PEGIDA: Africa and Asia are praying for Germany

PEGIDA is an abbreviation for "Patriotic Europeans against the islamisation of the occident". Thousands of right-wing orientated people take part in weekly marches, especially in the city of Dresden/Germany. Leaders of this new movement does not only position itself against Muslims, but also against refugees in general. This movement shatters and polarizes the German society - and it was reported about all over the world.

So even the people in Eastern Congo have already heard about it - and they are troubled about this disturbing development. The Baptist Church in Central Africa (CBCA) therefore followed the call of the United Evangelical Mission to pray for the interreligious dialogue and peaceful togetherness in Germany.

"Never before we got so many reactions in such a short time", Dr Claudia Währisch-Oblau, UEM Executive Secretary for Evangelism, told about her prayer alert. She had written to the UEM member churches in Africa and Asia and explained about PEGIDA. "Please pray that this debate will be resolved peacefully, and that Germany will remain a nation in which immigrants can live peacefully and feel welcomed", she wrote.

From Tanzania to Sri Lanka churches in Africa and Asia reacted and explained their solidarity with the German churches, which had officially taken up position against PEGIDA and its goals in the recent days. "May God bless the initiative of the Churches and concerned Christians, to bear fruit of peace and tolerance",  Bishop E. //Gamxamub from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) wrote, and similar messages came from all over Africa and Asia. All of them promised to pray for Germany.

For years and decades the UEM has been engaging for refugees' rights and the peaceful dialogue between different religions.