There is growing support in Germany for an anti-immigrant, pro-Western protest group that has drawn thousands to its demonstrations against the Islamization of the country.

Chancellor Angela Merkel thinks the protests express hatred of Muslims.  But the underlying thrust of this nascent political movement is the out-of-control immigration to Germany of Muslims.  Many Germans believe that the unique character of their society is under attack and think that better controls of immigration will save their culture from the demands of Muslims.

I24 News:

Chancellor Merkel calls out leaders of anti-Muslim group for 'prejudice' and 'hatred in their heart'

A new poll published in the German Stern Magazine shows that one in eight German citizens would join an anti-Muslim march if one was held in their town.

The opinion poll comes on the heels of a sharp reprimand by German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the country's growing anti-Islam protest group PEGIDA – Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.

The survey is especially significant amongst growing support across many countries in Europe for politicians that tow a hard line against immigration.

Germany's PEGIDA movement has been holding regular anti-Islam protests in the city of Dresden, where they are based. Over 17,000 people joined their Dec. 22 rally.

In the poll, conducted by the Forsa group, 13% of respondents said they would attend an anti-Muslim march. A further 29% expressed a belief that Islam was influencing Germany to the point where the marches were justified.

In 2014, the number of asylum seekers in Germany was up four times the amount of asylum seekers they had in 2012. Net immigration is at its highest level in two decades.

Some members of Merkel's government fear that they will lose support to those parties that take a hard stance against immigration. Voters have already punished governments in several other European countries, including Britain and Sweden, for failing to address the highly charged issue of immigration.

In her New Years address, Merkel called out the leaders of the PEGIDA movement for "prejudice, coldness and hatred in their hearts.”

She said the leaders had hijacked the 1989 Berlin Wall demonstration slogan, “Wir sind das Volk” (“We are the people”) for xenophobic purposes.

“Today many people are again shouting on Mondays: 'We are the people’. But what they really mean is: you are not one of us, because of your skin color or your religion,” Merkel said, continuing to express support for "people who seek refuge with us."

If all the immigrants wanted was to "seek refuge," few would complain.  What Merkel and politicians across Europe who think like her are disingenuously not mentioning is that the new arrivals are interested not in assimilating, but in radically altering the societies they migrate to.  Why should 1,000-year-old cultures change into something alien?  Why should they subsume their national character for those who seek to destroy freedom and individual rights?

No doubt there are Muslim-haters who protest.  But I challenge Merkel to prove that the real motivation of the protestors isn't a love of their culture and a desire to protect it from the ravages of Islamization.