Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Short description|Activist, politician, and author (born 1969)}}

~~{{For|the Pakistani actress and model|Ayyan (model)}}~~

~~{{Redirect|Ayaan|male given name|Ayan (given name)}}~~

{{Infobox person

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| spouse = {{marriage|[[Niall Ferguson]]|10 September 2011}}

| children = 2

| website = {{URL|https://www.ayaanhirsiali.com|ayaanhirsiali.com}}

| module = {{Infobox officeholder|embed=yes

| office = Member of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]]

| term_start = 2003

| term_end = 2006

| predecessor =

| successor =

}}

'''Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Lady Ferguson'''{{efn|English: ({{IPAc-en|ɑː|ˈ|j|ɑː|n|_|ˈ|h|ɪər|s|i|_|ˈ|ɑː|l|i}}; {{respell|ah|YAHN|_|HEER|see|_|AH|lee}}, {{IPA-|nl|aːˈjaːn ˈɦiːrsi ˈaːli|lang|Nl-Ayaan Hirsi Ali.ogg|small=no}}; ~~[[Somali language|Somali]]: ''Ayaan Xirsi Cali'':'' Ayān Ḥirsi 'Alī'' ;{{efn|~~{{lang-so|Ayaan Xirsi Cali}} {{IPA|so|ajaːn ħirsi ʕaliː|}} ; {{lang-ar|أيان حرسي علي}}, ~~/ [[~~{{ALA-LC~~]]: ''~~|ar|Ayān Ḥirsī ~~'Alī''~~ ʻAlī}}.}} (born 13 November 1969)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ayaan-Hirsi-Ali|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> is a [[Somalia|Somali]]-born, Dutch-American writer, activist and former politician.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Anne |last=Applebaum |authorlink=Anne Applebaum|date=February 4, 2007 |title=The Fight for Muslim Women A feisty memoir from a controversial champion of female rights. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2007/02/04/the-fight-for-muslim-women-span-classbankheada-feisty-memoir-from-a-controversial-champion-of-female-rightsspan/064381da-6fb0-4e29-8552-1e6f8b117bb4/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Q&A: the west must stop seeing Muslims only as victims|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/17/ayaan-hirsi-ali-qanda-west-muslims-only-as-victims|access-date=1 December 2016|work=The Guardian|date=16 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali's 'Heretic'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/ayaan-hirsi-alis-heretic.html|access-date=1 December 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1 April 2015}}</ref> She is a [[critic of Islam]] and advocate for the rights and self-determination of [[Muslim women]], opposing [[forced marriage]], [[honour killing]], [[child marriage]], and [[female genital mutilation]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "You can't change these practices if you don't talk about them"|url=http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/04/10/women-in-islam-you-cant-change-these-practices-if-you-dont-talk-about-them/|access-date=24 February 2017|work=The New York Times|date=24 February 2017}}</ref> At the age of five, following local traditions in Somalia, Ali underwent female genital mutilation organized by her grandmother. Her father—a scholar, intellectual, and a devout Muslim—was against the procedure but could not stop it from happening because he was imprisoned by the Communist government of Somalia at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-18 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: 'FGM was done to me at the age of five. Ten years |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/ayaan-hirsi-ali-fgm-was-done-to-me-at-the-age-of-five-ten-years-later-even-20-i-would-not-have-testified-against-my-parents-8534299.html |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Lynn |date=2010-06-03 |title=Female genital mutilation in the U.S.: No compromise |url=https://www.salon.com/2010/06/02/fgm_genital_nick/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Salon |language=en}}</ref> Her family moved across various countries in Africa and the Middle East, and at 23, she received [[Right of asylum|political asylum]] in the Netherlands, gaining Dutch citizenship five years later.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Somalia-born critic of Islam admits lying to gain asylum |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/somalia-born-critic-of-islam-admits-lying-to-gain-asylum-1.1003537 |access-date=2023-12-07 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> In her early 30s, Hirsi Ali renounced the Islamic faith of her childhood, began identifying as an atheist, and became involved in Dutch centre-right politics, joining the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] (VVD).<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Sarah |date=2023-11-29 |title=The Infidel Turned Christian |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/11/ayaan-hirsi-alis-political-conversion.html |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Intelligencer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-13 |title=Outspoken Atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali Says She is Now a Christian |url=https://www.ncregister.com/cna/outspoken-atheist-ayaan-hirsi-ali-says-she-is-now-a-christian |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=NCR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dutch MP quits over asylum lies |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/5/16/dutch-mp-quits-over-asylum-lies |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

In 2003, Ali was elected to the [[lower house]] of the [[States General of the Netherlands]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=John Ward |date=17 May 2006 |title=Discredited Somali Quits Dutch Politics Advocate for Women Is Critic of Islam |work=[[Washington Times]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/05/17/discredited-somali-quits-dutch-politics-span-classbankheadadvocate-for-women-is-critic-of-islamspan/c91f33ce-816a-44c4-9b98-ee414374cce3/}}</ref> While serving in parliament, she collaborated on a short film with [[Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]], titled ''[[Submission (2004 film)|Submission]]'', which depicted the oppression of women under [[fundamentalist Islamic]] law and was critical of the Muslim canon itself.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |date=2005-03-11 |title=Slaughter And 'Submission' -– CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/slaughter-and-submission-11-03-2005/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The film led to death threats, and Van Gogh was murdered shortly after the film's release by [[Mohammed Bouyeri]], a Moroccan-Dutch [[Islamic terrorist]], driving Hirsi Ali into hiding.<ref name=":13" /> At this time, she became more outspoken as a critic of the Muslim faith. In 2005, [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine named Ali as one of the [[Time 100|100 most influential people in the world]].<ref name="time" /> Her outspoken criticism of Islam made her a controversial figure in Dutch politics. Following a political crisis related to the validity of her [[Dutch nationality law|Dutch citizenship]], she left Parliament and ultimately the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Controversy Over Dutch Politician Divides The Netherlands – DW – 05/17/2006 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/controversy-over-dutch-politician-divides-the-netherlands/a-2024244 |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2017-06-06 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Tackle Islam or face civil war |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/ayaan-hirsi-ali-tackle-islam-or-face-civil-war/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=~~POLITICO~~Politico |language=en}}</ref>

