Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West

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The slogan on PEGIDA's logo reads 'Away with all the radical trash!' and depicts the flag of Islamic State, the Anti-Fascist network logo, the Communist hammer and sickle, and the Nazi Swastika being thrown in the trash together.

Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the Occident (PEGIDA) is a far-right populist movement in Germany which emerged in late 2014 in Dresden. It opposes what it calls ‘the Islamisation of the West’ and calls for tough immigration policy.

The name is an acronym derived from the German name Patriotische Europäer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes ('Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West').

Its name and message bears a strong resemblance to the 'alliance of European patriots against Islamisation' called for by Geert Wilders in a speech at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York on 25 September 2008, prior to the Facing Jihad conference in Jerusalem.[1]

History

Emergence

PEGIDA began holding weekly demonstrations on Mondays at Schlossplatz square in Dresden[2] in October 2014. Initially attendance figures were in the dozens or hundreds but by December 2014 its rallies were attracting over 10,000 people. The movement’s Facebook page had 44,000 ‘likes’ at the end of 2014[2]. By 7 January 2015 it had over 113,000 'likes'.

Germany takes in more asylum seekers than any other EU country[3] but PEGIDA’s protests have centred around the east German city of Dresden, the capitol of Saxony, home to neither a large proportion of immigrants (about 2.5%, or 100,000) or a significant Muslim minority (just 0.1%)[3][2]. Der Spiegel linked the emergence of PEGIDA to a general rise in far right protests in Germany in 2014, including 86 attacks on asylum seekers’ hostels between January and September[2].

Writing in mainstream newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, German journalist Peter Carstens drew attention to Dresden's unique historical symbolism, noting that at the end of World War II an Allied air attack killed up to 100,000 people in February 1945.[4] One German scholar noted that neo-Nazi demonstrations had for years taken place on the anniversary of the bombing in the city and argues it is no coincidence that the new movement emerged in Dresden.[5] Other observers say the movement's emergence in Dresden may also be connected to its Communist past and the rapid transformations of recent decades.[6]

Attendees

Attendees at PEGIDA demos appear to include far right activists and football hooligans[7] but reportedly also include members of the public concerned about immigration[8]. Most media outlets called the PEGIDA marches ‘anti-Muslim’, others as ‘anti-immigrant’. The organiser claim to only be against ‘extremism’ but demonstrations have been supported by neo-Nazi groups[3]. Far-right elements identified as having links with PEGIDA include Fist of the East a far right Dresden hooligan group, Hooligans Elbflorenz (Florence on the Elbe, a nickname for Dresden), Skinheads Sächsische Schweiz, a banned far-right organisation[2] and Hooligans Against Salafists (HoGeSa)[2].

One German journalist characterised the attendees as reminiscent of 'a gathering of Saxon craftsmen' and wrote that they were 'Mostly middle-aged men, sturdy types, dressed in outdoor jackets and solid shoes — dressed for all the tasks in construction. Here and there a few older men, all kinds of women, few young people.'[4] A different journalist writing in the same paper suggested the movement was 'deeply middle-class' and the protests themselves 'took a middle-class form (a walk)'[4], also referred to as a 'stroll'.[9]

Leadership

According to Der Spiegel, PEGIDA has a ‘middle class leadership’ and at least three key organisers, including founder and leader Lutz Bachmann have prior criminal convictions, including burglary, drug crimes and fraud charges[2]. A translation of a German press agency article on the counterjihad website Gates of Vienna states that Lutz has a 'twelve-person organizational team'.[4] According to some sources, it key organisers were not political active prior to the emergence of the movement.[5]

It lost two leaders in one week after Lutz Bachmann resigned over photographs of him posing as Adolf Hitler and the announcement that he was being invetogated by the authorities, and then his replacement Kathrin Oertel quit days later.[10]

Ideology

Slogans

According to The Independent newspaper, PEGIDA’s slogan 'wir sind das Volk' (we are the people), harks back to protests before the fall of the Berlin Wall but ‘Volk’ and ‘Vaterland’ also retain connotations of the Nazi-era. [3][2]. But the group has made efforts to distance itself from the far right, stating that it is against ‘preachers of hate, regardless of what religion’ and ‘radicalism, regardless of whether religiously or politically motivated’[11].

