Two Perspectives

(http://ajc.af/english/news-archive/1-politics/167-the-herat-held-a-demonstration-in-protest-of-burning-holy-koran-last-night)The Afghani article is about a demonstration which the Muslims there were having against the burning of the Koran (which had been planned by a pastor in Florida) as a commemoration of the incident of September 11. Their signs and screams protest for the right of Islam and the decision to build a mosque close to the original location of the twin towers. The article admits that the pastor who had planned the burning of the Holy Koran had changed his mind and was not planning on going through with this, however the Muslims in Afghanistan felt the thought was disturbing enough and that a protest had to be made.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/world/10react.html)

The New York Times article talks about the protests which have been made in Afghanistan and does not fail to mention the pastor's canceling of the project. It then talks about Obama's comment on the issue, saying that the burning of the Koran is of course anything but right and that it would provoke anger towards the United States of America. At last, it compares recent relationships between the US and the Islamic world and how these have been suffering from the Afghan and Iraqi war and provocations such as the burning of the Koran. 

The difference between the two articles is not so great since there are not many facts which could possibly be argued upon. However, it is obvious that the Afghan article repeatedly talks about the protesting of the people and how right they are with what they are saying. The American article instead makes sure to mention Obama and his wise perspective on this and also repeatedly talks about how the Islamic people are protesting even though the project had been cancelled (implying that there was really no need for protest whatsoever and that the Afghan folk is exaggerating the issue). It is clear that the Islam plays the major role in this story and it is perfectly understandable that Muslims felt directly offended and attacked by the intention of burning their Holy Scripture. It showed disrespect and naivety  from the people involved in the planning of this action.