Moving to the United States, Ali established herself as a writer, activist, and public intellectual.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayward |first=Freddie |date=2021-09-09 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "'If you disagree with the left, you're punished"' |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/encounter/2021/09/ayaan-hirsi-ali-if-you-disagree-with-the-left-youre-punished |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Garner |first=Dwight |date=15 January 2012 |title=Warriors on 2 Sides of Militant Islam |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/books/wanted-women-faith-lies-the-war-on-terror-review.html}}</ref> Her books ''[[Infidel: My Life]]'' (2007),

''[[Nomad: From Islam to America]]'' (2010) and ''[[Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now]]'' (2015) became bestsellers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dominus |first=Susan |date=1 April 2015 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali's 'Heretic' |work=[[New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/ayaan-hirsi-alis-heretic.html}}</ref> In ''Heretic'', Ali ~~seemed to be calling~~called for reformation of Islam by [[Criticism of Islamism|countering Islamism]] and supporting [[Liberalism and progressivism within Islam|reformist Muslims]], though previously she had said Islam was beyond reform.<ref name="ReformersvsZealots">{{cite news |author=Ayaan Hirsi Ali |date=27 March 2015 |title=The Islam reformers vs. the Muslim zealots |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-islam-reformers-vs-the-muslim-zealots/2015/03/27/acf6de6c-d3ed-11e4-ab77-9646eea6a4c7_story.html |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Anthony |first=Andrew |date=27 April 2015 |title=Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/27/heretic-islam-reformation-ayaan-hirsi-ali-highlights-scale-of-the-task |website=The Guardian}}</ref>
In the United States, Ali has founded an organisation for the defense of women's rights, the [[AHA Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-17 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Feminism's freedom fighter |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-oe-morrison-new17-2009oct17-column.html |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> She has taken roles at the [[Hoover Institution]] at [[Stanford University]], the [[American Enterprise Institute]], and at [[Harvard Kennedy School]] as a senior fellow at the Future of Democracy Project.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali |url=http://www.hoover.org/profiles/ayaan-hirsi-ali |website=[[Hoover Institution]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali |url=https://www.aei.org/profile/ayaan-hirsi-ali/ |access-date=2020-08-13 |website=American Enterprise Institute - AEI |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali |url=https://www.belfercenter.org/person/ayaan-hirsi-ali |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs |date=14 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Since 2021, she has served as a columnist for ''[[UnHerd]]'', a British online magazine; since 2022, she has also hosted ''The Ayaan Hirsi Ali Podcast''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-29 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: 'Queers for Palestine' shows how stupid our society is |url=https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-775631 |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Civilization and Its Enemies - Opinion: Free Expression - WSJ Podcasts |url=https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/opinion-free-expression/civilization-and-its-enemies/7a0aa242-9e0c-4972-ab44-e75a81a78b78 |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=WSJ |language=en}}</ref>

Ali was a central figure in [[New Atheism]] since its beginnings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gregory |first=Elizabeth |date=17 August 2023 |title=Richard Dawkins: everything you need to know about the world's most famous atheist |work=[[London Evening Standard]] |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/richard-dawkins-professor-atheist-free-speech-b1100953.html}}</ref> She was strongly associated with the movement, along with [[Christopher Hitchens]], who regarded Ali as "the most important public intellectual probably ever to come out of Africa".<ref name=":9" /> Writing in a column in November 2023, Ali announced her conversion to the Christian faith, claiming that in her view the Judeo-Christian tradition is the only answer to the problems of the modern world.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":52">{{cite book |chapter=The New Atheism |date=2017 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/jihad-radicalism-and-the-new-atheism/new-atheism/5971EDDFB153952A0D0C593DE26E074A |title=Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism |pages=95–96 |editor-last=Khalil |editor-first=Mohammad Hassan |access-date=2022-12-24 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108377263.009 |isbn=978-1-108-38512-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ali |first=Ayaan Hirsi |date=11 November 2023 |title=Why I am now a Christian |work=UnHerd |url=https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/}}</ref> She has received several awards, including a free speech award from the centre-right Danish newspaper ''[[Jyllands-Posten]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/Hirsi+wins+rights+award+from+Danish+cartoon+paper/2963014/story.html |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |work=[[Montreal Gazette]] |title=Hirsi Ali wins rights award from Danish cartoon paper |year=2010 |access-date=9 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722004847/http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Hirsi%2Bwins%2Brights%2Baward%2Bfrom%2BDanish%2Bcartoon%2Bpaper/2963014/story.html |archive-date=22 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Swedish conservative [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberal Party]]'s Democracy Prize,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smedjan.com/etta.asp?sida=view_comment&entry=147 |title=Varför Vill Hon Fortfarande Vara Muslim? |publisher=Smedjan.com |work=den liberala scenen i svensk debatt |date=30 August 2005 |access-date=27 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313195723/http://www.smedjan.com/etta.asp?sida=view_comment&entry=147 |archive-date=13 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the Moral Courage Award for commitment to conflict resolution, ethics, and world citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theglobalist.com/AuthorBiography.aspx?AuthorId=947 |title=Biography of Ayaan Hirsi Ali |publisher=The Globalist |access-date=27 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407213316/http://www.theglobalist.com/AuthorBiography.aspx?AuthorId=947 |archive-date=7 April 2008}}</ref> Critics have accused Ali of being [[Islamophobic]] or [[neo-orientalist]] and question her scholarly credentials "to speak authoritatively about Islam and the Arab world", saying she promotes the notion of a Western "[[civilizing mission]]".<ref name="Mahmood" /><ref name="Yaghi">{{cite journal|last1=Yaghi|first1=Adam|date=18 December 2015|title=Popular Testimonial Literature by American Cultural Conservatives of Arab or Muslim Descent: Narrating the Self, Translating (an)Other|journal=Middle East Critique|volume=25|issue=1|pages=83–98|doi=10.1080/19436149.2015.1107996|s2cid=146227696}}</ref><ref name="Grewal" /> Ali is married to Scottish-American historian [[Niall Ferguson]]. The couple are raising their sons in the United States, where she became a citizen in 2013.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-17 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Immigration Reform and Assimilation in Europe |url=https://lithub.com/ayaan-hirsi-ali-on-immigration-reform-and-assimilation-in-europe/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life ~~in Somalia~~ ==▼

