Pegida

Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West
Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes

Logo of Pegida
Abbreviation Pegida
Formation 19 December 2014
Legal status

Eingetragener Verein[1] (registered voluntary association)

Location
Official language
 German
Chair
 Lutz Bachmann
Website www.pegida.de

Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (German: Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes), abbreviated PEGIDA or Pegida, is a far-right movement founded in Dresden in October 2014 that promotes anti-Muslim political positions.[2][3][4] On one of their logos they display a Third Reich swastika, a leaflet with the ISIS flag on it, a leaflet with the communist hammer and sickle symbol inside a five-pointed star, and the Antifaschistische Aktion logo all being thrown in a trash can.[5] The movement opposes what it considers the Islamisation[6] of the Western world and demands more restrictive immigration rules, particularly for Muslims who it views as refusing to integrate. Offshoots of Pegida have been formed in various countries. The movement has also opposed NATO and EU membership and has supported better relations with Vladimir Putin's Russia.

History

Origin

Pegida was founded in October 2014 by Lutz Bachmann, who runs a public relations agency in Dresden.[7] Bachmann's impetus for starting Pegida was witnessing a rally by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on 10 October 2014 in Dresden,[8] which he posted on YouTube on the same day.[9] The next day he founded a Facebook group called Patriotische Europäer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes ("Patriotic Europeans against Islamisation of the Occident")[10] which was initially mainly directed against arms shipments to the PKK, who were fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[6]

A few days earlier, on 7 October a group of Muslims, assumed to be Salafists, had violently attacked PKK supporters who were gathering after a demonstration against ISIL.[11] The same day Yazidis and Muslim Chechens had violently clashed in Celle.[12] On 26 October, out of 5,000 protesters, "at least 400 right-wing extremists went on a rampage in downtown Cologne during a demonstration" by "Hooligans Against Salafists".[6] Bachmann mentioned these events in a release for his first demonstration.[13]

First wave of demonstrations

The first demonstration or "evening stroll" (according to Pegida)[14] took place on October 20, 2014, and only attracted a handful of people.[6][15] During the following days, the movement began gaining wider public attention, and subsequently the weekly Monday demonstrations drew larger numbers of people. Among the 7,500 participants on December 1, 2014 the police identified 80 to 120 hooligans. The demonstration grew to 10,000 people on 8 December 2014.[15][16]

During the weekly demonstrations on Monday evenings, Pegida supporters carried banners with slogans such as "For the preservation of our culture", "Against religious fanaticism, against any kind of radicalism, together without violence", "Against religious wars on German soil",[17] "Peace with Russia – No war in Europe ever again" and "We are emancipated citizens and not slaves".[18]

On December 19, 2014 PEGIDA e.V. was legally registered in Dresden under the registration ID VR 7750,[19] with Bachmann as chairman, Rene Jahn vice-chairman and Kathrin Oertel as treasurer. Pegida also formally applied for the status of a nonprofit organisation.[20]

Aftermath of Charlie Hebdo and rising tensions

Pegida demonstration on 12 January 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo shooting

While the demonstration on 29 December 2014 was cancelled by the organisers, the movement continued to draw large numbers of participants in early January 2015. After the Charlie Hebdo shooting on 7 January 2015 in Paris, politicians (including ministers Thomas de Maiziere and Heiko Maas) warned Pegida against misusing the attack on Charlie Hebdo for its own political ends. On Saturday January 10, 2015 some 35,000[21] anti-Pegida protesters gathered to mourn the victims of Paris, observing a minute's silence in front of the Frauenkirche.

On 12 January 2015, Pegida organisers exercised their right to do the same in front of an audience of some 25,000 participants. Facing growing opposition by anti-Pegida protesters, both in Dresden and Leipzig, main organiser Bachmann declared the six central political objectives of Pegida, which include calls for selective immigration and generally stricter law and order politics as well as anti-EU sentiments and calls for a reconciliation with Russia.[22]

On 15 January 2015, a young Eritrean immigrant, Khaled Idris Bahray, was found stabbed to death in his Dresden high-rise apartment. International media correspondents portrayed an "atmosphere of hatred and resentment" and published social media comments of Pegida sympathisers, who had expressed disdain for the dead Eritrean. Pegida's organisers rejected any possible connection.[23] One week later, the police investigation led to the arrest and eventual conviction of one of the victim's Eritrean housemates.[24][25]

Pegida demonstration on 25 January 2015

Dresden police did not permit the demonstration planned for January 19, 2015, due to a definite threat against one of Pegida's leadership members in form of an Arabic-language tweet labelling Pegida an "enemy of Islam".[18] Pegida cancelled its 13th demonstration and stated in a post on its Facebook page that there was an explicit threat against a leadership member, and "his execution had been ordered by ISIS terrorists".[26] Nonetheless, the Pegida demonstrations resumed in full force in the summer and autumn of 2015, with 10,000 demonstrators attending a rally in September.[27]

Resignations

On 21 January 2015, Bachmann resigned from his position with Pegida after coming under fire for a number of Facebook posts.[28] Excerpts from a closed Facebook conversation incriminated Bachmann as having designated immigrants as "animals", "scumbags"[29] and "trash",[30] classified as hate speech in Germany. He was also quoted commenting that extra security was needed at the welfare office "to protect employees from the animals".[31] A self-portrait of Bachmann allegedly posing as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler, titled "He's back!" (which the Sächsische Zeitung later discovered to be a forgery, reporting that a moustache was added after the photo was taken),[32] went viral in social media[30] and was printed on title pages worldwide. On another occasion, Bachmann had posted a photo of a man wearing the uniform of the US white supremacist organisation Ku Klux Klan accompanied by the slogan: "Three Ks a day keeps the minorities away."[28] The Dresden state prosecutors opened an investigation for suspected Volksverhetzung (incitement), and Deputy Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the real face of Pegida had been exposed: "Anyone who puts on a Hitler disguise is either an idiot or a Nazi. People should think carefully about running after a Pied Piper like this."[31]

One week later on January 28, media spokeswoman Kathrin Oertel resigned as well, citing "the massive hostility, threats and career disadvantages" as the reason.[33] At the same time four other leading figures of Pegida stepped back.[34] On February 2, 2015 Oertel and six other former Pegida members founded 'Direkte Demokratie für Europa' (Direct Democracy for Europe) to distance themselves from the far-right tendencies of Pegida".[35]

Reinstatement

In February 2015 Pegida confirmed on its Facebook page that Lutz Bachmann had been re-elected as chairman by the six other members of the organisation’s leadership committee, after the Sächsische Zeitung published a report that the Hitler moustache on the now infamous photo had been added after the photo was taken.[36]

Current Orgateam

The following people are members of the present-day Orgateam (organisation team):

