Ayaan Hirsi Ali was brought up as a Muslim in Somalia but always had her questions and doubts about the faith as well as its practice. She never agreed with the unequal status of women in an Islamic environment and so when she was arranged to be married to a stranger she sought refuge in Holland. There, she was exposed to different ideas, people and worldviews. She attended university and eventually joined the Dutch government working on immigration issues, specifically the integration of immigrants into their new culture (one of the most pressing issues of our time). When she was in Denmark she teamed up with Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh to make a short film (click here to view) dealing with issues many women face within the Islamic faith (unequal status to men, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, etc) and it angered the Islamic community so much that Van Gogh was murdered in the street with a note stabbed into his chest warning Ali that she was next.
Why so much anger when someone questions their faith?
Click here to watch her talk about her book "Infidel" and whether she thinks Islam is compatible with liberal democracy.
I really admire her courage and conviction in standing up and questioning the Islamic faith as well as its practice. However, her language and 'West is the Best' attitude might be more hurtful than helpful. She simply needs to extend her critique to every religion when she speaks, not only Islam, and Muslims might realize that she isn't attacking only their faith, but religion in general (particularly when there is violence in the name of 'faith'). But, that doesn't come across in this talk and some of her remarks will undoubtedly be taken the wrong way (particularly the 'War on Islam' comment).
Watch for yourself and think for yourself.
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