Another PEGIDA slogan, 'Lügenpresse' (lying press), used to articulate a mistrust of the media and deflect allegations of racism, is reportedly 'seen as harking back to the Nazi era' because wt was used by Adolf Hitler in 1922 and later by his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.[12]

Counterjihad rhetoric

PEGIDA seems to exhibit a counterjihad ideology since organisers reportedly played on fear of Isis and al-Qaedas [7] and it emphasises the preservation of what it calls 'Judeo-Christian Western culture' instead of 'Islamisation' and 'parallel societies with Sharia police'.

Its manifesto also lists policies including integration, 'sexual self-determination' and stopping the 'almost obsessive' movement against gendered German language. It reportedly also calls for the immediate deportation of asylum seekers with criminal convictions[3][2]. Many people on demonstrations waved German flags. Some PEGIDA banners bore the slogan ‘Non-violent and United Against Faith Wars on German Soil’ (‘Gewaltfrei & Vereint Gegen Glaubenskriege auf Deutschem Boden'). Der Spiegel reported that many of those involved in the PEGIDA protests don't believe the official statistics regarding the numbers of Muslims or immigrants but ‘are convinced that a cartel of politicians and "main-stream media" are audaciously misleading the public over the true state of affairs’[2].

Participants' voting preferences

An Economist straw poll suggested that 9 out of 10 PEGIDA supporters would back the euro-skeptic Alternative for Germany party.[13]

Activities

<youtube size="medium" align="right" caption="German protests against growing 'Islamisation'">tz_SfJz-ztM</youtube> PEGIDA began holding weekly demonstrations in Dresden on Mondays in October 2014.

Weekly demonstrations

  • A protest in Dresden on 8 December attracted approximately 10,000 people. An anonymous PEGIDA speaker reportedly invoked Martin Luther King Jr., beginning his speech with the words ‘I have a dream’, saying he hoped for ‘peaceful coexistence’ but calling for acceptance of what he described as ‘the hard reality that we are in a state of war’[2].
  • A protest in Dresden on 1 December 2014 attracted approximately 7,500 people.[6]
  • A protest in Dresden on 15 December 2014 attracted between 10,000 and 15,000 people. Around 5,700 attended a counter-demonstration[8].
  • A protest in Dresden on 22 December 2014 attracted more than 17,000 people[3]; some estimates put the number at as many as 20,000.
  • A protest in Dresden on 12 January 2015 is thought to have attracted a record 25,000, perhaps due to the reaction to the 7 January 2015 murders in Paris including at the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo.[14]
  • What would have been the group's 13th demonstration on 19 January 2015 was cancelled, after German intelligence services reportedly identified founder Lutz Bachmann as a target for potential assassination[15]
  • A protest on 26 January 2015 saw numbers drop to 17,000, perhaps due to revelations about founder Lutz Bachmann posing as Hitler which led to his resignation.[14]

Press conference

At reportedly the movement's 'first ever press conference' on 19 January 2015, then leaders Lutz Bachmann and Kathrin Oertel are said to have 'insisted that the group was not racist and later in a heated television discussion distanced themselves from footage showing Pegida demonstrators delivering racist remarks'.[15]

Scandals and resignations

PEGIDA founder Lutz Bachmann stepped down as leader of the group on 21 January 2015, after a photograph of him posing as Adolf Hitler was published by in German newspapers and it was announced he was being investigated for describing immigrants as 'cattle, 'scumbags' and 'trash' in Facebook posts from September 2014.[15][14].

He was replaced as leader by Kathrin Oertel, who reportedly told a German newspaper that Bachmann’s resignation was the 'only possibilty' and said:

We reject the Facebook postings made by Lutz Bachmann in September which have now come to light in the strongest possible terms. They do nothing to nurture trust in Pegida’s goals or its protagonists.

But within a week she had also resigned, citing 'hostility' and 'threats'.[16] According to the BBC, four other PEGIDA leaders reigned at the same time and one reportedly told the newspaper Bild that 'Bachmann's continuing influence and the role of a separate, sister movement in Leipzig known as Legida' had contributed to their decision.[12] The four were Alternative for Germany member Achim Exner, Thomas Tallacker, a municipal politician from the city of Meißen,</ref name="local2"/> Bernd-Volker Lincke and René Jahn. As a group, they announced they were founding a new movement called Direct Democracy for Europe, expected to 'move away from the anti-Islam stance' of PEGIDA.[17]

Copycat movements

Copycat movements in Germany

Der Spiegel reported that the PEGIDA movement spawned ‘many clones’.[2] Small copycat protests took place in 2014 other German cities such as West Dusseldorf[7], Chemnitz[5] Kassel and Würzburg but these only had a few hundred supporters[2].