Dresden mayoral election, 2015

In June 2015, following the resignation of CDU incumbent Helma Orosz on health grounds, Pegida candidate Tatjana Festerling, with support from the far-right NPD, ran for the mayoral office of Dresden, polling 9.6% in the first round.[37] On July 7 group leader Bachmann announced that Pegida would participate in all future federal elections in Germany.[38]

Resuming protests and radicalisation

Pegida keynote speaker Akif Pirinçci facing charges for incitement to hatred

The European migrant crisis revived the movement, which drew as many as 20,000 supporters to a 19 October 2015 rally in Dresden.[39][40] At the same time, observers perceived a further radicalisation of the crowd.[41]

On 28 September, two journalists were injured when Pegida participants kicked a local newspaper reporter and punched another TV reporter in the face.[42] On 12 October, Pegida demonstrators carried a mock gallows showing nooses reserved for Chancellor Angela Merkel and her deputy Sigmar Gabriel.[43] Bachmann derided the demonstrators who made this, calling it a "laughable piece of work with spelling errors" ("lächerliche Bastelarbeit mit Schreibfehlern"), a reference to the fact that the name Sigmar had been written with an "ie" (Siegmar).[44]

At Pegida's anniversary event on 19 October 2015, keynote speaker Akif Pirinçci named the Muslim refugees as invaders, with Germany becoming a "Muslim garbage dump."[45] Pirinçci said the German government was acting like "Gauleiter against their own people," as they wanted critics of Germany's refugee policy to leave the country. Addressing the crowd shouting "Resistance!", he claimed that "there are other alternatives – but the concentration camps are unfortunately out of order at the moment."[46] The crowd applauded and laughed, and let him continue his speech for another 20 minutes before calling upon him to finish.[47]

When Pegida in Leipzig celebrated their first anniversary, the participants attacked and vandalised foreign-owned shops.[48] Mayor Burghard Jung called it "open street terror".[49]

Position paper (Positionspapier)

"Putin, hilf uns, rette uns!" ("Putin, help us, save us!") and other slogans on signs and banners

At the beginning of December 2014, Pegida published an undated and anonymous one-page manifesto of 19 bulleted position statements.[50]

Pegida:

  1. Approves the right of asylum for war refugees and politically persecuted people.
  2. Advocates the inclusion of the right and duty to integration into the German constitution.
  3. Advocates the decentralised acceptance of refugees and torture victims, instead of often poor quality refugee centres.
  4. Suggests creation of a central refugee agency for a fair allocation of immigrants among countries of the European Union.
  5. Demands a decrease in the ratio of asylum seekers per social worker from current number of 200:1.
  6. Suggests modelling German immigration policies after those of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and demands an increased budget for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, to speed up processing of applications.
  7. Demands an increase in funding for the police.
  8. Demands enforcement of all asylum laws including expulsion.
  9. Mentions zero tolerance towards criminal refugees and immigrants.
  10. States that Pegida opposes a misogynistic and violent political ideology, but does not oppose Muslims in-country who have integrated into society.[51]
  11. Supports an immigration model like Switzerland, Australia, Canada or South Africa.
    Pegida demonstration on 12 January 2015
  12. States that Pegida supports sexual self-determination.
  13. Argues for the protection of Germany's traditional Judeo-Christian culture.
  14. Supports the introduction of referenda as in Switzerland.
  15. Opposes weapon exports to radical and non-permitted groups, such as the PKK.
  16. Opposes parallel societies and parallel jurisdiction in our midst, for example Sharia courts, Sharia police, Sharia magistrates (Friedensrichter), etc.
  17. States that Pegida opposes gender mainstreaming, and politically correct gender neutralisation (Geschlechtsneutralisierung) of our speech.
  18. Indicates that Pegida opposes any radicalism, whether religious or politically motivated.
  19. Says that Pegida opposes hate preachers (Hassprediger), regardless of religion.

Pegida's specific demands were initially unclear, largely because Pegida has refused a dialogue, considering the press to be a politically correct conspiracy.[52] Demonstrators have been observed chanting "Lügenpresse" (liar's press) a term that dates back to World War I[53] and was used in Nazi propaganda.[14]

Variant of the "Wirmer flag" proposed in 1944 by anti-nazi resistance member Josef Wirmer that is often used by members of the movement.

Alongside the German national flag, supporters of the movement have often been seen with a variant of the "Wirmer flag", a flag proposed by resistance member Josef Wirmer in 1944 for use after World War II.[54][55][note 1]

According to a Deutsche Welle report from December 2014, Pegida considers Islamism a misogynist and violent ideology.[59][60] In January 2015 The Guardian described Pegida as a far-right movement,[14] the New York Times labelled Pegida as anti-immigrant, and Angela Merkel has repeatedly questioned the motives underlying its anti-immigrant message.[14] [61]

The State Authority for the Protection of the Constitution (Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz) Thüringen considers Sügida to be steered by right wing nationalists.[62]

In February 2015 the 19 positions were enhanced and broken down to the ten "Theses of Dresden".[63]

Participants and supporters

Pegida Participants in Dresden
Date participants per day
October 20, 2014
350
October 27, 2014
500([64])
November 3, 2014
1,000([65])
November 10, 2014
1,700([66])
November 17, 2014
3,200([67])
November 24, 2014
5,500([68])
December 1, 2014
7,500([69])
December 8, 2014
10,000([70])
December 15, 2014
15,000([71])
December 22, 2014
17,500([72][73])
January 5, 2015
18,000([74])
January 12, 2015
25,000([75][76])
January 25, 2015
17,300([77])
February 9, 2015
2,000([78])
February 16, 2015
4,300([79])
February 23, 2015
4,800([80])
March 2, 2015
6,200([81])
March 9, 2015
6,500([82])
March 16, 2015
7,700([83])
March 23, 2014
5,500([84])
March 30, 2015
2,900([85])
April 6, 2015
7,100([86])
April 13, 2015
10,000([87])

According to Frank Richter, director of Saxony’s Federal Agency for Civic Education, Pegida is "a mixed group—known figures from the National Democratic Party of Germany, soccer hooligans, but also a sizable number of ordinary citizens."[15] Werner Schiffauer, director of the Migration Council has pointed out that the movement is strongest where people have hardly any experience with foreigners, and among “easterners who never really arrived in the Federal Republic and who now feel they have no voice.”[52]

In December, Gordian Meyer-Plath, president of the Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz, said that initial suspicion that Pegida might tie in with the riots staged by Hogesa earlier in Cologne were not substantiated, so the movement was not put under official surveillance. He said there were no indications that the organisers were embracing right-wingers. This assessment was contested by the weekly Die Zeit who researched the ideological proximity of Pegida organiser Siegfried Däbritz to the German Defence League or the European Identitarian movement.[88] In a Tagesspiegel interview on 19 January Meyer-Plath reaffirmed that the participant spectrum was very diverse and that there was no evidence of radicalisation.[89]

