{"id":3419,"date":"2015-01-14T11:05:30","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T11:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=3419"},"modified":"2015-01-14T11:05:30","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T11:05:30","slug":"merkel-joins-muslim-rally-in-berlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/merkel-joins-muslim-rally-in-berlin\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkel joins Muslim rally in Berlin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"German\"<\/a>German Chancellor Angela Merkel has joined a Muslim community rally to promote tolerance, condemn the attacks in Paris and rebuke a growing anti-Islam movement.
\nSpeaking at the gathering in Berlin on Tuesday, she urged Germans not to marginalise Muslims or other minorities, saying: \u201cExcluding population groups due to their faith or their origin is beneath the dignity osf our liberal state.
\n\u201cHatred of foreigners, racism and extremism have no place in this country.\u201d
\nPresident Joachim Gauck also addressed the vigil at the Brandenburg Gate, organised by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany under the banner \u201cLet\u2019s be there for each other. Terror: not in our name!\u201d
\n\u201cWe are all Germany,\u201d Gauck said. \u201cWe, democrats with our different political, cultural and religious backgrounds; we, who respect and need each other; we, who want to live life in unity, justice and freedom.
\n\u201cOur answer to the fundamentalism of the Islamist perpetrators of violence is democracy, respect for the law, respect for each other, respect for human dignity. This is our way of life!\u201d
\nMerkel on Monday thanked leaders of Germany\u2019s four-million-strong Muslim community for quickly and clearly condemning the violence committed in the name of their faith in Paris.
\n\u201cGermany wants peaceful coexistence of Muslims and members of other religions\u201d and Tuesday\u2019s vigil would send \u201ca very strong message\u201d, she said at a joint news conference with Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish prime minister.
\nOn Sunday, Merkel and Davutoglu joined French President Francois Hollande and other world leaders at a massive solidarity rally in Paris.
\nAnnouncing Tuesday\u2019s vigil, the Muslim Council and the Turkish Community of Berlin said: \u201cWe Muslims in Germany condemn the despicable terror attacks in France in the strongest terms. We want to express our solidarity with the French victims.
\n\u201cThere is no justification in Islam for such acts.\u201d
\nWith their vigil, the Muslim group said, they \u201cwant to send a message for peace and tolerance, against hatred and violence and for a cosmopolitan Germany which respects and protects the freedom of expression and religion\u201d.<\/p>\n

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