PEGIDA provides Germans an opportunity to speak out

Given that Turks represent the majority of Muslims in Germany, it is not surprising that the activities of the group known as PEGIDA, the German acronym for ?Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident,? should be attracting attention in Turkey.

The fact that 18,000 people gathered in Dresden on Jan. 5 for this group?s largest demonstration yet only increased this interest and the concerns that come with it. But there is another and more positive way of looking at the topic.

PEGIDA is also giving decent Germans the opportunity to come out and take a moral stance against a movement that has ?hatred in its heart,? as Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year?s message. It is good to see her leading the way for good Germans to distance themselves from this group.

That should not be hard to do since PEGIDA is loaded with unsavory historic connotations with its slogans like ?Germany for Germans,? as well as torchlight demonstrations. Clearly, though, none of this is lost on the majority of Germans.

They have started to come out in counter demonstrations across Germany, displaying numbers that are larger than PEGIDA?s supposed show of force. Reporting on these counter demonstrations, the BBC said PEGIDA has ?provoked disgust and shame? among Germans.

Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt ? who incidentally is no supporter of Turkey?s EU bid ? has also added his voice to the anti-PEGIDA demonstrations. He declared that the protests by this group ?appeal to base prejudices, xenophobia and intolerance. But that?s not Germany.?

Meanwhile, Cologne Cathedral and Berlin?s world famous Brandenburg Gate switched off their lights in support during the anti-PEGIDA demonstrations, showing that the Church and...