Anti-Muslim protesters rally despite Merkel plea

Massive crowds defending the country's inclusiveness turn out to block demonstrators

Defying an appeal from Chancellor Angela Merkel, protesters marched in several German cities on Monday against higher levels of immigration and what they see as the growing influence of Islam.

The rallies, organized by a new grassroots movement called Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, have become an almost weekly event in Dresden, Germany, in recent months.