In December 2014 the newspaper that PEGIDA protests were planned Cologne, Düsseldorf and Unna in 2015[2]. On 5 January 2015 there were protests in Dresden, Berlin and Cologne. The protests in Berlin and Cologne drew only a few hundred supporters.

The Berlin variant called itself BAERGIDA (also spelled BÄRGIDA or BERGIDA)

The Cologne demonstration using the name KOEGIDA (or KÖGIDA).

A Düsseldorf demonstration and Facebook group used the name DÜGIDA.[5]

In Kassel, a Faecbook group with the name KAGIDA and similar variants appeared in Bonn, Darmstadt and elsewhere.[5]

In Leipzig a first protest was planned for 12 January 2015 under the name LEGIDA[18]

In Duisburg, a PEGIDA-offshoot calling itself DÜGIDA has organised at least one demonstration.[15]

Copycat movement in France

The PEGIDA protest also inspired French anti-Islam activists to take to the streets. On 1 January 2015 the Gates of Vienna blog reported that 18 January 2015 was the date organisers in France has chosen to call for ‘anti-Islamisation’ rallies across the country.[4] A PEGIDA France facebook page which may or may not be connected was set up in December 2014 and had over 6,000 'likes' by 7 January 2015.

Copycat movement in the UK

On 1 January 2015 a Pegida UK facebook page was set up. It had over 3,000 'likes' one week later. The page claimed to be for Europeans who 'dislike radical Islam' but the tag given to the page was 'Patriots of Europe against Islam'. A post on 6 January 2015 stated that 'ultimately the aim is to organize (sic) peaceful protests' but no date or located had been announced.[19]

Copycat movements in Scandinavia

A facebook group for Norway called Pegida Norge was set up on 27 December 2014. It's tag line reads: 'PEGIDA is a protest movement with a humanistic basis demonstrating against Muslim immigration and the influence of Islam' ('PEGIDA er en protestbevegelse som på humanistisk grunnlag demonstrerer mot muslimsk innvandring og påvirkningen fra islam').

A facebook group for Sweden called Pegida Swerige was set up in December 2014 and had over 5,000 'likes' by 7 January 2015.

The administrators of both these page also promoted a Scandinavia-wide Pegida page.

There is also a Pegida Danmark facebook page.

Copycat movements elsewhere

Right wing media outlet Breitbart reported on 6 January 2015 that 'cadet groups who have vowed to begin their own strolls in coming weeks have been launched in the Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, and Austria.'[9]

In the Austrian capital Vienna a demonstration on 2 February 2015 drew just 200 people and reportedly 5,000 counter-protesters.[20]

Responses

Political responses in Germany

According to The Independent newspaper, the leaders of PEGIDA have reportedly been labelled ‘Nazis in pinstripes’ by opponents (this quote has variously been attributed to Thomas Opperman of Germany’s Social Democrat SPD party [3] and Ralf Jäger of the same party) [2].

Meanwhile Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) were said to have offered ‘mixed’ responses with some urging understanding for the march’s motivations [7]. Saxony Interior Minister Markus Ulbig of the CDU said: ‘We cannot label 10,000 people as right-wing extremists. That creates more problems than it solves’, adding that there were many "middle-class citizens" among the demonstrators, ‘and you can't toss them all into the same Neo-Nazi pot’[2]. However Merkel herself strongly criticised the movement in her New Year's speech, saying 'their hearts are cold and often full of prejudice, and even hate'.[21].

However, Alexander Gauland, one of the leaders of the ‘fast-growing’ Eurosceptic party Alternative for Germany (AfD) however, declared his party ‘the natural allies of this movement’ and announced his intention to attend a Dresden protest on 15 December 2014.[7]

The far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) also appeared to welcome the protests which, according to Der Spiegel, it saw as ‘a chance to take their worldview directly to the middle class’[2].

Security establishment response in Germany

One the eve of one PEGIDA march, Germany’s most senior policeman is reported to have noted 'a visible rise in xenophobic crime countrywide', including growing number of anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish incidents.[7] Germany’s domestic security agencies were said to be monitoring a number of groups including Hooligans Against Salafists (HoGeSa)[2].

