Edward Wong, "Two Tibetan Monks Set Themselves on Fire in Protest," New York Times, 9/26/11, (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/world/asia/two-tibetan-monks-set-themselves-on-fire-in-protest.html?_r=1&ref=buddhism)

Two Tibetan Monks Set Themselves on Fire

In this article, Edward Wong writes about two Tibetan monks setting themselves on fire outside of a monastery in Western China. This is not the first time that monks have done this to themselves outside of this Kirti monastery. A total of four self-immolations by monks have taken place outside of this monastery due to disagreements with Chinese policies in the area. The two most-recent monks reportedly said, "Long live the Dalai Lama!" before setting themselves on fire. I think this article speaks negatively about the monks indirectly. It's hard for us to understand why someone would do that to themselves, especially someone that is a spiritually figure such as a monk. In the eyes of the public, this action seems barbaric and idiotic. But, in the eyes of the monks associated with this monastery, it probably holds an entirely different meaning.

Ani, "Ganesh vs. Hitler play upsets Hindus," Hindustantimes, 9/19/11, (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ganesh-vs-Hitler-play-upsets-Hindus/Article1-747494.aspx)

In this article, we read about a play titled "Ganesh Versus the Third Reich." This is a newly produced play directed by Australian artist, Bruce Galdwin. This play has been taking on some heat because it depicts this Hindu God of associating itself with Hitler in some fashion or another. This article starts off by talking about how this play has upset some Hindus, like Hindu statesman Rajan Zed. Zed is President of the Universal Society of Hinduism in Nevada and says that Ganesh is not meant to become a mockery on the stage of theatre. Although, at the end of the article, the writer forgets about the negatives of the play and gives information regarding its showing times and location. The article ends with information about Ganesh and what the specific god represents. I think this article shows the negative effect of portraying a Hindu God but then explains nicely how the God is really meant to be portrayed as. 

Linda K. Wertheimer, "Test of Faith," The Boston Globe, 9/8/11, (http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2011/09/08/test-faith/tHJoFiiHL1MW7FKSrKViWL/story.xml)

In this article, Wertheimer writes about an annual field trip that students of Wesslesley Middle School take to a mosque in Boston as part of their world religions requirement at school. It shows positive points from both the Islamic side and the non-Islamic side. Joshua Frank, the school's principal at the time, is quoted, "'I felt it was important to establish we can teach about religion. There is nothing like being inside a mosque, inside a temple. These experiences are powerful for kids. They are going to remember them long after they forget Mohammed was born in 570 AD.'" Although the school's intentions were in the right places, it all went down-hill when a parent chaperone video-recorded one of the fields trips and uploaded it to YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7-I9Qp3d4Y). During this specific field trip, a few of the boys from the class were invited by one of the worshipers to pray with them. The boys may not have known what the motions meant, but to many other parents, it was wrong by all means. The man who runs the mosque, M. Bilal Kaleem, is quoted saying, "'As a mosque, we didn't invite them to pray. It is our clear policy not to invite visitors to pray. This was a learning experience. Once you take kids out of the school, there are challenges. They're curious." Even after this fiasco, the school still takes their kids to see temples and mosques. They believe that the risks of teaching about world religions is less than what can be achieved by it. I think this article is very controversial although not towards Islamic and Muslim culture. The writer speaks respectfully about the culture and religion and is merely stating how difficult it all can be when dealing with specific people or groups of people. The YouTube video really puts into perspective just how hateful people can be towards topics they know rarely of.

Sam Dolnick, "Offerings to the Hindu Gods End Up as Jamaica Bay Trash," The New York Times, 4/22/11, (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E7D91138F931A15757C0A9679D8B63&ref=hinduism&pagewanted=1)

This article speaks about Hindu rituals that are respected by most but are also challenged by the same people. During rituals and offerings made for the goddess of the river, Ganga, followers put a variety of objects including coconuts, other fruits and foods, flowers, cremated ashes, flags, coins, and more into a bay near Queens. This bay leads into the Jamaican Bay and the objects not only have been polluting the waters but have also increased the risk of changing food chains due to the food being added to the waters. When I first started reading the article, I thought it was going to about how enraged people were about the water being polluted. As I read on, it became an article about how members of authority and members of the Hindu culture have been trying to work together to improve the situation. "'Pandit B. Rishi Misir, a Brooklyn priest who leads a Hindu group, USA Pandits' Parishad," is quoted saying, "They [Hindu followers] should understand we are in a different country now. Our scripture does mention that we should follow the country's rules and regulations. But some people are very stubborn.'" I think the article reflects not only positively to the authorities of the area but also upon the respect people do have for the Hindu traditions and rituals.