Angela Merkel Joins Muslim Rally against German Anti-Islamisation Protests

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chancellor Merkel joins thousands of people in Berlin at Muslim solidarity rally for victims of Paris attacks

German chancellor Angela Merkel joined thousands of people at a Muslim solidarity rally for victims of the Paris attacks in Berlin on Tuesday evening, in what was widely seen as a public rebuke to the anti-Islam protests that have gripped Germany in recent weeks.

Mrs Merkel and the German president Joachim Gauck joined a 3,000-strong crowd as the Koran was read under the Brandenburg Gate at a rally shown live on German television.

“The terrorists wanted to divide us. They have achieved the opposite. They have brought us together,” President Gauck told the gathered crowds.

“I say to these fanatics and terrorists: we are not afraid of you. Your hate is our motivation. We stand by our country and its values.” » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Angela Merkel to Join Muslim Community Rally in Berlin

An image of Angela Merkel manipulated to make it look like
she's wearing a hijab, at a Pegida rally in Dresden

THE GUARDIAN: German chancellor is attending vigil for tolerance, in response to marches by far-right group Pegida in parts of country

Angela Merkel is joining a Muslim community rally in Berlin to promote tolerance, condemn the attacks in Paris and send a rebuke to Germany’s growing anti-Islamic movement.

“Hatred, racism and extremism have no place in this country,” she said in a speech earlier in the day. “We are a country based on democracy, tolerance and openness to the world.”

The vigil at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday evening is organised by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany under the banner “Let’s be there for each other. Terror: not in our name!”

The ceremony is starting with a wreath laying outside the French embassy, where the ground is covered with flowers, candles and condolence cards.

The wreath is made of coloured pens, a symbol of freedom of expression in honour of the 17 victims of the attack on satirical paper Charlie Hebdo and subsequent bloodshed that shook France last week. » | Agence France-Presse | Tuesday, January 13, 2015