Grassroots responses: anti-PEGIDA protests

Anti-PEGIDA protests have taken place or been planned in Würzberg, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt,[2] Dresden,[8] Munich and Cologne. Thousands of anti-fascist protesters on the counter-demonstrations have used the anti-Nazi slogan “nie wieda” - never again [3]. When on 5 January 2015 the PEGIDA protests spread to Berlin and Cologne (drawing only a few hundred supporters in these cities) they were opposed by much larger anti-PEGIDA protests which also took place in Stuttgart and Dresden[11]. In Cologne the famous cathedral turned off its lights to show it did not support the 'anti-Islamisation' protest.

On 12 January, when PEGIDA drew its biggest number yet (25,000) following the Charlie Hebdo and other killings in Paris, around 100,000 people took part in counter-demonstrations 'for tolerance and openness', across Germany.[17]

People

Germany

Sweden

  • Henrik Ronnquist founder of the Swedish branch of PEGIDA, who denies the organisation is racist and says he wants thousands upon thousands of Swedes to vocally oppose the 'Islamisation' of the country. [23]

United Kingdom

Affiliations

Notes

  1. ↑ MP Geert Wilders, Chairman, Netherlands Party for Freedom, Facing Jihad, accessed 25 February 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 The End of Tolerance? Anti-Muslim Movement Rattles Germany, Spiegel Online International, 21 December 2014, accessed 5 January 2015
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Lizzie Dearden, Germany anti-Islam protests: 17,000 march on Dresden against 'Islamification of the West', The Independent, 23 December 2014, accessed 5 Jan 2015
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Baron Bodissey,Refusing the Islamization of France, Gates of Vienna, 1 January 2015, accessed 5 January 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Anti-Islamization protests expand in Germany, DW.de, 7 December 2014, accessed 6 January 2015
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Alison Smale, In German City Rich With History and Tragedy, Tide Rises Against Immigration, New York Times, 7 December 2014, accessed 6 January 2015
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Adam Withnall, Germany sees 'visible rise' in support for far-right extremism in response to perceived 'Islamisation' of the West, The Independent, 15 December 2014, accessed 5 Jan 2015
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Adam Withnall, Dresden march: Germans warned not to heed 'Nazis in pinstripes' as 10,000 turn out for 'anti-Islam' protest, The Independent, 16 December 2014, accessed 5 Jan 2015
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Oliver Lane, Up to 20,000 walk in largest anti-Islamisation march yet in Germany Breitbart News, 6 January 2015, accessed 7 January 2015
  10. ↑ Pegida loses second leader in a week, Reuters/The Guardian, 28 January 2015
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Thousands of Germans protest against anti-Islam rallies, Daily Mail, 5 January 2015, accessed 5 January 2015
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Jenny Hill, Germany Pegida: Leader Kathrin Oertel quits protest group, BBC News, 28 January 2015
  13. ↑ Gone boy on the right, The Economist, 24 January 2015
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 PEGIDA leader Kathrin Oertel resigns one week after founder quits, CBC, 28 January 2015
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Germany’s Pegida leader steps down over Adolf Hitler photo, Guardian, 21 January 2015
  16. ↑ Pegida loses second leader in a week, Reuters/The Guardian, 28 January 2015
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Pegida offshoot set to demo next week], The Local.de, 2 Feb 2015, accessed 2 Feb 2015
  18. ↑ Finding PEGIDA, Gates of Vienna, 27 December 2014, accessed 5 January 2015
  19. ↑ Screengrab of Pegida UK's facebook page on 7 January 2015, Powerbase, 7 January 2015
  20. ↑ PEGIDA and counter-demonstrations come to Austria, Deutsche Welle, 2 February 2015, accessed 3 February 2015
  21. ↑ Merkel criticizes anti-Islam PEGIDA movement in New Year's speech, DW.de, 31 December 2014, accessed 6 January 2015
  22. ↑ Anti-Islam demos spread to Berlin, The Local, 5 January 2015, accessed 6 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Baron Bod Sweden: "We want thousands against the Islamisation of Sweden," says Swedish PEGIDA founder, YouTube, published 5 January 2015, accessed 7 January 2015
  24. ↑ Gary Hastings, PEGIDA UK – A MIDDLE CLASS PROTEST GROUP OR A FRONT FOR THE FAR RIGHT?, EDL News, 10 January 2015, accessed 12 January 2015
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