German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will join a Muslim community rally Tuesday to foster religious tolerance and stave off rising Islamaphobia in the wake of last week’s terror attacks in Paris.
Merkel insisted Monday that “Islam belongs to Germany,” as she attempts to rein in a burgeoning right-wing German protest movement dubbed “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident,” or Pegida, reports AFP.
Pegida drew an unprecedented 25,000 protesters to its 12th weekly march in Dresden on Monday, though some 100,000 people attended counter-demonstrations across Germany.
“Germany wants peaceful coexistence of Muslims and members of other religions,” Merkal told a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday.
The tolerance event is organized by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany with the slogan “Let’s be there for each other. Terror: not in our name!”
[AFP]
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- How Far Trump Would Go
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
- Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com