MOSCOW, January 2 (Sputnik) - German Development Minister Gerd Müller said an objective discussion with regard to the recent anti-Islam demonstrations is required to resolve social tensions in the country, according to Deutsche Welle.
"People are suffering, they feel they have been pushed to the margins and are drawing attention to themselves, because they do not see themselves represented completely," Müller said cited by the newspaper. He also added that Germans are afraid of a constantly rising inflow of refugees, which, they fear, can lead to “Islamization” of the country.
Mass demonstrations against the influx of refugees from Muslim countries have been mainly organized by PEGIDA, also known under its full name, "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West". The largest protest so far took place in Dresden, where approximately 17,500 people met to protest, according to die Welt.
Almost third of Germans support #pegida anti-muslim protests http://t.co/yrG7MSFnCH pic.twitter.com/WCyY5ote26
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) 2 января 2015
PEGIDA members are reportedly planning to organize a number of further protests in Cologne next week.
Merkel criticizes anti-Islam #PEGIDA movement in #NewYear's speech http://t.co/9NkbxBeGJf pic.twitter.com/KudS4UKpCE
— DW (English) (@dw_english) 31 декабря 2014
On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the movement, announcing that its leaders have discriminating motives and are seeking to express their "hate" towards other cultures.