Pegida demonstration in Dresden

Dresden University of Technology (TU) interviewed 400 Pegida demonstrators on 22 December 2014 and 12 January 2015. According to the poll, the main reasons of their participation were dissatisfaction with the political situation (54 percent), "Islam, Islamism and Islamisation” (23 percent), criticism of the media and the public (20 percent), and reservations regarding asylum seekers and migrants (15 percent). In all, 42 percent had reservations regarding Muslims or Islam, 20 percent were concerned about a 'high rate of crimes' committed by asylum seekers, or feared socio-economic disadvantages.[90] The author, Vorländer, did not see Pegida as a movement of right-wing extremists, pensioners or the unemployed, but stated that the rallies served as a way to express feelings and resentments against a political and opinion-making elite which have not been publicly articulated before.[91]

A group of social scientists led by Dieter Rucht from the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, WZB) collected data both by flyer and online survey. Despite a participation rate of only 18 percent in the online survey, it largely had similar results to the survey in Dresden. According to data from the WZB, Pegida was a male-dominated group, participants were mostly employees with a relatively high level of education, they had no confidence in institutions and they sympathised with AfD. In some cases the participants demonstrated far-right and right-wing extremist attitudes. The conclusion emphasised that Pegida supporters cannot be viewed as 'ordinary citizens', since they articulate group-focused enmity and racism.[92][93][94]

As of January 2016 on Facebook, the Pegida fan page had about 200,000 supporters.[95] According to political consultant Martin Fuchs, the fanpage allows the users there to present emotional content and more easily spread their ideas, which are not represented in the mainstream media.[96]

In December 2014, representatives of the NPD encouraged people to participate in Pegida rallies,[97] as did the German Defence League and the Islamophobic internet blog Politically Incorrect in an uploaded 'propaganda clip'.[98] According to the police, a few hundred violent hooligans have been participating in the Dresden rallies since December 2014.[99] The journalist Felix Menzel supports Pegida with his new right youth magazine Blaue Narzisse.[100]

Reactions

Counterdemonstrations

Demonstration against Pegida in Munich, December 22, 2014.
Floodlights of Cologne Cathedral being switched off in protest against a Pegida march on 5 January 2015.
Demonstration against Pegida in Cologne on 21 January 2015. The big banner reads "we stand in the way (of racism)", a popular anti racist slogan in Germany

Numerous protests against Pegida and affiliated movements in cities across Germany have drawn up to 35.000 demonstrators in Dresden[101][102] and up to 100,000 nationwide, considerably more than Pegida's own demonstrations.[103]

In protest against a Pegida march, the floodlights of the Catholic Cologne Cathedral were switched off on the evening of 5 January 2015.[104] Dresden's Volkswagen plant used the same method of protest.[105]

German tabloid newspaper Bild launched a petition against Pegida, including former Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schröder, as well as actress Karoline Herfurth and former footballer Oliver Bierhoff.[105]

Polls

According to a survey by the Emnid institute conducted in December 2014, 53% of East Germans and 48% of West Germans showed understanding for Pegida demonstrations. Differentiated by political parties, supporters consisted of 86% of all surveyed AfD members, 54% of all CDU members, 46% of all SPD members and 19% of all questioned supporters of Die Linke and Die Grünen respectively.[106] 43% of all Germans participating in the survey thought that Pegida protesters are mainly concerned about the "spread of Islam“. 33% believed that mainly right wing extremists attend their demonstrations.[107]

On behalf of German online newspaper Zeit Online, YouGov conducted a survey from 12 to 15 December 2014. The survey showed that 30% of all 1107 surveyed felt sympathetic with regards to the demonstrations. Another 19% said they were understanding rather than the opposite. 26% approved at least partially of the demonstrations, while 10% showed little sympathy and a further 13% no understanding at all.[108]

A survey by TNS Infratest conducted in December 2014 on behalf of German magazine Der Spiegel showed that 65% of all surveyed German citizens felt that the government did not respond appropriately to their concerns about asylum policy and immigration. 28% disagreed, while 34% observed an increasing Islamisation in Germany.[109]

A representative survey by Emnid conducted from 17 to 18 December 2014 showed that 85% of all 1006 surveyed were not willing to participate in demonstrations for Pegida policy. Only 9%, more than half of all surveyed AfD followers, said they were in fact willing to demonstrate.[110]

On 18 December 2014, the Forsa Institute conducted a survey which showed that 67% of all surveyed Germans considered the danger of Islamisation exaggerated. 29%, consisting of 71% of all surveyed AfD supporters, felt too strong an Islamic influence in Germany and deemed respective demonstrations justified. 13% said they would participate in protests near their residence. 10%, consisting of 57% of all surveyed AfD followers, would even vote for an anti-Islamic party.[111]

A special report by the Bertelsmann Foundation, complemented by a TNS Emnid survey from November 2014, showed that a majority of German citizens considered Islam dangerous. Consequently, there seemed to be a "strong sympathy“ for „Pegida paroles“. In absolute numbers, 57% of all surveyed thought of Islam as a danger. 40% felt like "foreigners in their own country“, while 24% stated that they would like to prevent further Muslim immigration. These opinions were not exclusive to any political camps or social classes.[112]

Public disapproval

Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised Pegida, saying that the leaders of Pegida "have prejudice, coldness, even hatred in their hearts.”[113] The Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière said that among the participants of the mass rallies were many ordinary people who expressed their concerns about the challenges of today's society.[114] Bernd Lucke, the leader of the political party Alliance for Progress and Renewal, has said he considers most of the positions of Pegida to be legitimate.[115] According to Lucke, the people taking part in these demonstrations did not feel that their concerns were being understood by politicians.[116] Similarly, the Dresden city council's AfD faction welcomed Pegida's weekly demonstrations.[117]

Josef Schuster, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, voiced his opposition to the group, saying that the possibility of an Islamic conquest of Germany would be as "absurd" as a resurrection of the Nazi regime. Schuster described Pegida as being "highly dangerous": “It starts with verbal assault and leads to actual attacks like the one on a planned refugee hostel in Bavaria." He referred to an arson attack on a home for asylum-seekers that was ready for occupation. After the attack, swastika graffiti was found at the scene. Schuster said that Pegida is a combination of "neo-Nazis, far-right parties and citizens who think they are finally allowed to show their racism and xenophobia openly." He condemned the movement, stating that the fear of Islamist terror was being exploited to disparage an entire religion.[118]

Aiman Mazyek from the Central Council of Muslims in Germany stated that again and again right-wing extremists gave the public the false impression of a racist Germany. The slogans of the protesters showed that xenophobia and anti-Semitic racism had become socially acceptable.

