"Daughter of the Enlightenment": Hirsi Ali
The New York Times > Magazine > Daughter of the Enlightenment: " April 3, 2005, by CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL
This Times Magazine article prints to ten pages, so we will not attempt to reprint it or even synopsize it here. It is well-written and well worth taking the time to read. The subject is Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Ms Ali first came to the attention of many of us in America because of the brutal murder of Theo Van Gogh by a first generation Muslim in Holland. Van Gogh and Ali made the eleven minute film Submission Part 1, and Ms Ali became an outspoken member of Dutch parliament.
Unlike Irshad Manji who seems unable or unwilling to admit the obvious, Ms Ali sees Islam for what it is. She is not only an apostate, but she is a self-declared atheist. And, according to this article, she "gets" the big picture, that the conflict between Islam and everything else cannot be resolved except by a fundamental clash of values, something so many in European try to avoid acknowledging, even if they recognize it.
Ms Ali hails from Somalia. She grew up Muslim and even endured the sexual mutilation of Islam at the hands of her grandmother. She has endured many hardships, including a steady stream of death threats which require her to live under the very active protection of Dutch governmental law enforcement.
It is always hard to really corroborate statements like "daughter of the Enlightenment" from something in the New York Times. However, from what this article states, she is much closer to those values than those in Holland and Europe. Time will tell.
Physically, she is tiny, but she is a gutsy lady who presents much to admire. She is independent of mind, which shows that such can be done DESPITE Islam. She is obviously very bright and very strong in character.
Already, she seems to walk on the plane with Ibn Warraq.
This Times Magazine article prints to ten pages, so we will not attempt to reprint it or even synopsize it here. It is well-written and well worth taking the time to read. The subject is Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Ms Ali first came to the attention of many of us in America because of the brutal murder of Theo Van Gogh by a first generation Muslim in Holland. Van Gogh and Ali made the eleven minute film Submission Part 1, and Ms Ali became an outspoken member of Dutch parliament.
Unlike Irshad Manji who seems unable or unwilling to admit the obvious, Ms Ali sees Islam for what it is. She is not only an apostate, but she is a self-declared atheist. And, according to this article, she "gets" the big picture, that the conflict between Islam and everything else cannot be resolved except by a fundamental clash of values, something so many in European try to avoid acknowledging, even if they recognize it.
Ms Ali hails from Somalia. She grew up Muslim and even endured the sexual mutilation of Islam at the hands of her grandmother. She has endured many hardships, including a steady stream of death threats which require her to live under the very active protection of Dutch governmental law enforcement.
It is always hard to really corroborate statements like "daughter of the Enlightenment" from something in the New York Times. However, from what this article states, she is much closer to those values than those in Holland and Europe. Time will tell.
Physically, she is tiny, but she is a gutsy lady who presents much to admire. She is independent of mind, which shows that such can be done DESPITE Islam. She is obviously very bright and very strong in character.
Already, she seems to walk on the plane with Ibn Warraq.
posted by George Mason @ 4/03/2005 07:35:00 AM
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