PEGIDA rallies across Germany, prompting fear among Muslims

The far-right movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) is continuing to hold anti-Islam demonstrations while igniting more hatred toward the Muslim community in Germany.

Supporters and opponents of PEGIDA held a string of protests in a number of German cities on Monday such as Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, Hannover and Frankfurt. During the anti-PEGIDA demonstrations, some 29 people were reportedly injured during clashes between protestors and police in the northern German city of Hannover.

The weekly demonstrations have turned into neo-Nazi rallies through which hatred and aggression toward Muslims is promoted. As anti-Muslim sentiments sweep across Europe, the number of anti-Muslim incidents in France has soared to 128 since the Charlie Hebdo attack.

This number is reportedly almost the same as all the incidents in 2014, according to the National Observatory against Islamophobia. Reports of attacks on mosques and Muslim-run businesses in various places in France have led many French Muslims to fear rising Islamophobia.