The Koran burning planned by Pastor Terry Jones could have dire consequences for US troops, the Commander of the US forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus has warned. But the general's warning itself is far more dangerous, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "With his words the general has given this lone fanatic more attention than he deserves. In part through Petraeus' doing, an insignificant religious mini-war has now reached the world of real warfare. The US authorities are powerless. ... Failure to ban the act will meet with incomprehension in many Muslim countries. But clerics and other influential leaders in the Muslim world are morally obliged to refrain from fanning the flames of anger. The consequences of the ninth anniversary of 9/11 depend above all on the ability of Muslims to see Terry Jones for what he really is: a sad, irrelevant case." (09/09/2010)

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High representatives of the US government and Nato are now expressing concern about the plans of a small parish of evangelical Christians in Florida to burn the Koran. This is exactly what Pastor Terry Jones set out to achieve, the left-liberal daily La Repubblica comments: "He has become a global superstar, the pastor from Gainesville who wants to commemorate 9/11 by burning the Koran. Over 10,000 fans have joined the Facebook page 'Burn a Koran Day'. The White House, the Vatican, Nato and even Angelina Jolie have declared battle against the pastor. And protests have broken out throughout the Islamic world from Kabul to Jakarta. ... No matter how it ends, Jones has had a taste personal triumph. He has been hunting for fame for some time now. Last year he organised an anti-Islam rally for September 11. But only a local paper, The Independent Florida Alligator, gave it coverage in 2009. ... The former hotel director and fan of the film Braveheart has managed to surpass the reactionary reputation of his idol Mel Gibson." (09/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Federico Rampini

The attempt by a Christian community to use September 11 to further its own interests could place the entire West under suspicion, notes the leftist daily die tageszeitung: "The Vatican, the US government and Nato are doing all they can to prevent the Islamic world from getting the impression that all of Christendom and the West is behind activities like this. To this extent they are in the same boat as many Muslims after September 11, when they were made collectively responsible for the attacks in some places, and since then have had to demonstrate time and again that they aren't terrorists. Granted, the scale is not the same. There are probably far fewer Koran burners in the West than there are bin Laden fans in the Islamic world, and the attacks of September 11 were of an entirely different magnitude than a Koran-burning ceremony. But in both cases a majority runs the risk of being pilloried for the deeds of a minority." (09/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Karim el-Gawhary

The US government must isolate Pastor Terry Jones, who has planned a Koran-burning ceremony for Saturday, September 11, the liberal daily The Irish Times writes: "What Jones is planning may not be a direct call to violence in legal terms but, as the most extreme expression of a rising tide of Islamophobia in the US, it is clearly incitement to hatred. Jones has tapped into a deep well of fear that has seen the successful exploitation by demagogues ... over plans for a Muslim community centre near the New York 9/11 site. Polls suggest the latter is now opposed by a majority. ... The US political class must respond by vigorously refuting the pernicious lie that deliberately associates all of Islam with the events of 9/11 and terrorism. That means isolating Jones as an unrepresentative pariah, and completing the Manhattan centre." (09/09/2010)

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German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière on Wednesday presented the government's new integration programme. But integration cannot be imposed from above, the daily Der Standard writes: "The subject of integration will preoccupy the Germans for years to come. They are having fewer and fewer children and are dependent on immigration. For many years family reunification dominated the immigration process. Skilled workers were not a priority. Germany is paying the price for this now because as a country of engineers it suffers from a lack of skilled workers. This means politicians must make all the more effort to help immigrants. More teachers who are immigrants and Islam lessons at state schools are logical steps. But they are - unfortunately - not a solution that will resolve all the problems within a few months. Making up for the omissions of the past takes time. Integration is not something that can be commanded in a loud voice from above." (09/09/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Integration, » Germany
All available articles from » Birgit Baumann

Following the Republic of Moldova's failed referendum on the direct election of its president new elections have been called for November. The referendum is not just a setback for the pro-European forces in Moldova but also for Romania, writes the daily Adevărul: "Even the idea of holding a referendum to find a way out of the constitutional impasse - a solution Brussels had difficulty swallowing - came from Romania. ... One thing is for sure: ... Romania is not as popular [in Moldova] as we thought it was. And as long as it's not a successful country why should it be. Instead of arrogantly forging our way of the Pruth (the river that forms the border between Romania and Moldova], where we ... can boast that we are Westerners because of our EU membership it would have been better ... to export culture, civilisation and investments and give things time to develop on their own. This way we would have contributed much more to making Moldova European." (09/09/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Elections, » Romania, » Republic of Moldova
All available articles from » Ovidiu Nahoi

The award of a journalism prize to cartoonist Kurt Westergaard on Wednesday in Berlin can be justified in relation to fundamental liberties, as can the construction of an Islamic centre at Ground Zero or the planned Koran burning by a pastor in Florida, writes the business daily Hospodářské noviny. But that doesn't mean such things are reasonable or right, the paper notes: "The tribute for Westergaard by German Chancellor Merkel was a superfluous gesture. It was unnecessary for Germany and Europe, where no one has to be convinced that they stand for the principles of Western democracy. But it was also needless for the other side, where Merkel's tribute will be read as a message from the West: Your taking offence doesn't interest us in the least." (09/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Daniel Anýž

