Radical Islam Threatened by Hollywood

-link">Al Quaeda, have displayed a pretty ruthless hostility
When Islamic extremists in Pakistan blow up cinematowards all forms of artistic representation. And this
houses, claiming that they are un-Islamic, one has todestructiveness has been felt only too keenly in such
wonder why radical Islam seems to feel soIslamic cultural centers as Beirut and Baghdad, which
threatened by Hollywood. Not long ago, I ran acrossare now wastelands thanks to decades of sectarian
an article on the web—an Associated Pressviolence and brutality.
release—that included the following passage (quotedIn March 2001, in fact, the Taliban ordered the
verbatim):destruction of two gigantic, ancient statues of the
Elsewhere in the northwest, a car bomb explodedBuddha in the Bamiyan province of Afghanistan—an
close to a movie theater in the city of Peshawar [inact of ruthless vandalism against art and
Pakistan], killing at least six people and wounding 80culture—against historical artifacts of immense
others, witnesses and police officer Saleem Khan said.archaeological importance and cultural value—an act
Authorities blamed militants that have targetedthat many believe was an ominous precursor to the
theaters before in the region, believing them to bedestruction, only six months following, of another pair
un-Islamic.of monoliths of immense socio-cultural importance,
The article, entitled U.N. seeks $543 million fornamely the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
Pakistan refugees, was originally published at this link.in the great Western cultural center of New York
It has since been updated by the Associated PressCity. Arguably, the destruction of the World Trade
and no longer includes the passage cited above. TheCenter on 9/11 is an undeniable expression of a
same news story, Bomb at Pakistan movie house killsdeep-seated hostility for Western art, culture and, in
6, may also be found at this link, which also containsthis case, architecture, on the part of radical Islamic
a similar passage as follows:factions.
Militants have targeted movie theaters in the regionAfter all, if Islamic radicals like the Taliban, Al Quaeda
in the past, charging that the businesses violate theand the Ahmadinejad regime in Iran have no problem
tenets of Islam. Pakistan's Dawn News televisionwith murdering thousands of innocent civilians (by
channel reported that some theaters in the areasponsoring terrorism) or engaging in brutal
have recently received threats from the Taliban, andmisogynistic practices or controlling their populations
that a few theater owners have shut down.with an iron fist through religious dogma, can it be at
I find these passages to be particularly eye-openingall surprising that they would find Western cinema
as they clarify and put into sharp relief what radicalthreatening? One has to wonder: how many
Islam and, for that matter, any sort of religiousHollywood movie stars would feel the least bit
extremism, represents to the world of culture andcomfortable having any dealings with the likes of the
the arts—which naturally includes cinema. ReligiousTaliban or Al-Quaeda or the Iranian regime of
extremists are invariably threatened by the artsMahmoud Ahmadinejad? And, furthermore, how
because the arts represent freedom of expressionagreeable would Hollywood or Las Vegas, with their
and a representation of the truth. Religiousculture of over-the-top extravagance, be to the
extremists, like the Taliban and other repressiveaverage Islamic radical?
theocracies of the world, which base their veryI have no doubt that when the likes of Osama bin
existence on propaganda and authoritarian dogma,Laden condemn Western and, in particular, American
invariably find themselves at odds with artists andculture as inimical to the tenets of radical Islam, what
artistes of all kinds.they have in mind are such cultural centers as
Islamic radicalism has always been aboutHollywood and Las Vegas—cities whose culture has
repression—the suppression of individual freedomsalways been about extravagance and excess of
and the violation of human rights. Thus, it comes asevery kind. For a religion that enforces draconian
no surprise that the same fanatical theocracies thatdietary regulations and forbids the consumption of
have no qualms about resorting to outright brutalityalcoholic beverages, Hollywood would have to be a
to protect and further their social, political andprofound anathema!
religious agendas—a fact that the world isNo wonder that the Taliban and other Islamic radicals
witnessing only too clearly with recent events infeel compelled to bomb movie theaters in Peshawar,
Iran—would feel threatened by culture, the artsPakistan!
and, most recently, by Western cinema, asHorizon Cybermedia, on the other hand, is about
evidenced by the recent bombings of movie theaterspreserving art and culture in the face of brutal
in Pakistan orchestrated by the Taliban.religious extremism. We are about championing the
From the earliest of times, Islamic culture has beencause of freedom, especially in the venue of artistic
characterized by a particularly intense hostilityself-expression. For us, the worst possible of all
towards imagery or rendering. Some of thisscenarios would be to be subjected to an Islamic
fanaticism may be justified by Islamic apologists astheocracy that denies us our basic freedoms and
an attempt to assert the peculiar brand ofhuman rights—freedoms such as those that enable
monotheism that Muslims adhere to. And, of course,us to produce art, culture and cinema!
there is no denying the cultural achievements of theCheck us out at our website which features our
past, in such Islamic cultural centers as Beirut,ongoing film series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar, a
Lebanon and Baghdad, Iraq. However, it cannot betravelogue documenting our sojourns to remarkable
denied that the radical Islamic movement of recentvenues the world over.
times, as epitomized by the likes of the Taliban and