In late 2023, she denounced her prior atheism, believing its attacks upon all religions leave young people with a moral vacuum in which dangerous beliefs may flourish. She converted to Christianity at the same time.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO1SEFclZMU |title=Richard Dawkins vs. Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Political Christian or Truly a Christian? |date=2024-06-03 |last=The Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins |access-date=2024-06-04 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Ayaan Hirsi |date=2023-11-11 |title=Why I am now a Christian |url=https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref>

▲== Early life in Somalia ==

Ayaan was born in [[Mogadishu]], Somalia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pen.org/page.php/prmID/1167|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali|access-date=7 January 2007|publisher=PEN American Center|quote=Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in [[Mogadishu]], Somalia on November 13, 1969.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002133455/http://pen.org/page.php/prmID/1167|archive-date=2 October 2006}}</ref> in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/node/175 |work=Asian Tribune |date=20 May 2006 |first=Sohail |last=Choudhury |access-date=14 July 2011 |title=Controversial Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Muslim turned atheist, to resign from Dutch Parliament |publisher=World Institute For Asian Studies| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707174839/http://www.asiantribune.com/node/175| archive-date= 7 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> Her father, [[Hirsi Magan Isse]], was a prominent member of the [[Somali Salvation Democratic Front]] and a leading figure in the [[Somali Rebellion|Somali Revolution]]. Shortly after she was born, her father was imprisoned due to his opposition to [[Siad Barre]]’s Communist government.<ref name="dangerwoman">{{cite news|last=Linklater|first=Alexander|title=Danger woman|url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,1485350,00.html|work=The Guardian|date=17 May 2005|access-date =15 June 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/8663231 "A critic of Islam: Dark secrets"], ''[[The Economist]]''. Volume 382. Number 8515. ( 10–16 February 2007): p. 87. "The family's troubles began in 1969, the year Ms Hirsi Ali was born. That was also the year that Mohammed Siad Barre, a Somali army commander, seized power in a military coup. Hirsi Magan was descended from the traditional rulers of the [[Darod]], Somalia's second biggest clan. Siad Barre, who hailed from a lesser Darod family, feared and resented Ms Hirsi Ali's father's family, she says. In 1972, Siad Barre had Hirsi Magan put in prison from which he escaped three years later and fled the country."</ref> Hirsi Ali's father was an intellectual, a dissident and a devout Muslim who had studied abroad and he was opposed to [[female genital mutilation]]; while he was imprisoned, Hirsi Ali's grandmother had a man perform the procedure on her, when Hirsi Ali was five years old. According to Hirsi Ali, she was fortunate that her grandmother could not find a woman to do the procedure, as the mutilation was "much milder" when performed by men.<ref name="dangerwoman"/>

After her father escaped from prison, he and the family left Somalia in 1977, going to [[Saudi Arabia]] and then to [[Addis Ababa]], [[Ethiopia]], before settling in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], by 1980. There he established a comfortable upper-class life for them. Hirsi Ali attended the English-language Muslim Girls' Secondary School. By the time she reached her teens, Saudi Arabia was funding religious education in numerous countries and its religious views were becoming influential among many Muslims. A charismatic religious teacher, trained under this aegis, joined Hirsi Ali's school. She inspired the teenaged Ayaan, as well as some fellow students, to adopt the more rigorous Saudi Arabian interpretations of Islam, as opposed to the more relaxed versions then current in Somalia and Kenya. Hirsi Ali said later that she had long been impressed by the [[Qur'an]] and had lived "by the Book, for the Book" throughout her childhood.<ref name="smh.com.au">[https://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/to-submit-to-the-book-is-to-exist-in-their-hell/2007/06/03/1180809336515.html "To submit to the Book is to submit to their Hell"], extract of speech in ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'', 4 June 2007.</ref>

She sympathised with the views of the [[Islamism|Islamist]] [[Muslim Brotherhood]], and wore a ''[[hijab]]'' with her school uniform. This was unusual at the time but has become more common among some young Muslim women. At the time, she agreed with the ''[[fatwa]]'' proclaimed against [[British Indians|British Indian]] writer [[Salman Rushdie]] in reaction to the portrayal of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in his novel ''[[The Satanic Verses]]''.<ref name="lawcf.org">Interviewed by David Cohen, published 2 February 2007 [http://www.lawcf.org/index.asp?page=Evening+Standard+article+on+Islam+in+Britain LAWCF.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928140712/http://www.lawcf.org/index.asp?page=Evening+Standard+article+on+Islam+in+Britain |date=28 September 2007 }} and identically here {{cite web |url=http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2007/2/7/violence-is-inherent-in-islam-it-is-a-cult-of-death.html |title=Islamophobia Watch - Home - 'Violence is inherent in Islam – it is a cult of death' |access-date=24 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716234644/http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2007/2/7/violence-is-inherent-in-islam-it-is-a-cult-of-death.html |archive-date=16 July 2007}} Retrieved 24 March 2007.</ref> After completing secondary school, Hirsi Ali attended a secretarial course at Valley Secretarial College in Nairobi for one year.<ref name="asiantribune.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/175 |title=Controversial Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Muslim turned atheist, to resign from Dutch Parliament |work=Asian Tribune |access-date=21 February 2022 |archive-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906091124/http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node%2F175 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As she was growing up, she also read [[English language|English-language]] adventure stories, such as the [[Nancy Drew]] series, with modern heroine archetypes who pushed the limits of society.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/books/14grim.html |work=The New York Times |title=No Rest for a Feminist Fighting Radical Islam |first=William |last=Grimes |date=14 February 2007 |access-date=28 August 2020}}</ref>

