PEGIDA anti- Islam rally on weekend draws criticism
Concerns raised that event could ‘ disrupt the peace’ if it proceeds
Three months after landing in Quebec, controversial European movement PEGIDA is set to host its first rally this weekend in Montreal.
The event, announced on the group’s Facebook page, is expected to begin Saturday at 4 p. m. on the outer edge of Little Maghreb, a section of Villeray– St- Michel– Parc-Extension that is home to a large number of the city ’s Muslim businesses and residents. From there, the marchers will reportedly head south and stop outside the Islamic centre run by Adil Charkaoui, a local educator who fights against Islamophobia and was once accused by the federal government of being a terrorist.
PEGIDA — a German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West — has brought thousands into the streets of various European cities with its anti- Islamic message.
The group, formed last year, opposes what it perceives as the Islamization of western countries and a subsequent erosion of western values. PEGIDA rallies have frequently been countered by opposing demonstrations in England, Germany and France, and a counter- rally is taking shape for Saturday in Montreal.
The group organizing that event, Action Antifasciste Mtl, has stated it will not be granting any media interviews.
This weekend’s PEGIDA rally is the first to be held on Canadian soil, and it is already drawing harsh criticism from elected officials at all levels.
Former Bloc Québécois member and current independent MP Maria Mourani asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper to “unequivocally urge the people of Quebec not to take part in this.”
Municipal opposition party Projet Montréal has voiced its clear op- position to the event in a formal release, and at the provincial level, Québec solidaire MNA Françoise David wrote an open letter in Le Devoir this week denouncing the group’s message and questioning why the city is allowing the march to take place since it could “disrupt the peace.”
“Among ( PEGIDA’s) followers, there are fundamentalist Christians and members of Canada’s National Front, a movement clearly against immigration and fiercely anti- Islam,” David wrote. “We
We believe that the vast majority of Quebecers categorically reject such extremism. FRANÇOISE DAVID, Québec solidaire MNA
believe that the vast majority of Quebecers categorically reject such extremism.”
The president of Quebec’s Human Rights Commission, Jacques Frémont, has also expressed deep concern over the PEGIDA movement in Quebec.
PEGIDA Quebec’s administrators responded to the criticism on the Facebook page Wednesday, writing that “if PEGIDA Quebec bothers the National Assembly, it’s because we’ve struck the heart of the problem.”
As of Thursday, 163 people had indicated via Facebook that they would attend Saturday’s demonstration.