Pegida has been criticised by Lutheran clergy, including the Bishop of Hamburg Kirsten Fehrs.[119]

Bachmann's credibility as a leader has been criticised because he has numerous criminal convictions, including "16 burglaries, drink-driving or without a licence and even dealing in cocaine".[15] In 1998 he fled to South Africa to avoid German justice, but was finally extradited and served his two-year jail sentence.[14][120]

Political reactions

In November 2014, Saxony's Interior Minister, Markus Ulbig (CDU), claimed that foreign criminals stayed in Germany too long. He announced the creation of a special police unit to deal with criminal immigrants in Dresden and the rest of Saxony. Investigators and specialists in criminal and immigrant law would collaborate to process foreign criminals in the criminal justice system, and prevent those not eligible for asylum from obtaining the right to stay in Germany.[121] Ulbig admitted that there had been a number of criminal acts committed by immigrants near the homes for asylum-seekers, but these were a minority and should not be allowed to undermine solidarity with the great majority of law-abiding refugees. He said police worked on criminal immigrant cases too slowly.[122]

On the night of 5 January 2015, the lights illuminating the Brandenburg Gate were completely turned off in protest against the Berlin offshoot named "Bärgida"[123][124] and also the lights of the Catholic cathedral Kölner Dom in Cologne in repudiation against "Kögida".[125] The exterior lighting of the Semperoper in Dresden was also kept dark during the weekly Pegida marches. Both rallies in Berlin and Cologne were successfully blocked and disbanded by counterdemonstrations.[126]

On 26 January 2015 the US Overseas Security Advisory Council published an online security message entitled "Demonstration Notice Riots/Civil Unrest", stating U.S. citizens in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich may "encounter Pegida and counter-Pegida demonstrations" on 26 January and 16 February 2015 in Düsseldorf, and "should avoid areas of demonstrations".[127]

Reactions from political scientists

Political scientist Werner J. Patzelt[128] from Dresden believes that politicians are 'clueless' when it comes to dealing with Pegida. He says that this points to a serious problem in society, which neither the left wing nor parties of the political middle ground concern themselves with. This allows new social initiatives critical of Islam and immigrants to form.[129] According to him, the demonstrators are normal people approachable by the CDU, if only the party stopped following Vogel-Strauß politics concerning immigration.[130]

Far-right politics expert Hans-Gerd Jaschke thinks that the demands in Pegida’s position paper stem from the middle class centre-right and could as well be the content of CDU/CSU’s position papers.[131] Social psychologist Andreas Zick from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG) assesses the party as a “middle-class right-wing populist movement”.[132]

According to right-wing extremism researcher Johannes Kies, Pegida states what many people think.[133] Although the organisers and participants do not see themselves as extremists, their views are anti-democratic and derogatory towards certain minorities. They promote statements that draw on prejudices or stigmatise the people in question. Kies says that these opinions are widespread in society and that great anti-democratic potential is erupting there.[134] According to political scientist Alexander Häusler we are facing “a right-wing oriented group of enraged citizens”, that “mingles with members of the right-wing scene and even hooligans.”[135] Political scientist Hajo Funke sees a connection between Pegida and the great increase in attacks on asylum seekers in 2014. He says that because politics did not react to the population’s fear of ever-increasing numbers of asylum seekers, these groups could use these fears and fan them further.[136]

In his article for the German newspaper Zeit Online, political scientist and historian Michael Lühmann called it “cynical to want to place Pegida in the tradition of 1989”. The demonstrators in Dresden do not align themselves with the philosophy of the extreme right-wing, he says, but they fit the bill for “extremism of the centre ground”, which is widespread in Saxony and for whose “group-based misanthropy […] at times the CDU, but prevalently the NPD and as of now the AfD stand” in parliament.[137]

In a similar fashion, historian Götz Aly traces the fact that Pegida were able to form in Dresden back to the city’s history. In one of his columns in the Berliner Zeitung he referred to the Jewish emancipation of 19th century Saxony, where the comparatively few resident Jews were faced with unequally difficult legal obstacles. Aly concluded that in Dresden “freedom, self-aggrandising local presumption and fear of foreigners” have long belonged together.[138]

Political philosopher Jürgen Manemann considers Pegida an antipolitical movement. According to Manemann, political action serves the common good and thus requires politicians to voice especially the interests of minorities. While politics was based on pluralism, Pegida was in fact anti-pluralistic and thus anti-political. In Manemann’s eyes, the movement has neither an appreciation of otherness nor empathy, which he sees as the basic virtue of political action.[139]

Explaining especially those protests against the actually non-existent threat of Islamisation from people with middle-class backgrounds, political scientist Gesine Schwan referred to results from studies on prejudice. These studies indicate that aggressive prejudices do not originate from those groups met with resentment, but are rather a result of the situation of those who have them. In addition, fear of social decline often seems to be expressed through aggression. This is then directed especially against those minorities which may seem dangerous, but are in reality unable to defend themselves, often due to a perceived unpopularity within the respective society. In the first half of the 20th century, it was the Jewish minority who were imputed with plans for world domination. Today, it is the Muslim minority who is accused of plotting an Islamisation of Europe.[140]

In an interview about Pegida, researcher on prejudice Wolfgang Benz referred to his previous warnings about right-wing extremists using the fear of foreign infiltration for their ends. It was not the formation but the attendance figures that really surprised him.[141]

Political scientist and researcher on extremism Armin Pfahl-Traughber considers Pegida demonstrations "a new phenomenon of xenophobia".[142] In an interview, he accused Pegida leaders of fuelling "hostility and hatred against people of different ethnicity or religion".[143]

On 5 January 2015, the Council on Migration[144] called for a new general orientation in German society. Since, in their eyes, migration was controllable only to a limited extent, they suggested an orientation committee. Consisting of politicians and representatives of immigrants and minorities, this would work together in order to analyse and redefine "German identity and solidarity in a pluralist republican society". Their results were to be included in German schools' curricula in order to emphasize the historical importance of migration in Germany. In the eyes of the Council, German policy has been influenced for far too long by the CDU's guiding principle of "Germany not being a land of immigration". Thus, a concept of integration should include foreigners and refugees in German society. According to the Council, German integration policy should not only focus on immigrants, but also provide courses on integration for groups such as Pegida. Praising German Chancellor Angela Merkel's distancing herself from Pegida, the Council stressed that an immigration society is a very complex construct.[145]