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=== Arrival and education ===

Hirsi Ali arrived in the Netherlands in 1992. That year she had travelled from Kenya to visit her family in [[Düsseldorf]] and [[Bonn]], [[Germany]] and gone to the Netherlands to escape aan alleged forced marriage. Once there, she requested [[political asylum]] and obtained a residence permit. She used her paternal grandfather's early surname on her application and has since been known in the West as Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She received a residence permit within three or four weeks of arriving in the Netherlands.<ref name="auto">[http://www.npo.nl/zembla/24-10-2010/VARA_101247450 De heilige Ayaan], Zembla, 11 May 2006 (Includes streaming video; re-broadcast with introduction by the editor, 24 October 2010)</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/weekinreview/04goodstein.html |title=Q.& A. Ayaan Hirsi Ali – Laurie Goodstein |first=Interview By Laurie be |last=Good Stein |newspaper=The New York Times |date=4 February 2007}}</ref>

At first, she held various short-term jobs, ranging from cleaning to sorting post.<ref name="asiantribune.com"/> She worked as a translator at a Rotterdam refugee center which, according to a friend interviewed in 2006 by ''[[The Observer]]'' newspaper, marked her deeply.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/may/21/jasonburke.theobserver |first=Jason |last=Burke |date=21 May 2006 |title=Secrets and lies that doomed a radical liberal |work=The Observer |access-date=6 May 2010 |location=London}}</ref>

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=== Dutch citizenship controversy ===

In May 2006, the TV programme ''[[Zembla (TV series)|Zembla]]'' reported that Hirsi Ali had given false information about her name, her age, and her country of residence when originally applying for asylum, in a documentary called "The Holy Ayaan".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbxP8Uys8kc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/YbxP8Uys8kc |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Christian Right's Favorite Ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali Exposed As Fake – Dutch Doc" Holy Ayaan !! "|last=MCDebate|date=7 October 2012|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="a308">{{cite web | last=Broder | first=Henryk M. | title=The Hirsi Ali Case: "Voltaire and Erasmus Are Spinning in their Graves" | website=DER SPIEGEL | date=2006-05-17 | url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/the-hirsi-ali-case-voltaire-and-erasmus-are-spinning-in-their-graves-a-416587.html | access-date=2024-09-15}}</ref> In her asylum application, she had claimed to be fleeing a forced marriage, but the ''Zembla'' coverage featured interviews with her family, who denied that claim.<ref>''The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe'', Klausen, J., New York: Oxford University Press, 2005; "She wasn't forced into a marriage. She had an amicable relationship with her husband, as well as with the rest of her family. It was not true that she had to hide from her family for years."</ref> The program alleged that, contrary to Hirsi Ali's claims of having fled a Somali war zone, the MP had been living comfortably in upper middle-class conditions safely in Kenya with her family for at least 12 years before she sought refugee status in the Netherlands in 1992.

In her version of events, she had fled civil war in Somalia, was forced into an arranged marriage with a man whom she had never met and was not present at her own wedding. Upon escaping she was forced into hiding in the Netherlands, for her ex-husband and father's brothers would have been by Somali custom, required to perform an honor killing. The accounts of various witnesses varied greatly from hers. According to them, she left Somalia prior to any mass violence and led a comfortable, upper-middle class life in neighboring Kenya, where she attended a Muslim girls' school and received a full western-style education with a focus on the humanities and science. Further, these witnesses allege that her brother attended a Christian school, that she lied to the Dutch immigration service about coming from Somalia in order not to be sent back to Kenya, and that she met her husband a few days before her wedding. After several meetings with him, they allege she agreed to the marriage, even though her mother said Ayaan should finish her education so she could afford to leave him if the marriage should prove unsuccessful. They also allege that Hirsi Ali was present at the wedding, something her brother later denied, and according to several witnesses appeared to be enjoying herself. Hirsi Ali denies all of this. On her way to Canada, she says she travelled to the Netherlands by train during a stopover in Germany and applied for political asylum. During her stay in the Netherlands, she regularly received letters from her father.<ref>{{cite news|last=Conway|first=Isabel|title=MP may be deported over claims she lied to win asylum|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mp-may-be-deported-over-claims-she-lied-to-win-asylum-478265.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=15 May 2006}}</ref> The documentary also quoted several native Somalis as saying there is no tradition of honor killing in Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/topic/disturbing-news-honor-killings/|title=Disturbing news: honor killings, Somalia Online, 5 January 2006}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

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On 15 May 2006, after the broadcast of the ''Zembla'' documentary, news stories appeared saying that Hirsi Ali was likely to move to the United States that September. She was reported to be planning to write a book titled ''Shortcut to Enlightenment'' and to work for the American Enterprise Institute.<ref>[http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=30003&name=Hirsi+Ali+to+leave+Netherlands+for+job+with+US+think+tank+ "Hirsi Ali to leave Netherlands for job with US think tank"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903114928/http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=30003&name=Hirsi+Ali+to+leave+Netherlands+for+job+with+US+think+tank+ |date=3 September 2006 }}, ''Expatica'', 15 May 2006</ref> On 16 May Hirsi Ali resigned from Parliament after admitting that she had lied on her asylum application. In a press conference she said that the facts had been publicly known since 2002, when they had been reported in the media and in one of her publications. She also restated her claim of seeking asylum to prevent a forced marriage, stating: "How often do people who are seeking refuge provide different names? The penalty of stripping me of my Dutch citizenship is disproportional." Her stated reason for resigning immediately was the increasing media attention. ~~Owing to the fact that~~Since a Dutch court had ruled in April 2006, that she had to leave her house by August 2006, she decided to relocate to the United States in September 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nu.nl/algemeen/733549/hirsi-ali-licht-vertrek-toe-video.html|title=Hirsi Ali licht vertrek toe (video) - NU - Het laatste nieuws het eerst op NU.nl|website=nu.nl|date=16 May 2006}}</ref>

