Despite efforts by German politicians and the media to portray "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West," (PEGIDA) as neo-Nazi, the group has taken great pains to distance itself from Germany's extreme right. The group says that it is "apolitical" and that its main objective is to preserve what is left of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture and values.

"Many people in Germany have legitimate concerns about the spread of radical Islamic ideology, which promotes violence against non-Muslims, robs women and girls of their natural rights, and seeks to require the application of Sharia law... Because the rule of law, tolerance and freedom of religion are fundamental Western values, the PEGIDA movement must leave no doubt that it is precisely these values that it seeks to defend." -Bernd Lucke, leader, Alternative for Germany Party and professor of macroeconomics, Hamburg University.

Thousands of German citizens have been taking to the streets to protest the growing "Islamization" of their country.

The protests are part of a burgeoning grassroots movement made up of ordinary citizens who are calling for an end to runaway immigration and the spread of Islamic Sharia law in Germany.

The guardians of German multiculturalism are fighting back: they are seeking to delegitimize the protesters by branding them as "neo-Nazis" and by claiming that the Islamization of Germany is a myth contrived by misinformed citizens.

But there is a mounting public backlash over what many perceive as the government's indifference to the growing influence of Islam in German society. This backlash represents a potentially significant turning point—one that implies that the days of unrestrained German multiculturalism may be coming to an end.

The latest protest took place in the eastern German city of Dresden on December 8, when more than 10,000 people defied freezing temperatures to express their displeasure with Germany's lenient asylum policies.

Germany—which is facing an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers, including many from Muslim countries—is now the second most popular destination in the world for migrants, after the United States.

The Dresden protest was organized by a new citizens initiative, "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West," better known by its German abbreviation, PEGIDA, short for "Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes."

PEGIDA, which has been organizing so-called "evening walks" (Abendspaziergang) through downtown Dresden every Monday evening since October, has seen the number of protesters increase exponentially from week to week.

Similar anti-Islamization protests have been held in the western German cities of Hannover, Kassel and Düsseldorf, where 400 people showed up on December 8 for demonstration organized by a PEGIDA offshoot, named DÜGIDA.

These protests are similar to, but separate from, other mass demonstrations organized in Cologne and other German cities by a group called Hooligans against Salafists, or HoGeSa.

PEGIDA was launched by Lutz Bachmann, a 41-year-old Dresden native with no background in politics, after government officials in the eastern German state of Saxony announced that they would be opening more than a dozen new shelters to house some 2,000 refugees. (Photo via Facebook)

Bachmann says that he is not opposed to legitimate asylum seekers, but that he is against so-called economic refugees who are taking advantage of Germany's generous asylum laws in order to benefit from the country's cradle-to-grave social welfare system. According to Bachmann, most of the asylum seekers in Saxony are males who have left their families behind in war-torn Muslim countries.

Despite efforts by German politicians and the media to portray PEGIDA as neo-Nazi, the group has taken great pains to distance itself from Germany's extreme right. PEGIDA's motto is "We are the people!" (Wir sind das Volk!), the same slogan used by East Germans to bring down the Berlin Wall in 1989. The group says that it is "apolitical" and that its main objective is to preserve what is left of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture and values.

Ahead of the march on December 8, PEGIDA posted the following call to action:

"Dear friends, dear fellow citizens, dear patriots! Monday is PEGIDA Day and today, too, we want to show that we are peaceful. Bring your friends and neighbors and let us show the counter-demonstrators that we are not xenophobic."

Placards displayed by protesters in Dresden included slogans such as "Against Religious Fanaticism," "United against a Holy War on German Soil," "Homeland Security Rather than Islamization," and "For the Future of our Children." There was no visible sign of neo-Nazi propaganda at the event.

On December 10, PEGIDA published a "Position Paper" outlining what the group is "for" and "against" in 19 bullet points. These include:

• "1. PEGIDA is FOR the acceptance of asylum seekers from war zones, or those who are subject to political and religious persecution. This is a human duty!"

• "2. PEGIDA is FOR amending the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany to include a list of the right and the responsibility for immigrants to integrate."

• "9. PEGIDA is FOR a zero-tolerance policy vis-à-vis asylum seekers and migrants who commit crimes in Germany."

• "13. PEGIDA is FOR maintaining and protecting our Judeo-Christian Western culture."

• "16. PEGIDA is AGAINST the establishment of parallel societies/parallel legal systems in our midst, such as Sharia Law, Sharia Police, and Sharia Courts, etc."

• "18. PEGIDA is AGAINST religious radicalism, regardless of whether it is religiously or politically motivated."

• "19. PEGIDA is AGAINST hate preachers, regardless of religious affiliation."

In a classic case of shooting the messenger rather than heeding the message, German politicians have dismissed PEGIDA protesters as ignorant and racist.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière characterized PEGIDA as "shameless," adding: "We have no danger of Islamization, certainly not in Saxony or Dresden with 2.2% immigrant population."

Click here to read more.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

West Virginia Student Helps Pass Bill to Teach Intelligent Design: 'This Is a God-Fearing State'

Free Speech Resolution Allows Satanic Temple 'Invocation' Sparking Chaos at a Michigan Board Meeting

Paris Olympics Will Feature a 'Pride House' to 'Celebrate' Homosexual and Gender-Confused Athletes

Video Captures Drag Queen Indoctrinating Kids, Getting Them to Chant... 'Free Palestine'

Who's Funding the Anti-Israel, Pro-Palestine Protests?

More Lawfare: Former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows Indicted for Role in Alternate Electors Case

DEVELOPING: Harvey Weinstein Rape Conviction Overturned By New York Appellate Court

Supreme Court Puts Final Nail in Coffin of Effort to Block Trump from Ballot in Arizona

SCOTUS Begins Hearing Arguments on Presidential Immunity: Is This the Most Important Day for Donald Trump?

Courageous: Worship Leader Sean Feucht Prepares to Confront Anti-Israel Evil, Darkness, and Horror

'Australian Censorship Commissar' Orders X to Globally Remove Video of Islamic Terror Attack on Christian Bishop

New Emails Expose Biden's Connection to Whistleblower Who Got Trump Impeached

Tennessee Passes Bill Letting Teachers Carry Guns at Schools

Transgender Movement Is Losing Its Influence on Social Media to Shut Down Debate

Ohio Attorney General Breaks Down Leftist Legal 'Trick' to Block GOP Efforts to Protect Kids

Nearly 2,000 Minnesota Students, 15 Teachers Walk Out of LGBTQ 'Indoctrination' Lesson

Pro-Life Advocates to Hold Prayer and Worship Service at the United States Supreme Court on the Eve of 'Idaho v. United States' Abortion Case

'Just a Disaster': Biden's Title IX Rule Empowers LGBTQ Movement, Erases Women and Justice

WATCH: Brave School Girl Reveals in Graphic Detail How TRANS Student Savagely Assaulted Her Friend While Blasting Woke School Officials for Letting it Happen

United For Israel March Happening on the Columbia University Campus, April 25th