Infidel
An award-winning humanitarian and courageous freedom fighter, Ayann
Hirsi Ali stands as one of the most influential and outspoken political
figures of our time. Yet, she is also demonised by conservative Muslims
worldwide, including members of her own clan and family, for speaking
out against the injustices of the Islamic faith. Determined to voice the
truth in her remarkable and unflinchingly honest memoir Infidel, Hirsi
Ali recounts her transformation from what she terms, "the world of faith
to the world of reason, " a change she believes is vital for the most
redoubled regions of the world.
Hirsis Ali made international headlines in 2004 following the shocking
murder of Theo van Gohn (with whom made the controversial short film,
Submissions), by a young Muslim radical. The murderer pinned a note to
van Gogh's body warning Hirsi Ali that she would be next, which has
compelled her to live under 24 hour police protection ever since.
Refusing to be silence, however, she continues to speak out with her
powerful and timely message of equality and religious reform. Tracing
not just her personal history but also the history of the militant
Islamic movement throughout Africa and the Middle East, Infidel charts
the influences and beliefs that have defined the past 30 years,
including the rise of the powerful, Saudi-financed Muslim
Brotherhood.
The daughter of a leading political opponent to the Somalian dictator,
Hirsi Ali grew up in exile with her devout Muslim family, moving from
Somalia to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and finally Kenya to escape
persecution. She was forced by her traditional grandmother to endure
female genital mutilation, in spite of her father's opposition to the
procedure. As her homeland slid into a brutal and unforgiving civil war
she became more devoutly committed to Islam, attempting to find meaning
in her suffering. In Infidel, Hirsi Ali recounts a disturbing history of
rampant abuse and deep-seated intellectual and spiritual deprivation
that led to her first acts of defiance against cultural rules - from a
secret marriage that jeopardised her family honour to her bold decision
to disregard long-held customs in order to attend secretarial school and
work outside the home.
Refusing to accept the limiting standards of her faith any longer, Hirsi
Ali fled Somalia to escape an arranged marriage, and obtained political
asylum in the Netherlands. While earning her masters in political
science she learned of a world she never knew existed, and began to
question the very seed of her Islamic roots. She was elected to the
Dutch parliament, and dared to challenge the fraudulent version of
equality in the rigid laws of her religion. Against searing criticism
and rejection, Hirsi Ali spoke out against the oppression of Islamic
women, the lack of individual rights, and what she considered archaic
values that only sustained the poverty and tyranny of Muslims within her
homeland and abroad.
Infidel
Simon and Schuster Australia
Author: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
ISBN: 9781416526247
RRP: $24.95
