Protests in Germany against immigration, ‘Islamization’
Members of the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) held a rally mainly targeted at extremism, saying that many asylum seekers were criminals.
The protests first started in October when only a few hundred people turned up. However, the numbers have grown ever since and thousands came to Monday’s march.
“Political refugees are very welcome,” one demonstrator told Euronews. “But look at our asylum seekers’ homes here. There are only men living there. Where are their families? They are criminals who left their families behind in the war.”
Germany is the most popular destination for asylum seekers heading to Europe. The country’s security forces fear the return of jihadis from the Middle East, 150 of whom they believe have so far returned to Germany.
According to German officials, 500 men from Germany have joined the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
Kurds also held anti-ISIS protests in Germany last summer, where they clashed with the group’s sympathizers in different cities.
PEGIDA leaders say they want to preserve the country’s Judeo-Christian culture and that they are not necessarily against Muslims.
Germany does not have a rehabilitation program for radicals returning from the war in Syria or Iraq as Denmark has, and some fear that these jihadis are a “ticking time bomb” in the country and may recruit more young men of Muslim background.
Rudaw