After a long and emotional debate in the Dutch Parliament, all major parties supported a [[motion (democracy)|motion]] requesting the Minister to explore the possibility of special circumstances in Hirsi Ali's case. Although Verdonk remained convinced that the applicable law did not leave her room to consider such circumstances, she decided to accept the motion. During the debate, she said that Hirsi Ali still had Dutch citizenship during the period of reexamination. Apparently the "decision" she had announced had represented the current position of the Dutch government. Hirsi Ali at that point had six weeks to react to the report before any final decision about her citizenship was taken. Verdonk was strongly criticised for her actions in such a sensitive case.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051800202.html |title=Rita Verdonk Dented by Hirsi Ali Affair |first=Toby |last=Sterling |date=18 May 2006 |access-date=6 May 2010 |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=The Associated Press}}</ref> In addition to her Dutch passport, Hirsi Ali retained a Dutch [[residency permit]] based on being a political refugee. According to the minister, this permit could not be taken away from her since it had been granted more than 12 years before.

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In 2006, Hirsi Ali took a position at the [[American Enterprise Institute]] in Washington, D.C.;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aei.org/scholar/117 |title=AEI – Scholars & Fellows |access-date=9 July 2009 |publisher=American Enterprise Institute for Policy Research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709064611/http://www.aei.org/scholar/117 |archive-date=9 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as the Dutch government continued to provide security for her, this required an increase in their effort and costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=38109|title=Hirsi Ali under threat in US | work=Expatica |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012184454/http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=38109 |archive-date=12 October 2007 |access-date=27 February 2019}}</ref>

On 17 April 2007, the local Muslim community in [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]], protested Hirsi Ali's planned lecture at the local campus of the [[University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown|University of Pittsburgh]]. [[Pittsburgh]] [[imam]] Fouad El Bayly said that the activist deserved the [[capital punishment|death sentence]] but should be tried and judged in an Islamic country.<ref name="print_50397">[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]: [http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_503977.html#axzz3VzxSRsUd "Furor over author Ayaan Hirsi Ali's visit stirs debate on religious freedom"], ''Pittsburgh Tribune'', 22 April 2007</ref>

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The university's withdrawal of its invitation generated controversy and condemnation among some.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/04/10/ayaan-hirsi-ali-victim-honor-killing-brandeis-style/|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Victim of an honor killing, Brandeis-style|first=Zev|last=Chafets|work=Fox News|date=5 March 2015|access-date=22 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/islam-critic-brandeis-turned-honor-shaming-221820311.html|title= Islam critic: Brandeis turned honor into a shaming |agency=Associated Press|via=Yahoo News|date=9 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/opinion/stanley-brandeis-invite-islam/|title=Opinion: Brandeis' mistake on critic of Islam |first=Timothy|last=Stanley|date=11 April 2014|work=CNN|access-date=22 October 2015}}</ref> But, ''The Economist'' noted at the time that Hirsi Ali's "wholesale condemnations of existing religions just aren't done in American politics." It said that "the explicit consensus in America is ecumenical and strongly pro-religious".<ref name="intol">[https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/04/ayaan-hirsi-ali# "Enlightened intolerance"], ''The Economist'', 16 April 2014</ref> The university was distinguishing between an open intellectual exchange, which could occur if Hirsi Ali came to campus for a dialogue and appearing to celebrate her with an honorary degree.<ref name="intol"/>

A Brandeis spokesperson said that Ali had not been invited to speak at commencement but simply to be among honorary awardees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thebrandeishoot.com/articles/14184 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414025237/http://thebrandeishoot.com/articles/14184 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2014 |work=The Brandeis Hoot |title=Students' outcry prompts Brandeis to reconsider award |access-date=22 October 2015 }}</ref> She claimed to have been invited to speak and expressed shock at Brandeis' action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-kelly-file/transcript/2014/04/10/exclusive-ayaan-hirsi-ali-withdrawal-honorary-degree |title=Exclusive: Ayaan Hirsi Ali on withdrawal of honorary degree |website=[[Fox News]] |access-date=17 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224028/http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-kelly-file/transcript/2014/04/10/exclusive-ayaan-hirsi-ali-withdrawal-honorary-degree |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Hirsi Ali said CAIR's letter misrepresented her and her work, but that it has long been available on the Internet.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140411145507/http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/ayaan-hirsi-ali-speaks_786719.html Ayaan Hirsi Ali Speaks, blog], ''Weekly Standard''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/08/cair-to-brandeisuniv-idUSnPn5nmHrl+84+PRN20140408 |title=CAIR Asks Brandeis University Not to Honor Islamophobe Ayaan Hirsi Ali |access-date=30 June 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714192852/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/08/cair-to-brandeisuniv-idUSnPn5nmHrl+84+PRN20140408 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=8 April 2014}}</ref> She said that the "spirit of free expression" has been betrayed and stifled.<ref>[http://time.com/56111/ayaan-hirsi-ali-they-simply-wanted-me-to-be-silenced/ "Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 'They simply wanted me to be silenced'"]. ''Time''. April 9, 2014.</ref>

[[David Bernstein (law professor)|David Bernstein]], a law professor at George Mason University, criticised the Brandeis decision as an attack on academic values of freedom of inquiry and intellectual independence.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bernstein |first=David |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/04/10/more-on-the-brandeis-hirsi-ali-controversy/ |title=More on the Brandeis-Hirsi Ali controversy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=10 April 2014 |access-date=16 April 2014}}</ref>

