© AFP Photo / Tobias Schwarz(L-R) German President Joachim Gauck, the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazyek, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and other political and religious leaders stand together as they attend a Muslim community rally to condemn the Paris jihadist attacks, promote tolerance and send a rebuke to a growing anti-Islamic movement, on January 13, 2015 in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck joined the rally, which promoted tolerance and religious freedom. The event, which was organized by the country's Muslim community and Turkish groups, took place near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday evening.
The slogan of the vigil was "Let's be there for each other. Terror: not in our name!"
Imams recited Koranic verses, while Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders read speeches commemorating the victims of the Paris terror attacks. This was followed by a minute of silence.
The German president delivered a speech urging "to live life in unity, justice and freedom."
"Our answer to the fundamentalism of the Islamist perpetrators of violence is democracy, respect for the law, respect for each other, respect for human dignity," said Gauck.
Comment: Unfortunately, if the recent spate of anti-Muslim attacks in France is anything to go by, European leaders and especially the European public, need to be much more proactive when it comes to protecting their Muslim minorities, stressing the need for tolerance, and curbing the racism that will naturally escalate as the crazies seek to vilify all Muslims for the actions of a tiny group of psychopaths.
Merkel, who back in 2010 admitted that German multiculturalism in its current form had "utterly failed," did not speak during the Tuesday march. However, earlier in the day, she criticized the anti-immigration movement and stated that "hatred of foreigners, racism and extremism have no place in this country."
Comment: Merkel is speaking the right words. Now it's time to demonstrate them with clear action.
The 'unity and tolerance' rally came just one day after Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) gathered 25,000 demonstrators during a rally in Dresden on Monday. The rally was the 12th in a series of weekly protests that seek to "protect" European culture and Christian values against growing Islamization. Members of the rally also commemorated the victims of Paris attacks.
Following the PEGIDA protest in Dresden and other cities, Merkel said on Monday that Islam "belongs to Germany," echoing her New Year's criticism of the movement which she believes promotes hatred based on "religion and skin color."
The rallies come as tensions continue to mount over the role of Islam in Germany. A survey carried out in November and commissioned by the Bertelsman Foundation think-tank said that 57 percent of non-Muslims surveyed thought that Islam threatened German society. In addition, 61 percent of respondents said that Islam did not fit into Western society. According to census data from previous years, Islam is the second largest religion in Germany after Christianity.
Comment: As Germany's leader, Merkel is in a good position to say and do something meaningful in response to the CH attacks and the anti-Islamic response: to make sure Germans learn the lesson Germany should have learned almost a hundred years ago. It's doubtful she will, but somebody needs to do it. Otherwise Europe may suffer the same fate. See: The Mystic vs. Hitler, or Fritz Gerlich's Spectacles