Pegida Brings Anti-Islam Rallies to UK
“Pegida, like EDL [English Defence League] and all those who try to peddle a message of hatred, will find they have no place in Newcastle,” Newcastle Central’s Labour MP, Chi Onwurah, told the Guardian.
“I was born and grew up in Newcastle. It’s a city of strong communities and we value our diversity and our shared values and those include respect for people and working together.
“This morning’s report on the rise in antisemitism shows that there are people who are trying to exploit tensions between communities – there’s an increase in antisemitism, an increase in Islamophobia – and Newcastle stands against that.”
Plans for the first march for Pegida movement were announced by the group next February 28 in Newcastle.
In a Facebook post, the group said: “Pegida UK is holding its first rally in Newcastle. All are welcome to attend. Let’s show the Islamists we show no fear.”
Locals expressed fears that the group was attempting to whip up tension after the Paris attacks by extremist gunmen last month.
These fears were confirmed by Onwurah who said there had been an increase in Islamophobic and anti-semitic comments on social media recently.
“Most people in Newcastle understand that those who committed the Paris attacks are vile murderers and they are no more representative of Islam than the Ku Klux Klan of Christianity,” she said.
“We’ve seen from the marches that EDL have organised, and the National Front and BNP before them, that they will attract some people. But there are far more people who stand out against this kind of hatred.
“They’re not going to find the same kind of support in Newcastle that they’ve been finding in Germany, in part because our communities talk and engage together all the time.”
Amid rising opposition to the group’s march, councilor Dipu Ahan, from Elswick, Newcastle, has written to chief constable of Northumbria Police, Sue Sim, and Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird, asking for the protest to be banned.
“This type of thing allows these people to preach hate - and that creates fear,” he told Chronicle Live on Thursday.
“This is our city and we don’t have a problem with Islamic extremism.
“The Muslim community has always worked well with the police, but we are sick and tired of Far Right groups thinking they can come into the city and target us.
“I’m not hopeful that this will get banned so we will be planning our own counter-protest, bringing together people from all cultures in the city to celebrate the diversity of our community in a peaceful and celebratory manner.”
David Stockdale, Newcastle City Council’s Labour ward member for Blakelaw, said: “Make no mistake, Pegida are far-right fascists who are shamefully exploiting the tragedy in Paris to pedal their prejudice and hate.
“Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance and those murderers who claim they carry out their barbaric evil in the name of Islam are no more Islamic than the Ku Klux Klan are Christian. To be anti-Islamic is not patriotic, in facts it’s quite the opposite.
“Newcastle is a city of sanctuary. We are welcoming and inclusive of all cultures and religions and we have a long and proud history of standing up against injustice. If Pegida thinks their islamophobic message will find a voice in our city then they are just plain wrong.
“It is fear that breeds intolerance and feeds prejudice and groups like Pegida use that fear as a platform to promote hate. Pegida aren’t welcome in Newcastle and we don’t want them here.”
Muslims in Europe have been facing an increasing resentment after Paris attacks that left 17 killed, including two Muslims.
The National Observatory Against Islamophobia said over one hundred incidents have been reported to the police since Charlie Hebdo attacks of January 7-9.
The rise in attacks over the last two weeks represents an increase of 110 percent over the whole of January 2014, the organization said on Monday.
