The far-right anti-Islam movement, the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA), that long suffers from losing support and credibility, has come to the fore again while spreading across Europe. The group became a widespread phenomenon throughout Europe with many copy-cat groups emerging in various countries such as Belgium, Denmark and the U.K. The U.K branch of the German group PEGIDA, which congregated at Newcastle's Big Market, held anti-Muslim rallies on Sunday, attracting only around 2,000 protesters. PEGIDA has received considerable support from far-right groups and organizations such as the National Front, the British National Party (BNP) and the English Defense League (EDL).
Other than the U.K., the Belgian branch of Germany's anti-Islamic PEGIDA movement staged their rally on Monday night in Antwerp in order to promote anti-Muslim rhetoric and sentiments in the country. The group receives support from Vlaams Belang, a right-wing party. Vlaams Belang's leader, Filip Dewinter condemned Belgian authorities for not allowing an anti-Islam rally in Antwerp. The group also decided to hold anti-Islam marches in various Belgian cities in order to gather more support from Belgians against the "Islamization" of their country.
The founder of PEGIDA, Lutz Bachmann, stated that "This March will be the month of a European spring," while calling for more protests against the Muslim community and immigrants in Europe. Four weeks after his resignation, the ex-leader of PEGIDA, Bachmann was re-elected as member of the far-right group's managing board on Feb 23. German media stated that the 42-year-old Bachman decided to return in an effort to revive the far-right movement that has lost popularity and credibility among its supporters. The movement came under fire after a Hitler selfie of the head of PEGIDA movement surfaced. The far-right PEGIDA movement rejected Bachmann's postings on social media, stating that it would harm the interest of the movement. Bachmann was being accused of making disparaging comments about asylum seekers. With this selfie, the movement's assertion of not being tied to neo-Nazi groups was widely discredited, its xenophobic and racist elements having been exposed.
Apart from Lutz Bachmann, Tatjana Festerling from the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party reportedly joined PEGIDA's top officials. There has been a strong correlation between Germany's Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant AfD party, and the troubled PEGIDA movement. Promotion of hatred for Muslims and immigrants serves the rise of the AfD party. The anti-Islam marches have been held in several German cities, but primarily in the eastern city of Dresden, attracting many with anti-Islam views. While the anti-Islam marches continued to take place in several German cities, the AfD has increased it votes in both eastern and western states in state elections.
The far-right populist movement PEGIDA was founded in October 2014. Soon after its establishment, Germany witnessed several anti-Islam demonstrations and racially-motivated attacks organized by far-right extremist groups. Since then, there have been weekly anti-Islam rallies organized by PEGIDA in the eastern German city of Dresden. The German city has become a destination for people with anti-Islam sentiments of all stripes, with more people considering Islam a threat, signaling a rising fear and hatred for Muslim society and immigrants. The weekly rallies began with nearly 500 demonstrators protesting the rising number of immigrants. However, they grew much larger, with support coming from disenchanted Germans who oppose the "Islamization" of their country. The far-right movement struck a chord with many Germans after gaining a solid social ground in German society in the face of growing far-right extremism.