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Hirsi Ali has praised [[western liberalism]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Filipovic |first=Jill |date=2021-02-09 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Muslim Men and Western Women |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/books/review/ayaan-hirsi-ali-prey.html |access-date=2023-08-05 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She was a participant in the first conference of the [[Alliance for Responsible Citizenship]], speaking on the personal choice to support a narrative for western civilisation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-13 |title=The power of stories: insights from the ARC conference |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/11/the-power-of-stories-insights-from-the-arc-conference/ |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-03 |title=Calling Western Civilization to Its Senses {{!}} John Duggan |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/11/calling-western-civilization-to-its-senses |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=First Things |language=en}}</ref>

Hirsi Ali is an opponent of "[[Woke]]ism" and the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement, comparing them to [[Islamic State|ISIS]], saying both reflected the "intolerant doctrines of a religious cult".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hirsi Ali |first1=Ayaan |title=Islamists and 'Wokeists' have much in common |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/islamists-and-wokeists-have-much-in-common/news-story/84b30c23dc9babe89a05bb642370c255 |website=The Australian |access-date=5 January 2021 |date=12 September 2020}}</ref> In an interview with [[Douglas Murray (author)|Douglas Murray]] on ''[[Piers Morgan Uncensored]]'', she called [[Ibram X. Kendi]] a racist, adding, "A very loud minority wants to get ahead and is claiming they speak for all blacks and all women, all gender-identity minorities. They don't speak for any of these minorities. They do this so that ''they'' can [[Race card|get ahead]]. Ibram X. Kendi speaks for himself. [[Claudine Gay]] speaks for herself. She doesn't speak for me."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Douglas |title=Douglas Murray ROASTS Disgraced Harvard President Claudine Gay |date=4 January 2024 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqjIES6b1ZI |publisher=Piers Morgan Uncensored |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>

=== Islam and Muslims ===

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Hirsi Ali is critical of the treatment of [[Women and Islam|women in Islamic societies]] and the punishments demanded by conservative [[Islamic scholars]] for homosexuality, blasphemy and [[adultery]]. She publicly identified as Muslim until 28 May 2002, when she acknowledged in her diary that she knew she was not.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elsevier.nl/nieuws/politiek/dossier/asp/portal/0/sctr/0/dossier/290/hoofdstuk/2/sortering/False/artikel/12785/bt//index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619062015/http://www.elsevier.nl/nieuws/politiek/dossier/asp/portal/0/sctr/0/dossier/290/hoofdstuk/2/sortering/False/artikel/12785/bt//index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 June 2006 |title=Dutch article link: 'Ik geloof niet meer' |publisher=Elsevier.nl |access-date=27 January 2012}}</ref>

She also explained in an interview that she began a serious reassessment of her religious beliefs after the 9/11 attacks and when she was drinking wine in an Italian restaurant, stating "I asked myself: Why should I burn in hell just because I'm drinking this? But what prompted me even more was the fact that the killers of 9/11 all believed in the same God I believed in."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Seering|first=Lauryn|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Freedom From Religion Foundation|url=https://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/item/14650-ayaan-hirsi-ali|access-date=2021-02-19|website=ffrf.org|date=30 October 2010 |language=en-gb}}</ref>

In a 2007 interview in the London ''[[Evening Standard]]'',<ref name="lawcf.org"/> Hirsi Ali characterised Islam as "the new fascism":

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When discussing Muslims who become radicalized by [[Islamic State]] on the internet, Hirsi Ali argued that many of these people already adhered to fundamentalist Islamic ideas or came from families and communities that followed a literal practice of Islam before ISIS declared a caliphate, and that ISIS now gave them a focus to execute their beliefs. She commented that what the media has come to refer to as ''radical Islam'' or ''extremist'' individuals are in fact Muslims who become more pious in their beliefs and take both the [[Quran]] and examples set by the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]] literally. She concluded that "people who have that mentality and that mindset are not a minority and they are not a fringe minority. Because of the large number of people who believe in this within Muslim communities and families who believe in this, definitely not all, but it is so large that these individuals who want to take action, who want to take it beyond believing and beyond practicing but actually want to kill people, they have a large enough group to hide in."<ref name="cnn.com">{{Citation|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali on radicalization and Donald Trump - CNN Video|date=10 December 2015 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/12/10/ayaan-hirsi-ali-on-donald-trump.cnn|access-date=2021-02-19}}</ref>

In a 2016 presentation for the American conservative platform ''[[PragerU]]'', Hirsi Ali asserted that a reform of Islam was vital. She elaborated that while the majority of Muslims are peaceful, Islam as a belief-system in its current form cannot be considered a religion of peace as justification for violence against homosexuals, apostates and those deemed guilty blasphemy are still clearly stated within Islamic scripture and that Western leaders need to stop downplaying the link between Islam and Islamic terrorism. She also added that Western progressives have often dismissed reformist and dissident Muslims as "not representative" and accused any criticism of Islam of being racist. She argued that instead, Western liberals should assist and ally themselves with Muslim reformists who put themselves at risk to push for change by drawing a parallel to when Russian dissidents who internally challenged the ideology of the Soviet Union during the [[Cold War]] were celebrated and assisted by people in the West.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AkAGc5nOXw&vl=en|title=Is Islam a Religion of Peace?|website=[[YouTube]]|date=10 October 2016 }}</ref>

In 2017, Hirsi Ali spoke of how ''[[Dawah]]'' is often a precursor to Islamism. In an article for ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' she stated "in theory, ''dawa'' is a simple call to Islam. As Islamists practice the concept, however, it is a subversive, indoctrinating precursor to jihad. A process of methodical brainwashing that rejects assimilation and places Muslims in opposition to Western civic ideals. It is facilitated by funding from the Middle East, local charities and is carried out in mosques, Islamic centres, Muslim schools and even in people's living rooms. Its goal is to erode and ultimately destroy the political institutions of a free society and replace them with Sharia law."<ref name="Press">{{Cite web|agency=Australian Associated Press|date=2017-04-04|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali says Australian opponents 'carrying water' for radical Islamists|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/ayaan-hirsi-ali-says-australian-opponents-carrying-water-for-radical-islamists|access-date=2021-02-19|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

