• Germany edition
Photo: DPA

Thousands protest neo-Nazi demonstration in Duisburg

Published: 29 Mar 10 08:23 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100329-26181.html

More than 4,500 people gathered at a mosque in the North Rhine-Westphalia city of Duisburg on Sunday to protest marches by neo-Nazis and anti-Muslims.

Because the right-wing extremist groups had said they expected some 1,000 participants, police were out on the streets in full force with water cannons and street closures. But their “March on the Mosque,” meant to be the high point of several days of meetings ahead of a state election in May, garnered only 400 supporters.

The neo-Nazi NPD party and the right-wing populist regional Pro NRW group were grossly outnumbered by citizens, politicians, unions and church groups who showed their solidarity together before the Merkez mosque – one of Germany’s largest.

Head of the centre-left Social Democratic party Sigmar Gabriel was also at the demonstration.

“Vote at the state election for any democratic party, no matter which one, just not for the right-wing extremists,” he said.

Though police reported that 136 people were detained in the protest, they said the event was largely peaceful. By 4 pm protesters had gone home and regular mosque activities resumed with afternoon prayers, they said.

DDP/The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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Your comments about this article:

10:32 March 29, 2010 by jollyroger
as usual, the far-left show their true colours, by allying themselfs with a religion that the nazis loved. heinrich himmler was a big fan of islam.
13:09 March 29, 2010 by Jibzy
Jollyroger: You must be a Nazi yourself to issue such a statement. Didnt they hate everyone apart from their own race?

Besides..whats wrong with being a big fan of Islam? I'm Muslim. I'm very well integrated. Are you trying to say that i'm just wasting my time learning German and getting to know more and more German people?
14:52 March 29, 2010 by Prufrock2010
jollyroger equates anyone who opposes neo-nazi hate-and-intimidation rallies with the "far left." This says far more about jollyroger than it does about those who oppose nazis.
15:34 March 29, 2010 by binthere222
Where are the protests against the communists, who are currently butchering the Tibetans and subjugating china and other countries?

These protestors appear to be "Watermelons", green on the outside and red on the inside.
15:43 March 29, 2010 by Prufrock2010
binthere222:

How many Chinese-manufactured items do you own?
17:32 March 29, 2010 by peschvogel
Ah, the nazi's made their way west. Next will be ghost towns, women emigration and joblessness, just like the good ole East. The reunification projekt is yet again....Zuper
18:06 March 29, 2010 by Talonx
I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, I think Peschvogel, Logic Guy, and Jolly Roger are trolls.
18:34 March 29, 2010 by peschvogel
And i think Talonx is a Fathead. There, i said it.
19:54 March 29, 2010 by Prufrock2010
Talonx:

I disagree. Logic Guy is a self-satirist who claims to have an IQ of 250 but who can't spell basic English words or punctuate. Jolly Roger is a rightwingnut with nothing to say. Peschvogel is an adolescent provocateur who desperately needs attention that his parents fail to provide for him at home in one of the Baltic states. None of them should be allowed access to computers or the internet.
21:16 March 29, 2010 by peschvogel
Just spewing blah, blah, blah..Typisch...never stays with the facts.

The red & black flags are coming out more and more these days....Schade..Was passieren aus Deustchland?
22:34 March 29, 2010 by ever
PeschVogel, please stop trying to sound German, you are embarrassing yourself.
22:49 March 29, 2010 by peschvogel
@ever:

Please "add value" when posting to these comments section and not just adding space. What is your "value-added". Appearently none. Just one to tell others how to live, what to do and what to say. Thats how they do it in the German "listen and do" culture. No thought process whatsoever. Ungloublisch....
00:05 March 30, 2010 by Logic Guy
Well, Initially I had decided not to make any comments today.

But after reading how some of you continue to misunderstand who I am, I thought it would be best to clear things up.

I would be the first to admit that I'm a very unusual person.

And it really is true that such people struggle in society, because they do often view the world much differently. Take a look at history.

Have you guys notice the fact that I never call people out of their names? Nor do I ever accuse people of being "this or "that"?

I'm willing to compare my ethical and moral behavior to anyone else's on the planet. I'm sure it would be a challenge to find even a hand full of people like myself, individuals who are actually committed to moral perfection.
00:16 March 30, 2010 by peschvogel
Wow, you sound like Glen Beck? Right winger till you die.

"I would be the first to admit that I'm a very unusual person."

We can make those assumptions safely without your "therapy" spew above.
00:47 March 30, 2010 by Prufrock2010
STOP THE PRESSES! STOP THE PRESSES!

This is the first time I have ever agreed with peschvogel about anything!

Undoubtedly it will be the last.
09:47 March 30, 2010 by William Thirteen
even a stopped clock it right twice a day...
10:39 March 30, 2010 by Talonx
Because they don't seem to understand what a 'troll' is in the context of the internet. Definition; a 'troll' is someone who posts extremely controversial things on boards in order to p#ss people off or get a rise out of them, they can often times be identified by the use of what would normally be identified as strawman arguments of their positions. For example a 'troll' might say that opposition of the Nazis is in line with being like a Nazi (see first post from Jolley Roger), whereas a sensible argument (just a tiny bit more sensible anyways, I would still disagree) that might be made is, 'support of muslim religion is misguided as there would likely not be a mass of support from this group were the Nazis targeting others'.

Anyways, this is what I love about Germany, look at that crowd, you have all ages there standing in solidarity with a targeted minority whether they share the same beliefs or not, united in the understanding that everybody has the right to exist and feel safe. Does every nation need a modern Genocide in order to have this same humanistic realization? I freakin' hope not.
06:40 March 31, 2010 by peschvogel
Your loose words of "genocide" is not welcomed here. Especially when "Genocide" wasnt only commited on German soil nor European....

The Herero and Namaqua Genocide committed by Germans in Africa...

It seems to be part of the "psyche" as this was done well before WW1 & WW2. Schade...
10:38 March 31, 2010 by Talonx
Peschvogel, maybe you should look up the definition of Genocide. If you think I've used it loosely you either don't know the definition, are an idiot without any historical knowledge, or a troll.

Plus, you need to quite your racism concerning the Germans.
19:19 March 31, 2010 by Prufrock2010
Peschvogel seems to have disappeared, along with his inflammatory posts.
23:35 March 31, 2010 by wxman
The fact that the following link is from a Jewish website may render it as irrelevant lies by some here:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/muftihit.html
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