A British chapter of the German far-right movement Pegida, which held a 25,000-strong rally against the “Islamisation of Europe” in Dresden last month, is planning to demonstrate in Newcastle on 28 February, with similar events potentially to follow in Birmingham and London. It is another sign of the frightening degeneration of political debate in Britain on the subjects of immigration and Islam, blame for which extends right across Westminster and Fleet Street. [873 comments]
[TOP RATED COMMENTS 94 votes] "Given the fact that most EDL/Pegida activists "way of life" involves football hooliganism, drunken brawling in town centres every weekend, urinating in public and generally creating an aggressively hostile atmosphere of macho bullshit, I think I would much rather muslims didn't adapt to their way of life."
You seem to know a lot about PEGIDA. Been on any of their marches? Whenever I see interviews from Germany they seem to be overwhelmingly middle class.
[AND] So you prefer homophobia, misogyny, severe punishments for apostasy and adultery, to urinating in public? Be careful what you wish for.
[2ND 89] "Are not Pegida and the EDL not mirror images of the radical "Islamists"?"
Until supporters of either start beheading people in broad daylight, blowing up tube trains or massacring cartoonists I'll carry on suspecting that this newspaper's fascination with them is simply a means of avoiding the issue of radical Islam.
[3RD 87] "It is another sign of the frightening degeneration of political debate in Britain on the subjects of immigration and Islam, blame for which extends right across Westminster and Fleet Street."
The author seems to think that Westminster and Fleet Street are leading the public. But if you look at polls on the British public's attitude to Islam and immigration, it seems more likely it's the other way round. ....
[7TH 59] "Farage warned that there are people living in Britain from other cultures who “hate us” and represent a “fifth column”, an irresponsible piece of demagoguery"
Irresponsible demagoguery, or simple observation of facts on the ground?
[12TH] Any rise in organisations like Pegida is as a direct result of the attempts by the liberal Left to suppress any criticism of multiculturalism and their attempts to deny a platform to anyone questions them.
[13TH] .... There never was a serious measured political debate about immigration and Islam .... Multikulti orthodoxy and toxic accusations of racism saw to that, partly as Labour sought to "rub our noses in it" but the Tories weren't much better. Legitimate concerns were allowed to fester and sure enough some unsavoury things started to crawl out from under the stones to fill the vacuum; and for this the blame does indeed extend right across Westminster and Fleet Street. [Guardian Cif]
