgSSz6PucOBlCcv~g.html)
Chancellor Angela Merkel (http://topics.bloomberg.com/chancellor-angela-merkel/) will join a vigil to support tolerance after a German group opposing Islam’s influence in Europe (http://topics.bloomberg.com/europe/) drew a record crowd for one of its rallies as both sides hardened their stance over Muslims in the country.
Merkel, President Joachim Gauck (http://topics.bloomberg.com/joachim-gauck/) and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel are among senior politicians who will participate in the ceremony this evening in Berlin organized by Muslim organizations that will include Christian and Jewish leaders.
“People who come to us out of deprivation or fear, who need protection, deserve to be treated here with dignity,” Merkel said today. “We need to turn against everything that places into question our fundamental values, the values in our constitution.”
The event to promote religious inclusion comes the day after 25,000 people turned out for the anti-Islam rally in the city of Dresden. The group wrote on Facebook that the killings last week of 17 people in Paris by Islamists “ram home our point.” Organizers of tonight’s demonstration, which will take place at the Brandenburg Gate (http://topics.bloomberg.com/brandenburg-gate/) next to the French Embassy, plan to remember those who died in the Paris terror last week.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany will take part in today’s event, with Vice President Abraham Lehrer giving a speech. The council confirmed a report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (http://topics.bloomberg.com/deutsche-presse--agentur/) that security at synagogues and Jewish centers in Germany has been increased following the attacks in Paris, where some of the victims were Jews.
http://www.bloomberg.com/image/i1SjTQgw8wJE.jpg (http://www.bloomberg.com/photo/pegida-demonstration-/-icZjG_7vwaf8.html) Photographer: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images Demonstrators are seen during a march of supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida, movement in Leipzig, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2014. Close (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
Demonstrators are seen during a march of supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against... Read More (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/german-anti-islam-rally-draws-record-crowd-after-paris.html#)
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Close
Open Photographer: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images Demonstrators are seen during a march of supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida, movement in Leipzig, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2014.
Clear Words“I am thankful for the clear words in the last days from the Muslim groups” in Germany, said Volker Kauder (http://topics.bloomberg.com/volker-kauder/), the CDU’s parliamentary caucus leader. “That they’ve distanced themselves from this terror that has misused religion, and that they have organized a vigil for this evening.”
The rise of the Dresden movement, which calls itself Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or Pegida in German, follows successes last year in state and European Union elections by the anti-euro Alternative for Germany. The AfD, which is critical of German immigration policy, is taking voters from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (http://topics.bloomberg.com/christian-democratic-union/) and other parties. Bernd Lucke, the AfD’s leader, said in an interview published yesterday in Die Welt that Pegida supporters would be welcome in his party.
“Politicians cannot ignore this: they have to do something even if it’s only symbolic on immigration or security,” Joerg Forbrig, the senior program director at the German Marshall Fund (http://topics.bloomberg.com/german-marshall-fund/) of the U.S., said by phone from Berlin. “The CDU must take this seriously. They have to preempt the AfD, otherwise there will be a stronger momentum building behind the party.”
Growing SupportPegida demands tighter immigration laws, measures to fight “religious preachers of hatred” and a zero-tolerance policy for immigrants who commit crimes. The group has seen growing support for its almost weekly demonstrations in Dresden that began in October with just a few hundred people.
“My worst fears have been confirmed by what happened in Paris,” said Juergen Uhlemann, 73, a retired electrical engineer dressed in a fur-fringed parka against temperatures just over freezing and gusting winds. “This kind of attack could happen here. I want lots of money for a program to pay Muslims to go home.”
Germans also came out in large numbers last night to protest against the anti-Islam demonstrators, with more than 100,000 joining rallies across the country in cities that included Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Dusseldorf, according to figures from DPA.
AlarmingThe turnout in Dresden despite Merkel urging Germans not to attend in a New Year’s address where she said some of the organizers have “hatred in their hearts” is indicative of the difficult task the region’s leaders face in combating the rise of groups that use immigrants and foreigners as scapegoats.
“What’s now happening on German streets is alarming,” Justice Minister Heiko Maas said. “We won’t allow that the Paris events are misused and that Muslims are put under general suspicion.”
In Germany (http://topics.bloomberg.com/germany/), citizens are increasingly worried about Islam, according to a Bertelsmann Foundation poll (https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/topics/aktuelle-meldungen/2015/religion-monitor/) published Jan. 8. Islam is seen as a threat by 57 percent of the nation’s non-Muslims, up from 53 percent in 2012. Overall, 61 percent of Germans say Islam isn’t compatible with life in the West, up from 52 percent three years ago. The country has 4 million Muslims out of a population of 81 million.
An Infratest-Dimap poll showed 21 percent of Germans have “sympathy” for Pegida. The backing was higher, 31 percent, in formerly communist eastern Germany, which has far fewer foreigners, and 19 percent in the western part of the country.
The support for the anti-immigrant movement comes as the number of refugees arriving in Germany, mainly from the Middle East (http://topics.bloomberg.com/middle-east/) and Africa (http://topics.bloomberg.com/africa/), surged by almost 60 percent last year, with the government estimating that 200,000 entered the country.
To contact the reporter on this story: Leon Mangasarian in Dresden, Germany at lmangasarian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net Chad Thomas (http://topics.bloomberg.com/chad-thomas/), Tony Czuczka