Germany's historic landmark Cologne Cathedral has announced that it will be taking a stand against Islam. According to The Guardian, it will be shutting off all of its lights this upcoming Monday evening in order to take part of an anti-Muslim protest led by the "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA)." 

Chancellor Angela Merkel does not agree with the organization's views, and has warned in her New Year address that its leaders were racists full of hatred and citizens should beware being used.  However, PEGIDA is rising in popularity - last week it held a rally in Dresden that attracted nearly 17,000 people.

Anti-Islamic sentiment seems to be on the rise in Germany. DW reports that a recent poll of 1,006 people by the German newsmagazine "Stern" found that 13 percent would attend an "anti-Islamization" march if it were held near their home.

Furthermore, it also found that 29 percent of people thought the marches led by PEGIDA were justified because of the degree of influence that Islam was having on life in Germany. The Huffington Post reports that many people are concerned about the numbers of asylum seekers entering Germany, which surged to about 200,000 in 2014 - which is four times the number in 2012.

When the Cologne Cathedral turns off its lights, it will have followed in the footsteps of Dresden's famous Semperoper opera house, which also extinguished its lights in protest during the last PEGIDA march in the city.

Cathedral Dean Norbert Feldhoff has stated, "PEGIDA is made up of an astonishingly broad mix of people, ranging from those in the middle of society to racists and the extreme right-wing... By switching off the floodlighting we want to make those on the march stop and think. It is a challenge: consider who you are marching alongside."