Political theorist Wolfgang Jäger considers Pegida a part of increasingly right-wing populist tendencies in Europe, in their Islamophobia possibly being the heir to widespread antisemitism. He claims that the demonstrations themselves expose the movement's moderate position paper as a fig leaf for "blatantly unconstitutional xenophobia". Thus, democrats should not sympathise with the movement, as their referring in particular to Judeo-Christian values was contrary to their actual demands. Jäger also voiced concerns about the "ghosts of the old nationalism re-entering Germany through the back door". According to political theorists, a democracy needs to be measured by how it protects its minorities. A knowledge of foreign cultures should be taught in schools. Only in this way would it be possible to understand globalisation as a chance for cultural enrichment in the face of global terrorism.[146]

International reactions

The controversy around Pegida sparked reactions from international media as well. In France, Le Monde wrote that Islamophobia divided German society, while Libération and L'Opinion discussed possible parallels to the French far-right Front National.[147] Several French and francophone cartoonists published a flyer aimed against a funeral march by Pegida in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015. The signatories - among them a surviving member of Charlie Hebdo's editorial staff – disapproved of Pegida using the mourning to gather attention for their own cause. They stated that Pegida symbolised everything Charlie Hebdo had fought against and asked the population of Dresden for more tolerance and to be open towards different cultures.[148]

The Times claimed that, for the first time since 1945, a German populist movement was publicly complaining about an ethnic minority. This would frighten the establishment. BBC News said that Germany is not used to such large numbers of demonstrators supporting such positions.[149] The Guardian described Pegida as an emerging campaign against immigrants that would eventually endanger tourism.[150]

The New York Times claimed that, because of its communist history, East Germany was more xenophobic than the rest of the country. The paper claimed that, in light of the low numbers of Muslims living in Saxony, the fear of Islamisation was bizarre.[151]

Russia Today reported comprehensively on Pegida. Its subsidiary Ruptly broadcast several rallies live on the internet.[152]

Turkey's Hürriyet and Sabah reported on Pegida and counterrallies. Sabah interpreted the demonstrations as a “rise of the radical right in Europe”. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu compared Pegida followers with members of the terror organisation IS. He said that both had an archaic mindset and that Turkey was "very concerned about Pegida". He called the movement a “threat to Turks, Muslims and Germany itself”.[153]

The Arabic news network Al Jazeera primarily reported on counter-demonstrations.[149]

Offshoots and variations

In Germany

Pegida has spawned a number of smaller offshoots across Germany, including Legida in Leipzig, Sügida in Südthüringen,[62] Kagida in Kassel, Wügida in Würzburg, Bogida in Bonn, Dügida in Düsseldorf,[59] Dagida in Darmstadt[16] and Fragida in Frankfurt.[154] After some internal disputes, representatives of Pegida NRW, an affiliate aiming to operate in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia, distanced itself from the Bogida, Dügida and Kögida clones in North Rhine Westphalia. The latter were said to have been taken over by members of the openly xenophobic right-wing splinter party Pro NRW.[155] In January 2015, Pegida NRW replaced their media representative Melanie Dittmer with Sebastian Nobile, a member of the German Defence League, an anti-Islamist organisation modelled on the English Defence League.[156]

In December 2014, rival right-wing forces founded an anti-American Facebook group under the name PEGADA (German: Patriotische Europäer gegen die Amerikanisierung des Abendlandes, or "Patriotic Europeans Against the Americanization of the West"), claiming the true problem was not the phenomenon of Islamism but the suspected American forces behind it. On 25 January they held a first rally in Erfurt under the title EnDgAmE (Engagierte Demokraten gegen die Amerikanisierung Europas, or "Committed democrats against the Americanisation of Europe"). Promoted by a number of activists of the Third Position Mahnwachen-Movement and by Hooligans against Salafists (Hogesa) and by a Russian news portal[157] they attracted some 1,000 protesters, but were opposed by 800 mostly left-wing counter-demonstrators[158] including Erfurt's mayor Andreas Bausewein and trade union members, Jusos and the local Antifa.[62]

Another offshoot, Nügida, drew scrutiny after several of its members became involved in a neo-Nazi plot to bomb a refugee centre.[159]

International

Pegida demonstration in Vienna on 2 February 2015

In January 2015, Pegida sympathisers held their first rally in Oslo, Norway with around 200 protesters,[160] but this support quickly collapsed.[161][162] In neighbouring Denmark, around 200 protesters marched in the capital, Copenhagen.[163] In the same month, a Spanish branch applied for a protest outside the main mosque in Madrid, which was rejected by government officials.[164] Marches were planned in Switzerland and Antwerp, Belgium but not permitted due to anti-terrorism raids in Verviers one week earlier.[165] The Antwerp demonstration was finally held on 2 March 2015 without the mayor's permission. About 350 persons were present and about 227 of them received a fine for participating in an unauthorised demonstration.

On 28 February 2015, Pegida UK held its first protest in Newcastle upon Tyne, with around 400 attending. Around 1,000 people turned up to oppose, led by former MP George Galloway.[166] There was a small Pegida demonstration in London on 4 April 2015, with a counter-demonstration by anti-fascist groups.[167]

The first Pegida demonstration in Sweden gathered eight people in Malmö and 5,000 opponents.[168][169] When Pegida called a demonstration in Linköping they gathered four persons.[170] In Uppsala Pegida managed to gather about ten persons.[171] Following several failed demonstrations and internal strife the Swedish branch dissolved.[172]

A demonstration on 28 March 2015 in Montreal, Canada by sympathisers of Pegida was cancelled when hundreds of people gathered to counter-protest.[173] A demonstration on 19 September 2015 in Toronto was attended by about a dozen members of Pegida Canada. The demonstration ended in a melee with counter-protesters who outnumbered Pegida members about twenty to one.[174]

Fortress Europe (Festung Europa)

On 23 January 2016, representatives of fourteen like-minded allies, including the Austrian, Bulgarian and Dutch branches of Pegida, met with Lutz Bachmann and Tatjana Festerling in the Czech Republic to sign the Prague Declaration, which states their belief that the "history of Western civilization could soon come to an end through Islam conquering Europe," thus formalizing their membership in the Fortress Europe coalition against that eventuality.[175][176] Other signatories present were: Blok proti islámu, Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond, Lega Nord, Odvaha, Ruch Narodowy and Úsvit - Národní Koalice.

