European anti-Islam group PEGIDA plans to debut in Montreal

The European-based anti-Islamic, anti-immigration group PEGIDA is making its debut in Quebec this weekend, and local politicians and community members want to convey that their views are not welcome in Montreal.

Members of PEGIDA Québec plan to hold an anti-Islam rally in Montreal's Little Maghreb neighborhood, a predominantly North African Muslim community in Montreal's Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Endension neighborhood.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said Thursday that he condemns any Islamophobia in the city.

Other politicians also spoke about it.

“Come on, Montreal is definitely not the place for you, I ask Montrealers not to join PEGIDA and not be fooled,” said Guillaume Lavoie of the Montreal Project.

Quebec Solidaire MP François David also spoke out against the group.

The anti-PEGIDA protest is scheduled to take place at the same time and location as the PEGIDA rally on Saturday at 4 p.m.

PEGIDA is a German acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West. A relatively new group started in October in Dresden, Germany, and uses Facebook as its primary organizing tool.

The organization is popular among neo-Nazis and other nationalists and is often well-represented in white supremacist online forums such as Stormfront and National Front.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned PEGIDA.

The Quebec chapter already has more than 1,000 supporters on Facebook.

According to Bilal Tartraf of the FATH Community Center, PEGIDA's choice of location is not accidental.

“It certainly depends on the provocation,” Tartraff said. “I am convinced that this movement is very limited in Montreal, Quebec and Canada in general, and the only way they can have an impact is to provoke.

“This is a country of law and order, if these people want to show it, they can show it, it's a free country. We hope we all keep calm and respect the law.”