A bloody deed with international repercussions

At the beginning of July an Egyptian woman was murdered inside a German court in what was apparently a racist attack. This has sparked protests in the Muslim world and put a strain on Germany's relations with many Islamic states. The conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung comments: "Emotions are running high in the Muslim world. According to news agencies there were calls of 'Down with Germany' at the funeral of [Marwa al-] Sherbin in Alexandria, but also at the funeral service held in Dresden. Many Muslims obviously see the crime as religiously motivated; the Iranian government is instrumentalising it and playing up the whole incident. The public broadcaster Irib reported that in his usual dramatic manner the head of state Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had demanded the condemnation of Germany by the UN Security Council. … However given Iran's dependence on high-tech imports from Germany we can be sure that Ahmadinejad will keep the period of deliberately fanning protest short."

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