Table of Contents

How to go deeper

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | The Bhagavad Gita ("Song of the Lord") is the most beloved of Hinduism's many scriptures. This poetic conversation between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer, the god Krishna, begins with Krishna telling Arjuna not to worry about the prospect of killing relatives in battle. "Arjuna, you grieve over those who should not be grieved for," Krishna says, for "wise men do not grieve over the dead or the living." The reason not to be sad is that souls never die, but transmigrate from one body

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/how_to_go_deeper]

COVERAGE OF JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | Judaism was the first major religion truly to concentrate on things unseen, and that represents a problem for newspapers that focus on what can be seen and touched. The problem was evident in an Austin American-Statesman article that emphasized the ritual of Torah scrolls being walked from one synagogue building to a new sanctuary. "'It's heavy,' said Diane Radin as she carried one of the larger scrolls," but the reporter provided no sense of the real weight of Scripture. She described

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/coverage_of_judaism_and_christianity]

Coverage of Hinduism

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion and the dominant one in India and Nepal; its 900 million adherents include many in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other countries. Perhaps close to 1 million Hindus now live in the United States, so reporters recognize Hinduism's significance both domestically and internationally. But it's hard to make any generalizations at all about the religion, since it consists of thousands of different groups that have developed over the past 3,000 years.

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/coverage_of_hinduism]

Coverage of Buddhism

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | Many Americans equate Buddhism with the search for serenity, but two books by Methodist-turned-Buddhist Brian Victoria show that Zen Buddhist priests before and during World War II taught Japan's military leaders to be serene about killing others and, if necessary, themselves. As samurai warriors in previous centuries had found Zen's mind control useful in developing combat consciousness, so kamikaze pilots visited Zen monasteries for spiritual preparation before their last flights.

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/coverage_of_buddhism]

Coverage of ISLAM

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | Many newspapers and magazines offered crash courses in the basics of Islam following the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, and WORLD went deeper in a special issue the month after 9/11. Sadly, newspaper presentation of the basics was generally done in the context of stories that advocated the positive, toleration, without coming to grips with the negative, the existence for centuries of a sizeable war party within Islam. Instead of describing both faces of Islam, reporters

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/coverage_of_islam]

Saddam, terrorists, and Islam

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | Here's a starter question that's crucial in both American strategy and international response: As the United States deals with Saddam Hussein, are we fighting a secular dictatorship or are we fighting Islam? Saddam, reeling after his defeat in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, began wrapping himself in a green-and-white Muslim flag. He spent $7.5 million building Baghdad's Umm al-Ma'arik ("Mother of All Battles") mosque, which is surrounded by minarets shaped like Scud missiles. He has plans to

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/saddam_terrorists_and_islam]

What we don't know can hurt us

by Marvin Olasky

Cover Story | What the press teaches about Islam and other religions is not nearly as important as what it leaves out of its reporting

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/what_we_don_t_know_can_hurt_us]

In this issue: "Press coverage uncovered," March 8, 2003

Dispatches

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Quotables

I got into television because I hated it so. Fred Rogers, public television's "Mister Rogers," on how he hoped to improve TV when he started his children's…

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/quotables_0]

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Flashtraffic: a post-Hussein Iraq

by Joel C. Rosenberg

Bush outlines plans for a post-Hussein and post-Arafat Middle East

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/flashtraffic_a_post_hussein_iraq]

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Quick Takes

A bit of their own medicine Julie McCammon says the greed of a wealthy group of individuals has caused her material harm, and she plans to sue those…

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/quick_takes_0]

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Top News

by The Editors

1 the more the merrier Des Moines is bone-chilling cold and buried in snow these days. But Republican grassroots activists there couldn't be happier. Another…

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/top_news_0]

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Sweeter than pie

by Lynn Vincent

Supreme Court majority rules that the abortion industry cannot help itself to a RICO-size slice of pro-life assets

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/sweeter_than_pie]

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Security threats

by Marvin Olasky

So far, everyday risks outweigh terrorism fears for most Americans

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/security_threats]

Reviews

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The marriage craving

by Gene Edward Veith

Culture |  Reality TV and the box office prove that the institution of marriage is still the ideal

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/the_marriage_craving]

Voices

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Running out of hands

by Joel Belz

On the one hand, on the other hand: Waiting for the Iraq war

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/running_out_of_hands]

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Siding with Islam

by Marvin Olasky

Most reporters display ignorance or fecklessness

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/siding_with_islam]

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Tolerance week

by Andrée Seu

Worshipping a soft god with tyrannical potential

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/tolerance_week]

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Mailbag

When wealth or fame elude you or fade in the light of day, the grounding that a committed help-mate and best friend can give to one's life is priceless. We…

[http://www.worldmag.com/2003/03/mailbag_0]

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