As announced at the Prague Declaration meeting, rallies were held on 6 February 2016 to protest the Islamisation of Europe. Among them was one held in Birmingham, England, which was described by The Guardian as the inaugural Pegida UK rally.[177] It was attended by an estimated 200 protesters who staged a silent march, while an estimated 60 counter-protesters were kept separate by police. Tommy Robinson announced that these events would be repeated in Birmingham, which is known for having a very large Muslim population, on the first Saturday of every month starting the following April. Paul Weston, the former Ukip candidate, also addressed the crowd.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The use of the flag gained particular attention in Norway after confusion due to the flag's close resemblance, especially under certain light conditions, with Norway's national flag.[56][57][58]

References

  1. ↑ Amtsgericht Dresden, Aktenzeichen: VR 7750.
  2. ↑ "Anti-Islam 'Pegida' march in German city of Dresden". BBC News. 16 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Germany's Pegida anti-Islam movement unravelling". The Telegraph. 28 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Germany anti-Islamic protests: Biggest Pegida march ever in Dresden as rest of Germany shows disgust with lights-out". The Independent. 5 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Bremer, Nils (5 January 2015). "Auch die Gegner organisieren sich". Journal Frankfurt. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 SPIEGEL Staff (December 21, 2014). "The End of Tolerance? Anti-Muslim Movement Rattles Germany". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Connolly, Kate (15 December 2014). "Estimated 15,000 people join ‘pinstriped Nazis’ on march in Dresden". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "PEGIDA-Erfinder: Wir hören erst auf, wenn die Asyl-Politik sich ändert! - Dresden" (in German). Bild.de. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  9. ↑ "KURDEN DEMO DRESDEN". Youtube (in German). Lutz Bachmann. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Popp, Maximilian; Wassermann, Andreas (12 January 2015). "Prying into Pegida: Where Did Germany's Islamophobes Come From?". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Pro-ISIS radicals with machetes, knives attack Kurds in Germany". RT.com. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Germany: Holy War Erupts in Hamburg". Gatestone Institute. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "Pegida: Bewegung gegen Islamisierung des Abendlandes". Faz.net. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Connolly, Kate (6 January 2015). "Pegida: what does the German far-right movement actually stand for?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Smale, Alison (7 December 2014). "In German City Rich With History and Tragedy, Tide Rises Against Immigration". New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  16. 1 2 Kirschbaum, Erik (16 December 2014). "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West quickly gathering support in Germany". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  17. ↑ Stute, Dennis (7 December 2014). "Anti-Islamist protests with right-wing ties expand in Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  18. 1 2 Sommers, Jack (18 January 2015). "Pegida Cancel Lastest Dresden Demonstration After Threats". Huffington Post UK (AOL (UK) Limited). Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Dresdner Tafel will kein Geld von PEGIDA". Morgenpost Sachsen. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  20. ↑ Fischer, Christian (12 January 2015). "So will Pegida mit den Demos Geld machen". Bild (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "35.000 Dresdner demonstrieren für Toleranz". MDR.DE. 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  22. ↑ Brady, Kate (12 January 2015). "Record turnout at Dresden PEGIDA rally sees more than 25,000 march". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Connolly, Kate (15 January 2015). "Killing of Eritrean refugee in Dresden exposes racial tensions in Germany". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Arrest made over the death of Dresden asylum seeker". Deutsche Welle. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "Fünf Jahre Haft wegen Totschlags". MDR Sachsen. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  26. ↑ "Dresdner Polizei verbietet Demos wegen Anschlagsgefahr". Reuters (Thomson Reuters). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  27. ↑ "Germany faces massive anti-migrant vs. pro-migrant standoff amid refugee crisis". Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  28. 1 2 Wagstyl, Stefan (21 January 2015). "German populist leader quits after Hitler pose emerges". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "PEGIDA founder Bachmann quits after Hitler mustache photo". DW. 21 January 2015.
  30. 1 2 Connolly, Kate (21 January 2015). "Photograph of Germany’s Pegida leader styled as Adolf Hitler goes viral". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  31. 1 2 Chambers, Madeline (21 January 2015). "German PEGIDA leader investigated after Hitler pose". Reuters. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  32. ↑ Knight, Ben (23 February 2015). "Pegida head Lutz Bachmann reinstated after furore over Hitler moustache photo". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  33. ↑ Brown, Stephen; Hudson, Alexandra (28 January 2015). "German anti-Islam group PEGIDA loses second leader in a week". Reuters. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  34. ↑ "Germany Pegida: Leader Kathrin Oertel quits protest group". BBC News. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  35. ↑ Kate Connolly (3 February 2015). "Former Pegida head starts ‘less radical’ splinter group". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  36. ↑ "Pegida head Lutz Bachmann reinstated after furore over Hitler moustache photo". Guardian News and Media Limited. February 23, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Merkel's CDU suffers setback in Dresden mayoral poll". Deutsche Welle. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  38. ↑ Sц╪ddeutsche.de GmbH, Munich, Germany (2015-07-07). "Pegida will bei Landtagswahlen antreten - Politik - Süddeutsche.de". Sueddeutsche.de. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  39. ↑ Smale, Alison (21 October 2015). "Anti-Immigrant Violence in Germany Spurs New Debate on Hate Speech". New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  40. ↑ Huggler, Justin (20 October 2015). "Warnings over resurgence of German far-Right movement Pegida sparked by refugee crisis". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  41. ↑ Janosch Delcker (6 October 2015). "German anti-immigrant protests revive — and radicalize". Politico Europe. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  42. ↑ "Two Journalists Injured While Reporting On Pegida Movement In Germany". The Typewriter. 1 October 2015.
  43. ↑ "Germany: prosecutors probe mock gallows at PEGIDA rally". Washington Post. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  44. ↑ "Lächerliche Bastelarbeit mit Schreibfehlern". Stern. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  45. ↑ "Warnings over resurgence of German far-Right movement Pegida sparked by refugee crisis". The Telegraph. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  46. ↑ "Germany’s PEGIDA condemned over ‘concentration camp’ speech". Times of Israel. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  47. ↑ "Outrage over concentration camp quip at PEGIDA speech". Deutsche Welle. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  48. ↑ RT: Over 100 arrested, shops vandalized in Leipzig amid LEGIDA birthday demonstrations
  49. ↑ DW: Leipzig police arrest hundreds after far-right hooligans' violent rampage
  50. ↑ Anonymous (10 December 2014). "Pegida Positionspapier" (PDF) (in German). www.menschen-in-dresden.de.
