The group based in Dresden, Germany, has been organising public demonstrations against what it considers to be the Islamisation of the western world since October 2014.
Its members have made global headlines for their protests in the wake of the fatal terror attacks in Paris.
Who are they?
Pegida – or the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West - was established by Lutz Bachmann, a 41-year-old convicted burglar in Dresden.
An official Facebook page for the group has garnered approximately 155,500 likes, but more than joined a march through Dresden earlier this month.
Bachmann resigned as the movement’s leader on January 21 after a photo of him posing as Hitler - and reports that he called refugees 'scumbags' - prompted prosecutors to investigate him for .
What do they want?
A posted online by the group cites a number of goals, including the development of immigration policies similar to Australia.
Pegida claims to defend “Judeo-Christian” values, and is against “preachers of hate, regardless of religion”.
It further states that it is not against “integrated Muslims” living in Dresden and wider Germany.
Who opposes them?
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken out on Pegida, previously cautioning the group from staging a demonstration and reiterating her support for Germany’s Muslim population.
Deputy Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, the Social Democrat leader, has also lashed out at the group.
In the wake of Bachmann’s resignation, he said the real face of PEGIDA had been exposed.
“Anyone who puts on a Hitler disguise is either an idiot or a Nazi,” he said.
Everyday Germans have also rallied against the group, with one rally attracting 35,000 people.
