In the wake of the horrendous massacre at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, various nationalistic groups across Europe are declaring, in effect, “we told you so.”

In Germany, anti-Islam protests led by the group Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) have occurred weekly, starting in October of last year. The demonstrations culminated this past Monday with a rally of nearly 20000 people in Dresden. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament, has seen his nationalistic Party for Freedom grow in size, despite the fact that Wilders was taken to court on “hate crime” charges four years ago due to his outspoken anti-Islamic stance. After two years he was acquitted. And in France itself, Marine Le Pen, President of the Front National party, may witness the rising star of her political party.

Those groups have not been without their critics, however, most recently among the religious and political elite of Germany.

An ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the actions by the German demonstrators as “sleaze,” and Merkel herself condemned PEGIDA, claiming they have “hatred in their hearts.” German Federal Justice Minister Heiko Maas sneered, “We must not remain silent when xenophobic sentiments are being directed at people who have lost everything and come to us seeking help. . . We must make it clear that these demonstrations are not a majority.” Even that magnificent German symbol of Christianity, Cologne Cathedral, had its lights dimmed in response to the PEGIDA protests.

And even after twelve Parisians lie dead from the murderous rampage of Islamists, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere just couldn’t — or wouldn’t — make the connection to Islam. “Islamic extremists and Islamic terror are something entirely different from Islam,” he said. “It is immensely important to underscore that difference on a day like today.”

Just like another fool said on another day, “ISIS is not Islamic,” right, Mr. Interior Minister?

But in the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo, PEGIDA and its fellow European nationalists are finding themselves vindicated. On its Facebook page, PEGIDA wrote, “The Islamists, against whom PEGIDA has been warning over the last 12 weeks, showed in France today that they are not capable of (practicing) democracy but instead see violence and death as the solution. . .”Our political leaders want us to believe the opposite is true. Does a tragedy like this first have to happen in Germany?”

On his weblog, responding the the Paris attacks, Geert Wilders wrote, “Western governments have to realize that we are at war. We should no longer show any respect for an ideology that rejects our fundamental values. The only way to defend our democratic values and fundamental freedoms is to start the de-Islamization of our societies.”

And in devastated France, Marine Le Pen said in a video on the Front National website, “Time’s up for denial and hypocrisy. . . The absolute rejection of Islamic fundamentalism must be proclaimed loudly and clearly.”

For decades now, Europe has basked in big government socialism while rejecting the Christian ethics which made its nations great. Moreover, in an effort to cast off her abhorrent past of genocide and Holocaust, Germany has established some of the world’s most liberal asylum rules. It appears, however, that the results of bringing in groups which have no intention of assimilating as Germans, or Frenchmen, or Dutch, may be threatening the very essence of Europe itself. Say hello to Europistan.

We could then see the lights of the glorious Cologne Cathedral diminished once again. Only this time it would be permanent.