Anti-Islamic activists try to set up in Quebec
PEGIDA is likely to a draw cooler reaction than in less-multicultural Europe, human rights specialist predicts
In January, with little fanfare, a branch of the far-right organization PEGIDA — or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West — landed in Quebec.
Since its formation in Germany last year, PEGIDA has drawn thousands into the streets across Europe with what many perceive as a divisive and racist message.
One ugly confrontation, involving an apparent PEGIDA offshoot, unfolded last weekend in Newcastle, England.
On one side were 2,000 people of all colours and creeds assembled under the banner of “Newcastle Unites.” On the other, a group of about 400 were protesting what they perceive as the Islamization of the western world.
In Quebec, a Facebook page set up by the branch of the group there, featuring photos from PEGIDA demonstrations around the world, had attracted nearly 600 “likes” as of Wednesday night. The group plans to hold its first official rally on March 28 in Montreal.
While small, PEGIDA Quebec is not alone.
PEGIDA Quebec’s appearance came just two months after members of another group, dubbed Quebec Identitaire, appeared to take credit for vandalizing four mosques in the Quebec City region. A Facebook group bearing the Quebec Identitaire name had 502 members as of Wednesday, with the group’s description making it clear “we are not a radical extremist group,” but that “we firmly believe a native Quebecer has the right to refuse to have cultures and religious rituals imposed by ‘adopted Quebecers’ without being demonized.”
In February, the Jewish Defense League — a group that the FBI has branded “a violent extremist organization” — also resurfaced in Montreal and attempted to form an organized chapter, claiming that someone needed to properly monitor the city’s Muslim extremism “problem.” They were quickly rebuffed by Jewish community leaders and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, who tweeted that the JDL was “not welcome” in his city.
That frosty reception did not surprise Frank Chalk, director of Concordia University’s Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights. While right-wing anti-Islamic groups have recently found a strong foothold in countries where multiculturalism is not the norm, he said, they are unlikely to gain widespread support in Quebec.
“They’ll do poorly here, I think,” Chalk said. “There’s hardly anything (on the PEGIDA Quebec Facebook page) to appeal to people here in Montreal or in other communities in Quebec. ...
“I think Quebec and the rest of Canada do a very good job of trying to be open to groups that have different religions and cultures. We have found that the key is mutual respect. With respect comes the opportunity for dialogue, for social interaction, for sharing with each other our music, our poetry, our literature and many of our values.”
In Germany, where PEGIDA has garnered the most support, people are not accustomed to anything like the multicultural realities that many Canadians have learned to embrace, Chalk noted.
“So it’s quite a shock for the Germans to have 120,000 refugees pouring in from Syria and other sites of atrocity in the Middle East and North Africa.”
The Jewish Defense League, for its part, has been present in waves in Montreal over the years, said Chalk, but there has been little demand for an “extra-legal militia” to protect Montreal’s Jewish population.
“Some of the most respected rabbis and community leaders have said, ‘We don’t need you guys.’ Yes, there are anti-Semitic incidents ... but we are living in a community of law and the normal security agents offer whatever protection is needed.”
Even if they are not drawing thousands into the streets, the Canadian government is apparently watching right-wing groups like PEGIDA, Quebec Identitaire and the JDL closely. The Canadian Press reported on Tuesday that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service recently advised the office of Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney of its concerns during a secret September briefing, noting that Canada’s burgeoning anti-Islam movement poses an “ongoing risk, particularly as its proponents advocate violence.”
CSIS did not respond to a request for additional comment about the briefing.