Category: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

What turns a devout young Muslim woman into one of Islam’s most outspoken critics? For the Somali-born Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, it was a long journey that started with an arranged marriage. She sought refuge in the Netherlands on her way to her new husband’s home in Canada. “I wanted a chance at a life where I could shape my own future,” she says. “I knew the risks – being disowned or being shunned by my father and the rest of my family. I took those risks and I don’t regret it.” Hirsi Ali describes the anti-US attacks of

Former refugee tackles both tough cultural issues and threats to her life THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – After he shot Theo van Gogh and slashed his throat, the assassin plunged a second knife into his victim, pinning to the chest a bloodstained message to the woman who was his nemesis: Dutch lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali. “You mince no words about your hostility against Islam, and for this your masters have rewarded you with a seat in Parliament,” declared the letter left by the assassin, Mohammed Bouyeri. “I’d bet my life that you are sweating with FEAR when you read this …

The Monday Interview: Ayaan Hirsi Ali – Dutch MP and immigration critic Two burly bodyguards are watching from the wings as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch MP, critic of Islam and the Netherlands’ best-protected woman, takes the stage at a lecture theatre in The Hague. About 90 people have come to hear her speak about the EU constitution, but the bodyguards are paying most attention to four Asian youths sitting in the front row, staring hard at the woman who famously described Islam as “backward”. Ms Hirsi Ali’s declaration of support for the document is one of the last cards

AMSTERDAM � Dutch Liberal MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been named by weekly magazine ‘Time’ as one of the world’s top 100 influential people. She was listed as the 22nd most influential politician in the world. Hirsi Ali was included in the list among world leaders such as US president George W Bush, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and South African president Thabo Mbeki. In Context Dutch director Theo van Gogh murdered in Amsterdam Submission – The movie Theo van Gogh was murdered for Behind the Veil: A Muslim Woman Speaks Out (About Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of Submission) In