Pissed off at Al Qaeda? Burn down a KFC

Shiites still can't seem to figure out who their friends are. The rights of minorities are better protected under American-style democracy than under Islamic rule or military dictatorship. But who cares about reality? Colonel Sanders deep-fried my Koran! Reuters reports that six people lost their lives in a Shiite attack on the fast food outlet in Karachi after Sunni extremists killed several worshippers at a Shiite mosque.

Anger at KFC in Pakistan is nothing new. Since opening in Karachi in 1997, the chain has drawn fire (metaphorical and real) for Americanizing Pakistani tastes, "supersizing" their diets, and putting women in pants.

From a 2003 article on PakistanLink:

Adding insult to injury, critics say, is the uniform Pakistani [KFC] sales staff are forced to wear.
"They are imposing American culture. Even women employees are required to wear trousers which is against Islam,” said Abdul Hadi, a teacher at Jamiat-ul-Uloom-il-Islamiyyah Banuri Town, one of the biggest seminaries in Karachi. “Now women want to appear like men and men like women.”

I guess that means the chicken suit is out?

Last year Tibet became the first place on earth where KFC has voluntarily agreed not to set up shop. The Dalai Lama objects to the mass slaughter of chickens. On the slaughter of KFC employees and patrons by Islamists, however, His Holiness is somewhat more circumspect: "There is a perception among the Western media that Islam is militant but that is not true." That's right, folks--the real problem is fast food.