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After formally renouncing Islam, Ali identified as an atheist. One of her decisions to stop believing in God was after reading the ''[[Atheïstisch manifest]]'' by Dutch philosopher [[Herman Philipse]] a year after the 9/11 attacks<ref>{{cite web |url=https://openlysecular.org/freethinker/ayaan-hirsi-ali/ |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali |access-date=2023-11-11}}</ref> and that she agreed with arguments put forward by [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Christopher Hitchens]] and [[Richard Dawkins]] on organized religion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-27 |title=The Unlikely Conversion of Ayaan Hirsi Ali |url=https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-unlikely-conversion-of-ayaan-hirsi-ali |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Crisis Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":12" />

In November 2023, Hirsi Ali [[Conversion to Christianity|converted to Christianity]] stating that "atheism can't equip us for [[Culture war|civilisational war]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Anugrah |date=2023-11-12 |title=Muslim-turned-atheist rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali says she is now a Christian |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/ayaan-hirsi-ali-says-shes-now-a-christian.html |access-date= |website=[[The Christian Post]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Ali |first=Ayaan Hirsi |date=2023-11-13 |title=Why I am now a Christian |url=https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref> Explaining her decision in an essay for [[UnHerd]], Ali argued that the West was under threat from "the resurgence of great-power [[authoritarianism]] and [[expansionism]] in the forms of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] and [[Vladimir Putin]]’s's Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilise a vast population against the West; and the viral spread of [[woke ideology]], which is eating into the [[morality|moral fibre]] of the next generation."<ref name=":8" /> Against such threats , secular approaches, whether they be arguments, technologies, or military force, are, in her view, ~~plainly~~ inadequate.<ref name=":8" /> She concluded that upholding [[Judeo-Christian]] traditions was the most credible answer for the Western society to survive.<ref name=":8" /> The essay generated criticism both from Christians, ~~because~~who itinterpreted ~~only~~her ~~argued~~conversion ~~that~~to Christianity ~~was~~as ~~culturally~~merely ~~useful;~~a cultural response, not a spiritual one, and from atheists, who were "baffled" that she had not addressed what they considered materialist rebuttals of the Christian faith.<ref name=":11" />

Some commentators, such as Sarah Jones writing for ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine, suggested that for Hirsi Ali, "atheism only ever propped up her career as a culture warrior". Abandoning a New Atheist movement "in terminal decline" for a new vehicle, "she remains on the same crusade, inveighing against Islam and having simply exchanged one banner for another".<ref name=":12" /> However, ~~the~~ columnist [[Ross Douthat]] onin ''[[The New York Times]]'' assessed Hirsi Ali's decision to be the result of "a twofold realization".:<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Douthat |first=Ross |date=15 November 2023 |title=Where Does Religion Come From? |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/opinion/religion-christianity-belief.html}}</ref> ~~First~~first, that atheistic [[materialism]] is too weak a base to build Western liberalism upon.; and ~~Second~~second, that while atheism had briefly provided "a sense of liberation from punitive religion", she found the long term sense of life without spiritual [[solace]] to be "unendurable".<ref name=":11" />

=== Feminism ===

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During the [[#Brandeis University|Brandeis University controversy]], Hirsi Ali noted that "an authority on '[[Queer Theory|Queer]]/Feminist Narrative Theory' ... [sided] with the openly [[homophobia|homophobic]] Islamists" in speaking against her.<ref name=loath/>

[[Rich Lowry]] wrote in ''[[Politico]]'' that while Hirsi Ali had many traits that should have made her a "feminist hero", such as being a refugee from an abusive patriarchy and an African immigrant who made her way to a Western country and became an advocate for women's rights, this did not happen because she was "a dissident of the wrong religion". ~~Feminists~~Some feminists instead criticise Hirsi Ali for "strengthening racism" instead of "weakening sexism".<ref>{{Cite news|first=Rich|last=Lowry|authorlink=Rich Lowry|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/ayaan-hirsi-ali-a-hero-for-our-time-116404#.VRsJllz4tFI|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Hero for Our Time|work=[[Politico Magazine]]|date=March 25, 2015|access-date=November 30, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

=== Freedom of speech ===

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=== Opposition to denominational or faith schools ===

In the Netherlands about half of all education has historically been provided by [[special school (Netherlands)|sponsored religious schools]], most of them Christian, both [[Catholic]] and [[Protestant]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=ears |date=2021-06-21 |title=Dutch Religious Education: A fine line? |url=https://europeanacademyofreligionandsociety.com/news/dutch-religious-education-a-fine-line/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=European Academy on Religion and Society |language=en-GB}}</ref> As Muslims began to ask for support for schools, the state provided it and by 2005, there were 41 Islamic schools in the nation. This was based on the idea in the 1960s that Muslims could become one of the "pillars" of Dutch society, as were Protestants, Catholics and secular residents.<ref name="link">Linklater, Alexander (17 May 2005). [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/may/17/religion.immigration "Danger woman"], ''The Guardian'', accessed 1 July 2014.</ref> Hirsi Ali has opposed state funding of any religious schools, including Islamic ones. In a 2007 interview with London-based ''[[Evening Standard]]'', Hirsi Ali urged the British government to close all Muslim faith schools in the country and instead integrate Muslim pupils into mainstream society, arguing "Britain is sleepwalking into a society that could be ruled by Sharia law within decades unless Islamic schools are shut down and young Muslims are instead made to integrate and accept Western liberal values." In 2017, Hirsi Ali reasserted her belief that Islamic faith schools should be closed if they are found to be indoctrinating their students into political Islam and that such faith schools often exist in migrant dominated communities where students will have a lesser chance of integrating into mainstream society and that such cultural and educational "cocooning" breeds a lack of understanding or hostility towards the host culture.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/its-time-to-shut-all-islamic-schools-says-antiradical-islam-campaigner-ayaan-hirsi-ali/news-story/02aae873a62c03a48c6eae4552a4540b|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: 'It's time to shut all Islamic schools'|date=29 March 2017|newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph (Australia)]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 2020, Hirsi Ali stated that children in predominantly Muslim schools are less likely to be taught about the [[Holocaust]] and argued that schools should not cave into demands from Muslim parents that children should not be taught to remember the Holocaust in history lessons.<ref name="ReferenceD">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWi15SSBlN8&feature=emb_logo|title = Lessons Learned: European Values Vs Islamism|website = [[YouTube]]| date=20 November 2020 }}</ref>

