More than 100000 into Germany Streets In Support for Islamic Tolerance: Merkel Attends

Local Editor

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to join a Muslim community rally Tuesday to promote tolerance, condemn the attacks in Paris last week and send to anti-Islamic movements.

PEGIDA on Monday drew a 25,000 marchers to its 12th weekly rally in Dresden.
However, their latest protest was met by some 100,000 counter-demonstrators nationwide, who accused PEGIDA of exploiting the French attacks by extremist gunmen, and who voiced support for a multicultural German society.

Merkel on Monday thanked leaders of Germany's four-million-strong Muslim community for quickly and clearly condemning the violence committed in the name of their faith in last week's bloody attacks in Paris.

"Germany wants peaceful coexistence of Muslims and members of other religions" and Tuesday's vigil would send "a very strong message", she said at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Announcing Tuesday's vigil, the Muslim Council and the Turkish Community of Berlin said: "We Muslims in Germany condemn the despicable terror attacks in France in the strongest terms. We want to express our solidarity with the French victims".

"There is no justification in Islam for such acts."

With their vigil, they said, they "want to send a message for peace and tolerance, against hatred and violence and for a cosmopolitan Germany which respects and protects the freedom of expression and religion".

The statement added, with a view to the new rise in xenophobia expressed on German streets, that "those who voice racist and Islamophobic slogans strengthen the agitators, arsonists and terrorists".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team