“We are the people,” they chanted, co-opting the phrase famously shouted a quarter-century ago by East German pro-democracy protesters here in the lead up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
– ‘Repugnant and abhorrent’ –
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the marches “bring shame” on the country, and that Germany is experiencing an “escalation of agitation against immigrants and refugees”, a trend he labelled “repugnant and abhorrent”.
The leader of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Aiman Mazyek, warned that PEGIDA could split German society and that their use of the chant “we are the people” sought to divide “you, the bad Muslims, and us, the good Germans”.
Speaking with AFP, he also blamed politicians and the media for mainly speaking about Islam and Muslims “in the context of security, threats and danger” in recent years.
More than 1,200 police kept a close watch on the non-violent crowd and on about 6,000 counter-protesters nearby marching under the banners “Dresden Nazi free” and “Dresden for All”, organised by civic, political and church groups.
Most protesters claimed they are not neo Nazis, just patriots.
“To call these people sick with fear, Islamophobic, is outrageous,” said an Austrian protester, Lana Gabriel, in her 40s. “They are not far right. They just love the country and its traditions.”
Several conservative politicians have argued the government must “listen” to the people’s concerns about immigration, while the small anti euro AfD party has openly sympathised with PEGIDA, saying its message has struck a chord.
Polls suggest the eurosceptic party has found a new campaign issue.
A survey for news website Zeit Online showed that nearly half of all Germans — 49 percent — sympathised with PEGIDA’s stated concerns and 30 percent indicated they “fully” backed the protests’ aims.
Almost three in four — 73 percent — said they worried that “radical Islam” was gaining ground and 59 percent said Germany accepted too many asylum seekers.
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