Police Break Up Mosque Protest in Germany
German police broke up a protest on Saturday in Cologne, Germany at the moment it was about to start. The protest was organized by far-right parties and individuals from across Europe.
The goal of it was to make their opposition to the approval of the region’s municipality to Moslems to build a mosque, clear.
Thousands of left-wing protesters heard about the upcoming protest and traveled to Cologne, where they started a counter-protest. They argued that the right-wing protest was racist in nature. Police felt forced to interfene after the left-wing protesters started using violence and it had become clear that if the right-wing protest would proceed as schedulled all hell would break loose.
The far right group Pro Koeln had organized the protest, but it was supported by right-wingers from across Europe. They went to Cologne to protest the ‘Islamification’ of Western Europe, and to celebrate the continent’s “shared, 1,000-year history of Western values and Christian traditions.”
Germany is home to three million Moslems, who form 4% of the German population. Many of them are not well integrated, which increases anti-Moslem feelings. Many others, however, are integrated and function in German society like any other ‘born’ German.
Sadly, the anti-immigration feeling is rapidly developing into an anti-Moslem feeling in Germany and in other European countries. This anti-Moslem attitude is becoming increasingly clear. The result of this will not be that Moslem immigrants and their children will integrate better, of course; it will be that Germany will be divided among ethnic and religious lines, with both groups distrusting the other.
Immigrants and authentic Germans both play a role in this process. Both, it seems, refuse to take responsibility for the situation, and for the problems they have caused. Immigrants pretend that all problems are caused by racism – not true – born Germans all too often claim that immigrants are the root of all major problems – not true either. Both sides have to take responsibility. If they refuse, the problems will continue to exist.
This is a really disconcerting situation. The scariest thing could be that this leads to more ethnic cleansing. Is the anti Moslem stance due to anti terrorism sentiment? or other religious reason? or is this happening with all immigration in general?
There is enough turmoil in the Middle East, we don’t need any in Europe. The US has started enough as it is… Shaw
You said that they both ‘refuse to take responsibility for the situation’ and I think that’s the main problem. None of them feel responsible. It has come to the point where both parties feel that they’ve been pushed into the situation and that their reaction was completely normal. They are sure that the other party is to blame (which it is) and they’re also sure that they are not to blame (where they’re wrong).