Pegida UK

Pegida United Kingdom
Pegida Rywvaneth Unys
Pegida Ríocht Aontaithe
Pegida Unitit Kinrick
Pegida Claught Kängrick
Pegida Rìoghachd Aonaichte
Pegida Teyrnas Unedig
Headquarters Dresden, Germany
Affiliation Fortress Europe[1]
Tommy Robinson at a Pegida rally in Utrecht on 11 October 2015

Pegida UK is an anti-Islam organisation in the United Kingdom that was established by former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson. It is named after the German group Pegida.[2]

Following one attempted 'Pegida UK' march in London in the summer of 2015 by ex-EDL members, a second launch of the group was conducted on 4 January 2016 in a pub in Toddington, Bedfordshire by Tommy Robinson. On the day of the launch, he stepped down to the role of "adviser". Paul Weston (the chairman of a specific political group, Liberty GB) was named leader and Anne Marie Waters (chairman of Sharia Watch) was named as a third member of Pegida UK's management team.[3][4][5]

Robinson said that he hoped Pegida UK would be different from the EDL,[6] that it would attract a more "middle-class" demographic, and would discourage the "loutish behaviour and alcohol-fueled violence" of the EDL.[7] Robinson seeks a halt to Muslim immigration, the closure of sharia courts, a ban on the wearing of the burqa, and a moratorium on mosque construction.[7]

Pegida UK's launch event was a march in Birmingham, on 6 February 2016. It drew a crowd of approximately 200, fewer than the Pegida UK attempt of 2015, with a smaller counter-demonstration also taking place.[8][9]

References

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