Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) places a shawl around German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) places a shawl around German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) sits before watching a fragment of the ballet "Ruslan and Lyudmila" during the G20 Summit in Peterhof near St. Petersburg September 6, 2013. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk

A large number of Germans are ready to join the anti-Muslim marches in Germany if one such rally happens in their neighbourhood, according to an opinion poll by German news magazine Stern. The poll, conducted on 1,006 people, found 13 percent of them expressing active interest in attending the protest marches against "Islamisation" of Germany.

The marches are being organised by PEGIDA, which stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West. The opinion poll also found as many as 29 percent of people harbouring concerns about rise of Islamic followers in Germany and justified the marches. But two thirds in the poll said the idea of 'Islamisation' of Germany is exaggerated. But majority of Germans shared concerns about the influx of asylum seekers from Islamic countries such as Syria, reported Reuters.

Anti-Immigration

The anti-Islamic immigrant outpouring marks a pan Euro zone trend, now visible in many other European Union countries including Britain and Sweden, where voters are sucked into identity politics because they are getting frustarted with mainstream politicians who are considered soft on immigration. The anti-Islamic marches in Germany are drawing the strong support of euroskeptic party Alternative for Germany, which has been active on the plank of anti-immigration. The poll found 71 percent of AfD supporters justifying the rallies, reported dw.de news

PEGIDA has been holding weekly rallies in German cities. In the eastern city of Dresden, it attracted 17,000 people for its Dec 22 rally. Similar marches have already taken place in other towns with more rallies planned in other German cities. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc is also worried about the rising support for AfD, which is backing the anti-Islamic rallies.

Merkel's Snub

It was no surprise that Merkel, in her New Year address, urged Germans to ignore PEGIDA and called them racists. She said Europe's biggest economy must welcome people fleeing conflict zones with a liberal mind. Germany maintains liberal asylum laws. As a result, the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Germany has surged to 200,000 in 2014, which is four times more than the numbers in 2012. Net immigration also hit a two-decade high.

Meanwhile, AfD leader Bernd Lucke reacted to Merkel's New Year address and accused her of disrespecting citizens. He said Merkel's New Year address was aimed at dividing the people rather than uniting them and accused Merkel of branding all those who joined PEGIDA marches as anti-immigrant, without listening to their view points.

(The writer can be contacted at kalyandelhi@gmail.com)