Is Nazism rising again in Germany?

ABOUT 10,000 people took to the streets against “Islamisation of the West” in the East German city of Dresden on December 15. “No Sharia law in Europe!” one banner said. A counter-demonstration of more than 5,000 people was also held without any major incident. Dresden hosts a movement called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida), which staged the rally.

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germans not to be exploited by extremists. “There's freedom of assembly in Germany, but there's no place for incitement and lies about people who come to us from other countries,'” Merkel said in Berlin. Earlier, Justice Minister Heiko Maas called Pegida's protests “a disgrace.” But the Eurosceptic party Alternativ fuer Deutschland (AfD) is sympathetic. “Most of their demands are legitimate,” said Bernd Lucke, leader of AfD, which has campaigned for a tougher policy on immigration. In the western city of Cologne, about 15,000 people attended a demonstration to promote tolerance and open-mindedness, under the motto: “You are Cologne—no Nazis here.” The recent demonstrations prompted a public discussion around immigration. There has been a surge in immigration in Germany, fuelled by the wars in Syria and Iraq. Germany takes in more asylum seekers than any other country. Germany expects 200,000 asylum seekers in 2014, up from 127,000 in 2013.

How is immigration related to Islamisation? Any German citizen can support or oppose immigration, but why should an organisation against immigration be named Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West and allowed to function in Germany? Is it not an incitement by one segment of the population against another? Does it not fall under the purview of the Public Incitement Act? The Act clearly states: “Whoever, in a manner that is capable of disturbing the public peace: (1) incites hatred against segments of the population or calls for violent or arbitrary measures against them; (2) or assaults the human dignity of others by insulting, maliciously maligning, or defaming segments of the population, shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to five years.”

Are Germans allowed to utter any word against Semitism or Holocaust? No. Then why are they allowed to spread hatred against Islam or Muslims? Is it not double standard? It looks like Nazism is rising again in Germany in another form though some sane voices are also heard against it. Unless it is nipped in the bud now, it may be too late to control it later. After all, Germany knows better than any other country the consequences of the rise of Nazism if it is not controlled at an early stage.

The writer is a former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.