Aiman Mazyek, chair of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. (Photo: Jakub Szypulka)

An organizaton of German Muslims has announced a demonstration against hatred this Friday. The Day of Action is meant to draw attention to displays of hostility not just against Muslims, but also against Christians and Jews, Muslim representatives say.

Spiegel Online reports that the Muslims want to clearly distance themselves from the Islamist organization Islamic State (IS), which now rules parts of northern Iraq and northern Syria, by holding the event in more than 2 000 mosques throughout Germany. "We want to make it clear that criminals and terrorists do not speak in the name of Islam, that they trample on the commandments of Islam, and that our religion has no place for the criminals and murderers in our ranks," Aiman Mazyek, chair of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, has declared.

The slogan of Friday's Day of Action is "Muslims rise up against hatred and lawlessness". More than 2 000 mosques in Germany want to join the day by holding prayers for peace and preaching about it, said Ali Kizilkaya, spokesperson for the Muslim Cooperation Council, who called on all citizens to raise their voices against racism and stand up for the liberal democratic social order.

According to German Muslims, the Day of Action targets all extremists. "When a synagogue is targeted for attack, then I am a Jew, when Christians are persecuted, as they are for example in Iraq, then I am a Christian. When explosives are set off near mosques, I am Muslim," Mazyek said.