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?