US pastor playing with Koran fire

The self-appointed pastor of a small religious community in Florida wants to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The US government, the Pope, the EU and numerous heads of state have strongly condemned the plan. But such condemnation only focuses too much attention on this fanatic, writes the press.

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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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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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 legalterms but, as the most extreme expression of a rising tide ofIslamophobia in the US, it is clearly incitement to hatred. Jones has tapped into a deep well of fear that has seen the successfulexploitation by demagogues ... over plans for a Muslim community centrenear the New York 9/11 site. Polls suggest the latter is now opposed by amajority. ... The US political class must respond by vigorously refuting thepernicious lie that deliberately associates all of Islam with the eventsof 9/11 and terrorism. That means isolating Jones as anunrepresentative pariah, and completing the Manhattan centre." (09/09/2010)

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» To the complete press review of Thursday, September 9, 2010