Dresden anti-Islam march - Thousands of protesters joined a far right group in the eastern German state of Saxony on Monday to march against the high rate of immigration in the country and the purported 'Islamization of the west.'
The Dresden anti-islam protest, organized by a group known as Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West), have been ongoing for up to 9 weeks. But Monday's alleged 'stroll' saw the most attendees - about 15,000. This surpassed the expectation of many experts.
The protesters comprised 'rightwing extremists' and ordinary citizens who are concerned about the country's immigration laws. Local sources have revealed that some of the marchers at the Dresden anti-Islam protest made analogies to the economically strained situation German nationals are forced to contend with, while immigrants enjoy relative affluence.
There were over a thousand law enforcement officials at the Dresden anti-islam protest on Monday. Reports indicate that a counter-demonstration took place in a different part of the city.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been under immense pressure to review the country's immigration law, which experts say is one of the most porous in Europe. Germany has long been a favorite destination for asylum seekers, but the recent wars in the Middle East has seen foreigners troop there in large numbers.
While the vilified head of Pegida Lutz Bachmann and the thousands who chanted 'We are the people' through the streets of Dresden on Monday night claim to be genuinely demanding their rights as citizens, officials dismissed the protesters as hooligans.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on people who joined the Dresden anti-islam protest to be careful that they are not taken advantage of. "There's freedom of assembly in Germany, but there's no place for incitement and lies about people who come to us from other countries," she said. "There is no place in Germany for Islamophobia or anti-Semitism, hatred of foreigners or racism."
While the Dresden anti-islam protests, which have spawned similar demonstrations in other parts of the country, continues to be non-violent. Experts are concerned that these sentiments may rise to a pitch where it would become a serious cause for concern.