Following German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visits to Lithuania and Latvia, the daily Latvijas avīze calls for Latvian foreign policy to exercise more sovereignty, especially regarding Russia: "Merkel encouraged Latvia as a 'sovereign state' to entertain good neighbourly relations with Russia. Clearly that needed to be cleared up. In Vilnius the Chancellor explained that Lithuania's President Daila Grybauskaitė had no need of advice concerning relations with Russia. Vilnius also behaves a bit differently to Riga regarding the world's power centres - it is stricter and more critical. Here however Foreign Minister Ronis stated only recently that 'if relations between the US and Russia influence our security and Polish-Russian relations determine how history is appraised, then relations between Germany and Russia have a decisive influence on how we can successfully exploit our region's potential.' True enough. But it remains to be clarified what role Latvia will play in this network of relations, and how it can make its influence felt." (09/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Uldis Šmits

If the French have recently striked and demonstrated en masse against the government's plan to raise the retirement age to 62, it's because their working environment doesn't offer them all it should, writes Vijay Monany from the management consulting firm Khampus in the daily Le Monde: "The reason why the French prefer retirement to work is exactly the same as why they prefer holidays to work. ... They are bored by their work, and they develop their interests outside of work. The real paradox is that it's only when they retire that people feel their life is starting, that they can take control of their destiny and read, travel, follow their interests, or spend time with their friends. ... One day we'll understand that social progress does not consist in stringing together weeks of holiday, reducing the number of working hours or lowering the retirement age. One day we will understand that true progress consists in making work so interesting that there will be no difference between it and leisure time. One day we'll see that the solution to pension reform consists in rendering work so fascinating that no one wants to retire." (08/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Vijay Monany

The euro once again dipped below the 1.27 dollar mark on Thursday. But there are countries which profit from the devaluation of the euro, writes the liberal Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino: "The dizzying speed of the euro's devaluation is without doubt a negative factor, but if you take a closer look at the foreign exchange market these days you notice two things: We are still above the value the euro had against the dollar when it was first launched, and at the same time Eurozone exports are encountering fewer obstacles in the extensive dollar area which encompasses not just North America, but also many emerging economies. So it's a half crisis. And therefore precisely the solution that the German economic motor had desired for many reasons. ... As long as the euro doesn't fall below the initial rate it had against the dollar, the strong countries of the Eurozone, particularly Germany, have no real cause for worry. They will continue to benefit in terms of exports without suffering too much damage in terms of imports." (09/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Lino Terlizzi

In an internal report British oil company BP has accused its partner companies of gross negligence which led to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But BP should not get away with laying the blame on others, the conservative daily The Times warns. "That said, BP is justified in arguing that many of the most critical mistakes were made by other companies. Halliburton built the cement and shoe-track barriers at the bottom of the well that failed to contain hydrocarbons within the reservoir. And in the decisive eight minutes before the explosion, the Transocean employees who ran the rig had to make a series of vital decisions, most of which they appear to have got wrong. But BP cannot hide behind the mistakes of others: it was BP's responsibility to scrutinise its contractors. It clearly failed to do so, while adding other errors all of its own making." (09/09/2010)

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Pope Benedict XVI will visit Britain next week. The British ambassador to Poland Ric Todd writes in the tabloid Fakt that this will give the pope the chance to take a stance on the major problems society faces: "We are delighted at this visit and want to use the opportunity to consolidate our relations and seek solutions to the world's most pressing problems - including challenges such as poverty and climate change. We want to hear the words of the Pope. Thanks to its experience ... the Catholic Church has a unique insight into the connection between poverty and climate change. ... The rise in global temperatures and the growing aridity make it increasingly difficult for people to maintain the fertility of the soil they have been working for their entire lives. Climate change is hindering our victory over poverty." (09/09/2010)

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The ideas put forward by Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin display intellectual vanity and moral dishonour in the opinion of business paper Jornal de Negócios, but it notes that they nonetheless raise important issues: "Sarrazin has disrupted the camouflage tactics which, given Berlin's growing opposition to Turkey's EU accession, wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. The political justifications tend to get mixed up with arguments about maintaining a secular European Union or one that is based on Christian roots. But in both cases the EU is regarded as incapable of allowing a country with more that 70 million mostly Sunni and Alevi Muslims to become a member. ... The Sarrazin affair has opened up a polemic that was delayed by the refusal of the German parties to discuss issues pertaining to the integration of Muslim immigrants." (08/09/2010)

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All available articles from » João Carlos Barradas

The Slovenian minister of health and the head of the physicians' trade union reached a compromise on Wednesday in the dispute over how much doctors are paid by the state for doing overtime. Doctors will once again be on call, but the conflict is not yet over, writes the daily Dnevnik: "For now, but only for now, patients can breathe a sigh of relief, provided the government accepts what Health Minister Dorian Marušič and the head of the physicians' union Konrad Kuštrin agreed yesterday. But if the dispute over standby duty was a rehearsal for the healthcare reform and major changes in the organisation of the healthcare system, we certainly still have cause for worry. … If the government doesn't get clear about what it wants and what it is willing to sacrifice to achieve it, the next round of conflicts will be really explosive." (09/09/2010)

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All available articles from » Nina Knavs