These Islamic jihadists think that it is sinful to see movies. And to drive that point home, they resort to murder. They do not think it is sinful to murder people who watch movies. It is only sinful to watch them. This is what is behind the Islamic critique of Western immorality: a culture of violence and intimidation that is only moral because people are too afraid not to be — not because they are interested in cultivating genuine virtue, or even have any clear understanding of what that is.
“Attackers throw grenades at moviegoers in Pakistan,” by Munir Ahmed for the Associated Press, February 11 (thanks to Kenneth):
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Assailants threw grenades into a crowded movie theater in northwestern Pakistan, killing 11 people, officials said, in an attack that shows the challenges as negotiators face off in talks between the Taliban and the government.
One of the grenades blew up the main door, and two more exploded inside the theater as about 80 people were watching a movie called “Yarana,” which means friendship in Pashto, officials said. The floor of the cinema was streaked with blood while some of the seats were torn from the force of the explosion.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in Peshawar, a city near restive areas on the Afghan border that are home to Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida-linked foreign Islamic militants. Many Sunni Muslim militant groups view movies and other forms of entertainment as obscene Western influences.
The manager of the cinema, Fayaz Khan, said he hadn’t received any threats from anyone and urged the government to provide protection for them in the future.
Police official Kamal Khan said the investigation was continuing, and it wasn’t clear how many attackers were involved. Another official Ijaz Khan gave the death toll and said some 20 people also were wounded.
The attack comes days after Pakistan began a peace process with Taliban militants fighting in the country’s northwest to end the violence that has killed more than 40,000 people in recent years. The Pakistani Taliban, formally called Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is separate from the Taliban fighting NATO-forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Although the two groups share similar ideology, the Pakistani Taliban has focused its fight against the Pakistani government….