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German anti-Islam group vows that it won’t be silenced

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2014 file photo thousands of participants of a rally called 'Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West' (PEGIDA) gather in Dresden, eastern Germany. The group said Sunday Jan. 18, 2015 it is calling off a rally planned next week in the city of Dresden because of a threat against one of its organizers. The group calling itself PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, has organized rallies every Monday in the eastern German city. Last week's event drew the biggest crowd yet, with police estimating some 25,000 people attended. It called on supporters to instead hang flags out of their windows and light candles on Monday evening. Banner reads : Nonviolent and United against Faith Wars on German soil. AP Photo/Jens Meyer) FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2014 file photo thousands of participants of a rally called 'Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West' (PEGIDA) gather in Dresden, eastern Germany. The group said Sunday Jan. 18, 2015 it is calling off a rally planned next week in the city of Dresden because of a threat against one of its organizers. The group calling itself PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, has organized rallies every Monday in the eastern German city. Last week's event drew the biggest crowd yet, with police estimating some 25,000 people attended. It called on supporters to instead hang flags out of their windows and light candles on Monday evening. Banner reads : Nonviolent and United against Faith Wars on German soil. AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

By Associated Press January 19, 2015 1 min read

DRESDEN, Germany (AP) – A German group protesting what it calls “the Islamization of the West” is vowing that it won’t be silenced after its weekly rally was canceled following an alleged terrorist threat against one of its organizers.

The planned demonstration in Dresden by PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, was scrapped and local police banned all rallies Monday after being informed of a call for attackers to kill Lutz Bachmann, PEGIDA’s best-known figure.

Co-organizer Kathrin Oertel said Monday’s cancellation “doesn’t mean that we’ll let ourselves be gagged.” Bachmann says a demonstration is planned for next week.

PEGIDA’s branch in Copenhagen plans to go ahead with its first march Monday.

The group has drawn widespread criticism from German politicians, but its organizers insist PEGIDA and its supporters aren’t racist.