London ( CNN ) Germany 's Cologne Cathedral turned off its lights Monday in a symbolic rejection of an anti-Islamification rally taking place in its shadow . The protest group `` Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West , '' or PEGIDA , called for people to take to the streets at 5:30 p.m. ( 6:30 p.m. GMT ) Monday in the cities of Cologne , Kassel and the German capital Berlin . It follows a December 22 protest in Dresden during which the city 's opera house -- Semperoper -- turned its lights on and off to signify its rejection of PEGIDA . Semperoper has a banner reading `` Refugees are welcome here '' as its main profile image on Facebook . In a Facebook post December 30 , Cologne Cathedral Provost Norbert Feldhoff said Monday 's protest would `` certainly not take place in the light of the cathedral . '' Following the example of the Semperoper , Feldhoff said , `` the Cologne Cathedral will be shrouded in darkness . '' `` The High Cathedral will not be a backdrop for this demonstration , '' he said . `` As a highly visible protest against xenophobia , racism and exclusion , the outdoor lighting of Cologne Cathedral will therefore be turned off on January 5 for the period of the demonstration . '' On its Facebook page , PEGIDA says citizens should `` wake from their slumber '' and recognize the `` danger in the Islamic ideology . '' `` Stop the radical Salfists ' Islamization '' it urges . `` As a society , we should give people the chance to integrate , but we should not allow ourselves to be Islamized thereby losing our freedom and democracy ! '' German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported that more than 17,000 people participated in the Dresden rally last month , where they were met by some 4,000 counterprotesters . Police in Cologne said they would have an increased presence in light of Monday 's planned protests , with several hundred officers set to be on the city 's streets . Meanwhile , CNN 's Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin said that PEGIDA protesters in the capital were likely to number in the hundreds and be met by thousands of counterprotesters . A poll by German newspaper Der Speigel in December found that 34 % of respondents believed their country was becoming `` increasingly Islamicized . '' German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told CNN 's Christiane Amanpour Monday that he was `` worried by this tendency '' but the significance of the protests should not be overestimated . `` It 's new , it 's concerning , but we should not be dominated by PEGIDA when we discuss our political agenda , '' he said . On the other hand , he said protesters posed some questions that needed to be answered . `` They ask : 'Is there an end of asylum seekers , how dangerous is Islam for our society , what about the fight against IS ( ISIS ) -- can this be successful ? ' These critical questions have to be faced , have to be answered , '' de Maziere said . But he said he did not fear a rise of ugly nationalism in Germany again . `` I 'm confident we are strong , '' he said . `` We learned our lessons from the Nazi years and you can see it 's very interesting that the organizations of PEGIDA , they know exactly where the red line is which they should not cross -- this makes me more skeptical but they know where the taboos are in Germany so I do n't see a renewal of the NPD ( the far-right National Democratic Party ) -- it 's less than in other European countries . And we are very well aware of it and we will fight against every tendency . '' De Maziere said Germany was in the process of changing its asylum laws : `` We say yes to immigration in our interests , we say yes to our humanitarian responsibility towards asylum seekers and we say no to those who only come because of economic reasons , '' he said . De Maiziere said the criminal organizations trafficking people into Europe needed to be stopped . `` We have to get the people ready to welcome real refugees and we have to fight against these criminal organizations . '' In her New Year 's speech , German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the issue of xenophobia , urging citizens not to attend such rallies . Such demonstrations encourage the exclusion of people because of their skin color or religion , she said . Merkel urged people not to attend such demonstrations , where people have `` hatred in their hearts , '' she said . `` We know the value of unity in our country , '' she said . `` It is the foundation of our success . ''
Feldhoff turns off its lights to protest against anti-Islamization rally on December 22 . `` Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West '' is rallying near the church . The group is also holding demonstrations in the Islamic capital Kassel and the city of Berlin .