  51. ↑ N., N. (12 December 2014). "Pegidisch für Anfänger" (in German). taz. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  52. 1 2 "The uprising of the decent". Economist. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  53. ↑ Erik Kirschbaum (13 January 2015). "Revived Nazi-era term 'Luegenpresse' is German non-word of year". Reuters (Thompson Reuters). Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  54. ↑ "Hundreds attend anti-immigration rally in wake of Cologne sex attacks". Yahoo News. 9 January 2015.
  55. ↑ Symbolik bei Demos: Warum bei Pegida die Kreuz-Fahne weht
  56. ↑ Norsk-lignende flagg i Pegida-demonstrasjoner
  57. ↑ Nei, det er ikke det norske flagget
  58. ↑ 10 000 demonstrerte mot islam i Tyskland. Dette er flagget de veiver med
  59. 1 2 Knight, Ben (15 December 2014). "PEGIDA determining political debate in Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  60. ↑ Honnigfort, Bernhard (15 December 2014). "Pegida veröffentlicht Positionspapier" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  61. ↑ Melissa Eddy (21 January 2015). "German Anti-Immigrant Figure Quits Post After Posing as Hitler". New York Times.
  62. 1 2 3 "Knapp 2.000 Teilnehmer bei Kundgebungen". Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  63. ↑ Pegida (February 2015). "The Theses of Dresden" (PDF). i-finger.de.
  64. ↑ "Demo in Dresden bleibt friedlich – Teilnehmerzahl weit unter Erwartungen". DNN-Online (in German). DNN-Online. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  65. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  66. ↑ "Polizei Sachsen" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  67. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  68. ↑ "Demonstration in Dresden: Spezialeinheit Abendland". FAZ Net (in German). FAZ. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  69. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  70. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  71. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  72. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  73. ↑ Tiede, Peter (22 December 2014). "Evangelische Kirche Deutschlands Pegida ist unchristlich" (in German). Bild. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  74. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  75. ↑ Polizeieinsatz. In: Polizei Sachsen. Januar 12, 2015
  76. ↑ "Germany: Anti-Islam Pegida protest rally draws record 25,000 in Dresden". Ibtimes.co.uk. 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  77. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  78. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  79. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  80. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  81. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  82. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  83. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz". Polizei Sachsen (in German). 16 March 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  84. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  85. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  86. ↑ "Polizeieinsatz" (in German). Polizei Sachsen. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  87. ↑ "Wilders beschert Pegida nicht erhofften Zulauf". MDR Sachsen. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  88. ↑ "Neues aus der Tabuzone". Die Zeit (in German). 17 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  89. ↑ Jansen, Frank (19 January 2015). "Sachsen im Fokus der Dschihadisten". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  90. ↑ Huber, Joachim (18 December 2014). "Pegida und die "Lügenpresse". "Wort im Mund umdrehen"". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  91. ↑ Federl, Fabian; Meisner, Matthias (21 January 2015). "Hitler-Verkleidung, Flüchtlinge als "Viehzeug". Die Hintergründe zum Fall Lutz Bachmann". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  92. ↑ "Pegida: Das sind die Köpfe der Bewegung". Merkur Online. 12 February 2015.
  93. ↑ Hauser, Uli (15 December 2014). "ie Köpfe hinter Pegida. Wutbürger, die nicht reden wollen". Der Stern.
  94. ↑ Locke, Stefan (16 December 2014). "Pegida-Organisatoren. Die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht". Frankfurter Allgemeine.
  95. ↑ Dobmeier, Steffi; Jacobson, Lenz (9 December 2014). "Dresden. Die wichtigsten Thesen von Pegida". Die Zeit.
  96. ↑ Meier, Albrecht; Niewendick, Martin (9 December 2014). "Kundgebung der Islam-Hasser in Dresden Innenminister de Maizière: "Pegida ist eine Unverschämtheit"". Der Tagesspiegel.
  97. ↑ Dieckmann, Christoph; Fuchs, Christian (17 December 2014). "Schwerpunkt: Pegida – vereint in Wut und Angst. Neues aus der Tabuzone". Die Zeit.
  98. ↑ Pollmer, Cornelius; Schneider, Jens; Bielicki, Jan (3 December 2014). "Demos gegen Islamisten. Rechts orientierte Wutbürger". Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  99. ↑ "Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Dresden". Blatt VR 7750.
  100. ↑ "Pegida will Steuerbegünstigung". Die Zeit. 10 January 2015.
  101. ↑ "Dresden setzt Zeichen für Weltoffenheit - 35.000 Menschen bei Kundgebung gegen Pegida". DNN online. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  102. ↑ "BBC News Germany protests: Dresden marches against anti-Islamists Pegida". BBC News. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  103. ↑ "Deutschlandweit Proteste gegen Islamfeinde". Frankfurter Allgemeine. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  104. ↑ "Cologne Cathedral to turn out the lights in protest at anti-Muslim march". Reuters. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  105. 1 2 "Germany Pegida protests: 'Islamisation' rallies denounced". BBC News. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  106. ↑ "Anti-Islam-Bewegung "Pegida": Mehrheit der Ostdeutschen zeigt Verständnis.". n24. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  107. ↑ "Deutsche vermuten Neonazis und besorgte Bürger hinter PEGIDA.". Presseportal. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  108. ↑ "Anti-Islam-Proteste: Jeder Zweite sympathisiert mit Pegida.". Die Zeit. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  109. ↑ "Spiegel-Umfrage zur Flüchtlingspolitik: Deutsche fühlen sich von Regierung übergangen.". Der Spiegel. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  110. ↑ "Protest gegen angebliche Islamisierung – So viele Deutsche würden bei Pegida mitmarschieren.". Focus. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  111. ↑ Mathes, Werner (1 January 2015). "stern-Umfrage: 13 Prozent der Deutschen würden für Pegida marschieren.". Stern. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  112. ↑ Löbbert, Raoul (8 January 2015). "Religionsmonitor: 57 Prozent der Deutschen fühlen sich vom Islam bedroht.". Zeit Online. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  113. ↑ "Angela Merkel issues New Year’s warning over rightwing Pegida group". The Guardian. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  114. ↑ vek, dpa (12 December 2014). "Protest-Märsche: De Maizière zeigt Verständnis für Pegida-Demonstranten". SPIEGEL Online. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  115. ↑ Hill, Jenny (16 December 2014). "Anti-Islam 'Pegida' march in German city of Dresden". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  116. ↑ Hugglet, Justin (10 December 2014). "German Eurosceptics embrace anti-Islam protests". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  117. ↑ AfD-Fraktion, Dresden (20 November 2014). "Erklärung der AfD-Fraktion im Stadtrat der Landeshauptstadt Dresden zu den Demonstrationen von PEGIDA" (in German). AfD. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  118. ↑ "German Council of Jews chairman condemns "immensely dangerous" PEGIDA movement". Deutsche Welle. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  119. ↑ "Bischof will ehrlichen Dialog mit Muslimen über IS" [Bishop wants honest dialogue with Muslims on IS]. Die Welt (in German). 24 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  120. ↑ "German xenophobia: Peaceful, but menacing". The Economist. 20 December 2014.
  121. ↑ "Pläne in Sachsen: Sondereinheit soll gegen straffällige Asylbewerber "durchgreifen"" [Plans in Saxony: Special unit to clamp down on criminal asylum seekers] (in German). Der Spiegel. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  122. ↑ Robert Kuhne (24 November 2014). "Innenminister Ulbig zur Asylpolitik". MOPO24 (in German).
