Anti-Islam, anti-immigration movement stifling Germany’s economy, business leaders warn, By Angela Waters, Washington Times, January 18, 2015 BERLIN — Europe’s divisive debates over immigration and Islam may be putting sand in the gears of Europe’s economic engine. Saying Germany needs skilled laborers to work in the factories and laboratories of its export-heavy economy, German corporate and industrial leaders are denouncing the string of anti-Islamic marches that have attracted growing crowds throughout the country in recent weeks. “We distance ourselves from this movement and any xenophobic movement that damages Germany’s reputation,” said Alexander Wilhelm, deputy head of the Confederation of German Employers Associations, a national umbrella group. “The PEGIDA movement is not representative of Germany, its people and its economy,” he said, using the German acronym for the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West group that has organized the marches. [. . .]

It’s disappointing to see the often conservative Washington Times report so erroneously about Muslim immigration to Germany, particularly that those newbies are needed for skilled jobs Germans allegedly won’t do.This article is wrong on at least two counts — the real threat of Islam and the nature of the employment market.

The business representative quoted above says PEGIDA “is not representative of Germany” but a pre-Charlie-Hebdo survey found a different opinion: 57 percent of Germans feel Islam is a threat: poll.

PEGIDA stands for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West (Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes). Started by Lutz Bachmann in Dresden, PEGIDA’s Monday night rallies grew from 350 participants last October 20 to 25,000 on January 12. Officials canceled the march on January 19 because of threatening Muslims, but Bachmann promised to resume next week.

Below, growing PEGIDA rallies against the Islamization of Europe show that many of the German people don’t want Muslim diversity.

On the topic of workers needed to keep the German economy humming, there are millions of unemployed Europeans who could more prudently be hired rather than Muslims, who are sometimes difficult as employees, with their special demands for prayer breaks and such.

Following is an upbeat video segment from Deutsche Welle about young Spaniards moving to Germany to pursue professional careers. Spain is moving very slowly out of recession, but still has a jobless rate of 23 percent. Borderless Europe means that job seekers can go anywhere within the EU for employment, so Germany has plenty of available workers from the continent.

In December, it was reported that France had its highest number of unemployed people ever, nearly 3.5 million.

In Italy, 16 percent of college graduates are unemployed, so there are plenty of educated Italians ready to work (Grads in Italy have higher unemployment).

In addition, the idea that Muslims have extra-special work skills is a new one on me. They do not have a reputation for STEM expertise.

Finally, Germany is like all other first-world economies that are turning to robots, computers and automation to reduce its need for human workers. So the complaints of business are not based on genuine need, just the desire for cheaper workers.