Cologne Cathedral will turn off its lights on Monday evening in protest against an anti-Islamic march in the German city. A group called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida) is organising the march, which is the latest in a series of demonstrations in Germany. A recent march in Dresden attracted an estimated 17,000 people. Fr Norbert Feldhoff, dean of Cologne Cathedral, told Reuters: “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.” The German chancellor Angela Merkel criticised the marches in her New Year message.