More than 25,000 people are reported to have taken to the streets of Dresden and other German cities on Monday for anti-Islamisation rallies.<br /><br /> The PEGIDA movement, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, organised the marches. <br /><br /> A week earlier, they had attracted some 18,000 followers to a similar demonstration in Dresden.<br /><br /> The group defied senior German politicians’ calls for people not to attend. <br /><br /> Chancellor Angela Merkel said the protest had been arranged by people with “hatred in their hearts.”<br /><br /> Meanwhile counter-rallies were held across Germany, including one in Dresden, which attracted 7,000 people, according to local police. <br /><br /> In Munich some 20,000 people turned out, while Leipzig city officials say 30,000 attended a march there.<br /><br /> Germany’s political leadership is keeping a close eye on the growth of anti-Islamisation groups.<br /><br /> On January 13 Angela Merkel is expected to attend a protest set up by Muslim organisations against the attacks in France.