  123. ↑ Tagesspiegel: Bärgida und Gegendemonstration beendet (in German), 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015
  124. ↑ RBB: Licht aus am Brandenburger Tor (in German) "Lights off at Brandenburg Gate", 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015
  125. ↑ Storify: Anti-islamization rally in Germany met with countrywide protests, 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015
  126. ↑ FAZ: Licht aus gegen Pegida (in German), "Lights off against Pegida", 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015
  127. ↑ Overseas Security Advisory Council - Bureau of Diplomatic Security (26 January 2015). "Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Berlin (Germany), Demonstration Notice". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  128. ↑ "TUD - Philosophische Fakultät - Lehrstuhlinhaber" (in German). Tu-dresden.de. 2015-01-19. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  129. ↑ Hach, Oliver (28 November 2014). "Pegida - oder: Die Welle.". FreiePresse. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  130. ↑ "Des "patriotes" allemands se mobilisent contre l’immigration.". Le Temps. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  131. ↑ "Jaschke: "Jetzt ist die Zivilgesellschaft gefragt" | Deutschland | DW.DE | 12.12.2014". DW.DE. 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  132. ↑ Pabst, Sabrina (12 December 2014). "Jaschke: Jetzt ist die Zivilgesellschaft gefragt.". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  133. ↑ Lachmann, Harald (8 December 2014). "Dresden und der Pegida-Protest: Sorge um die weltoffene Stadt.". Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  134. ↑ Bohmann, Christin (1 December 2014). "Extremismus-Forscher: "Pegida spricht aus, was die Leute denken."". MDR. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  135. ↑ Gensing, Patrick (1 December 2014). "Pegida- und HoGeSa-Demonstrationen: Gegen Islamismus, für 'Heimatschutz'". tagesschau. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  136. ↑ Kandzora, Jan (8 December 2014). "Proteste gegen Asyl und Islam: Das steckt hinter Pegida und Bagida.". Augsburger Allgemeine. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  137. ↑ Lühmann, Michael (16 December 2014). "Dresden: Pegida passt nach Sachsen.". Zeit Online. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  138. ↑ Aly, Götz (15 December 2014). "Pegida, eine alte Dresdner Eigenheit.". Berliner Zeitung. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  139. ↑ Manemann, Jürgen (22 December 2014). "InDebate: Pegida ist eine anti-politische Bewegung!". Philosophie Indebate. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  140. ↑ Schwan, Gesine (30 December 2014). "Fremdenhass: Pegida ist überall.". Zeit Online. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  141. ↑ Cordsen, Knut (17 December 2014). "Patriotismus oder Vorurteile? Historiker Wolfgang Benz über die Pegida-Proteste.". BR. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  142. ↑ Cordsen, Knut (5 January 2015). "Die Pegida-Demonstrationen als neues Phänomen für Fremdenfeindlichkeit.". Endstation Rechts. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  143. ↑ Kurz, Peter (2 January 2014). "Politologe Pfahl-Traughber zu Pegida: "Bevormundung der Basis."". Westdeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  144. ↑ "Rat für Migration". Rat-fuer-migration.de. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  145. ↑ Reimann, Anna (5 January 2014). "Umgang mit Pegida: Forscher fordern neues Deutschland-Bild in Lehrplänen.". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  146. ↑ Jäger, Wolfgang (10 January 2014). "Die Gespenster des völkischen Nationalismus.". Badische Zeitung. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  147. ↑ "Ist Pegida ein deutscher Front National?". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  148. ↑ "Französische Karikaturisten wehren sich gegen Pegida". Die Zeit. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  149. 1 2 "Das moderne Deutschland ist das nicht gewohnt". Die Zeit. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  150. ↑ "Ausländische Medien über Pegida: "Im Tal der Ahnungslosen"". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  151. ↑ "In German City Rich With History and Tragedy, Tide Rises Against Immigration". International New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  152. ↑ "Weltpresse über deutsche Islamfeinde: "Die Rhetorik von Pegida ist armselig"". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  153. ↑ "Türkischer Regierungschef vergleicht Pegida mit IS". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  154. ↑ Gedziorowski, Lukas (15 December 2014). "Pegida wird Fragida" (in German). Journal Frankfurt. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  155. ↑ Burger, Reiner (12 January 2015). "Schwarze Pädagogik, die wir nicht nötig haben". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  156. ↑ "Pegida-NRW feuert Pressesprecherin und will Köln künftig meiden". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). 6 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  157. ↑ Freires, Horst (22 January 2015). "Pegada statt Pegida". Blick nach Rechts (in German). Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  158. ↑ "Scuffles as anti-American protesters meet resistance in Germany". Europe online. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  159. ↑ "Police foil right-wing extremist plot to bomb German migrant shelters with ‘highly dangerous explosives’".
  160. ↑ Chambers, Madeline. "PEGIDA's anti-Muslim calls shake up German politics". Reuters. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  161. ↑ "Pegida sees 'complete failure' in Norway - The Local". Thelocal.no. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  162. ↑ "– Pegida i Norge i full oppløsning - NRK Trøndelag - Lokale nyheter, TV og radio". Nrk.no. 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  163. ↑ Brabant, Malcolm (23 January 2015). "PEGIDA Denmark takes cue from Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  164. ↑ "Anti-Islamist movement Pegida surfaces in Spain". The Daily Telegraph. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  165. ↑ "Antwerp cancels PEGIDA Flanders demonstration over security fears". Reuters. Jan 22, 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  166. ↑ "'Anti-Islamisation' group Pegida UK holds Newcastle march". BBC News. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  167. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie. "Pegida in London: British supporters of anti-'Islamisation' group rally in Downing Street". The Independent. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  168. ↑ "Åtta från Pegida - 5 000 motdemonstranter - Sydsvenskan". Sydsvenskan.se. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  169. ↑ Andreas Örwall Lovén. "Få deltog i första Pegida-aktionen | Inrikes | SvD" (in Swedish). Svd.se. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  170. ↑ Expo Idag: Endast fyra demonstrerade med Pegida i Linköping
  171. ↑ UNT: Kravallstaket runt Forumtorget
  172. ↑ Fria Tidningen: Svenska Pegida lägger ner
  173. ↑ PEGIDA Québec cancels march after anti-racist groups convene. Anti-Islam group with European roots and National Front sympathies organizes in Quebec Tracey Lindeman, CBC News, March 28, 2015
  174. ↑ Vimeo user Liberta Rias. Antifascists Crush "PEGIDA Canada". 23 September 2015 Video showing anti-Pegida demonstrators clashing with Pegida Canada in Toronto
  175. ↑ "Czech Republic: PEGIDA's 'Fortress Europe'". The Courier-Mail. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  176. ↑ "Pegida meets with European allies in the Czech Republic". Deutsche Welle. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  177. ↑ Halliday, Josh (6 February 2016). "Pegida UK supporters stage anti-Islam silent march in Birmingham". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PEGIDA.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.