German anti-Islamists seize on terror fears with new rally as Merkel meets Davuto?lu

Germany's growing anti-Islamic movement is set to hold a new rally Jan. 12, this time condemning the jihadist attacks in France, in a move slammed as an attempt to exploit the bloodshed.

Leaders of the so-called "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident" (PEGIDA) have asked participants to wear black armbands and observe a minute's silence for "the victims of terrorism in Paris."

Euphemistically dubbed "evening strolls" by the group, Monday's march in the eastern city of Dresden is expected to ride a wave of fear and revulsion at the killings of 17 people in France to beat last week's record attendance of 18,000.

However counterprotests are gaining momentum, with 35,000 people turning out Saturday in Dresden against the anti-Islamic group.

The latest PEGIDA demonstration comes after a firebombing early Jan. 11 against a tabloid in the northern city of Hamburg that had reprinted cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed from the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo.

It was at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo that two gunmen kicked off France's three days of terror, killing 12 people. German police were investigating whether there was a link between the show of support for the French weekly and the arson attack.

With tensions running high, political leaders urged PEGIDA to call off the event, saying it had no right to whip up hatred against Muslims in the name of solidarity with terror victims.

"If the organisers had a shred of decency they would simply cancel these demonstrations," Justice Minister Heiko Maas told the mass-selling daily Bild.

"It is simply disgusting how the people behind these protests are trying to exploit the despicable crimes in Paris," said Maas, who is from the...