An Amazing Journey
From the comfort of our New England homes the story of a young Somali woman independently arriving in Europe as a teenager, disobeying her family and disavowing her religion is hard to appreciate. The journey of Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a remarkable one and touches on many themes of relevance to our protected world here in New Hampshire, despite the geographic and cultural distance. Her book, Infidel, relates her life story through childhood in Africa and the Middle East to her embrace of Western culture and democracy. It is a difficult road, rich with revelation, disappointment and, ultimately, the strong conviction that the secular world in which we live is worth fighting and dying for.
For those who do not know the story, this young lady arrived in Germany on her way to Canada for an arranged marriage with a cousin. As is typical in her culture and religion, such an arranged marriage was not unusual. Like many of her childhood friends, Ayaan had grown up in a male dominated world in which young girls were subjected to excision or female genital cutting. Her education consisted largely of Islamic studies heavy with subjugation lessons and a message of hatred for the Infidel – anyone who is not Islamic.
Unlike her friends, Ayaan was blessed with a strong will and enquiring mind that led her to openly question all aspects of her life, her religion and her culture. From Germany, she broke ranks with her clan and traveled to Holland where she applied for refugee status. Once in the Netherlands, she learned to speak the language, gained citizenship, became an interpreter and a political policy researcher. From this platform she was elected to the Dutch Parliament within 10 years of arriving.
She became a strong advocate for Women’s Rights, a direct clash with her former Islamic roots. She has become a vocal disavower and as a result received death threats. All of this taking place at a time of significant concern in Europe regarding militant Islam, post 9/11. She was stalked and was moved surreptitiously to the US by the Dutch secret service until the storm blew over. The Storm? Her collaborator, on a film about atrocities perpetrated against women, was murdered in broad daylight in Amsterdam by an Islamic fanatic. The message left was that she was next.
Today, Ayaan Hirsi Ali lives in the United States continuing her policy and cultural research. She was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2005. Her story underscores the work that remains to be done in this world to elevate the stock of women in many cultures around the world. It illustrates the danger we face in ignoring gathering storms in distant places; and dealing with them militarily when it is too late. Open debate and discussion of sensitive subjects, no matter how politically incorrect, is of critical necessity if we are to break through to peaceful solutions. We must recognize that our tolerance for outwardly hostile elements will indeed leave us vulnerable - early confrontation and debate is preferable to conflagration later.
Most importantly, her individual strength reminds us that the human spirit is strong and that we can each accomplish remarkable things if we dare. Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s amazing transformation ultimately led her to the United States; where an open and secular society continues to provide a haven for the voices of achievement, freedom, equality and reason.