=== Development aid ===

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== Personal life ==

Hirsi Ali married British–American historian [[Niall Ferguson]] on 10 September 2011.<ref>{{cite news |last=Allen-Mills |first=Tony |date=9 May 2010 |title=In love ... and on an Islamist death list |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article7120478.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624091538/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article7120478.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 June 2011 |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Murray |first=Douglas |author-link= |date=October 2011 |title=Right Wedding |newspaper=[[Standpoint (magazine)|Standpoint]] |url=http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/4135/full |url-status=dead |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507221743/http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/4135/full |archive-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> They have two sons.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Valk |first1=Guus |last2=Theirlynck |first2=Tristan |date=18 February 2021 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali: 'Europese landen spelen spelletjes met hun eigen bevolking' |newspaper=[[NRC Handelsblad]] |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/02/18/ayaan-hirsi-ali-europese-landen-spelen-spelletjes-met-hun-eigen-bevolking-a4032358}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Van Noorloos |first=Jorieke |date=17 February 2021 |title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali over haar leven in Amerika én haar nieuwe boek |url=https://www.linda.nl/persoonlijk/ayaan-hirsi-ali-amerika-nieuwe-boek-moederschap/ |access-date= |website=Linda |language=nl}}</ref>

In 2023, Hirsi Ali announced that she had become a Christian.<ref>Dissident Dialogues on "YouTube", "'Theological BULLSH*T!' Richard Dawkins Challenges Ayaan Hirsi Ali's New-Found Christianity"(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbjHyz_7fCg, accessed 3 June 2024).</ref><ref>Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (11 November 2023). "Why I am now a Christian". UnHerd. (https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/, accessed 24 July 2024).</ref>

== Reception ==

Hirsi Ali has attracted praise and criticism from English-speaking commentators. Literary critic and journalist [[Christopher Hitchens]] regarded her as "the most important public intellectual probably ever to come out of Africa."<ref name=":9">{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zu9PM_ix8cY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/zu9PM_ix8cY |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Christopher Hitchens on The Left's abandonment of Ayaan Hirsi Ali |date=10 May 2016 |access-date=16 July 2016|website=YouTube |format=Video}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Patt Morrison]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called Hirsi Ali a [[freedom fighter]] for feminism who has "put her life on the line to defend women against radical Islam."<ref>{{cite news|title=Feminism's Freedom Fighter|url=https://~~articles~~www.latimes.com/~~2009~~archives/la-xpm-2009-oct/-17~~/opinion/~~-oe-morrison17-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2 March 2010 | first=Patt | last=Morrison | date=17 October 2009}}</ref> [[Jill Filipovic]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that "There are few women in the world who generate as much animosity, and as many accusations of hypocrisy, as Ayaan Hirsi Ali."<ref name=":10" />

[[Tunku Varadarajan]] wrote in 2017 that, with "multiple [[fatwas]] on her head, Hirsi Ali has a greater chance of meeting a violent end than anyone I've met, [[Salman Rushdie]] included."<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/ayaan-hirsi-ali-islams-most-eloquent-apostate-1491590469 Interview], Wall Street Journal, 7 April 2017</ref> According to [[Andrew Anthony]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'', Ayaan Hirsi Ali is admired by many [[Secularism|secularists]] and "loathed not just by Islamic fundamentalists but by many western liberals, who find her rejection of Islam almost as objectionable as her embrace of western liberalism."<ref name=loath>{{cite news|author=Staff writers|title=Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/27/heretic-islam-reformation-ayaan-hirsi-ali-highlights-scale-of-the-task|access-date=8 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=27 April 2015}}</ref><!--THE EXACT SAME LENGTHY TEXT SHOULD NOT BE ON THE PAGE TWICE === ''The Caged Virgin'' ===

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=== ''Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now'' ===

{{main|Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now{{!}}''Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now''}}

{{Quote box|width=30em|align=right|

quote=We delude ourselves that our deadliest foes are somehow not actuated by the ideology they openly affirm.|salign=right|source=—Ayaan Hirsi Ali<ref name="loath"/>}}

In the book Hirsi Ali quoted statistics such that 75% of Pakistanis favour the death penalty for apostasy and argue that Sharia law is gaining ground in many Muslim-majority nations. Hirsi Ali quotes verses in the Qur'an encouraging followers to use violence and make the argument that as long as the Qur'an is perceived to be the literal divine words, violent extremists have a justification for their acts.<ref name=loath/>

[[Andrew Anthony]] for ''The Guardian'' in 2015 wrote that even her fiercest critics would have problems denying what Hirsi Ali writes about current issues in Islam, and since those issues are unpalatable, an added difficulty ~~was~~is a cultural practice ~~at the time~~ to "not offend anyone"." Anthony concluded that regardless of what critics may think of her solution, Hirsi Ali should be commended for her "unblinking determination to address the problem"."<ref name="loath"/>

Susan Dominus of ''The New York Times'' wrote: "In "''Heretic,"'' Hirsi Ali forgoes autobiography for the most part in favor of an extended argument. But she has trouble making anyone else's religious history—even that of Muhammad himself, whose life story she recounts—as dramatic as she has made her own. And she loses the reader's trust with overblown rhetoric. ... She tries to warn Americans about their naïveté in the face of encroaching Islamic influences, maintaining that officials and journalists, out of cultural sensitivity, sometimes play down the honor killings that occur in the West."<ref name=":5">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/ayaan-hirsi-alis-heretic.html|title=Ayaan Hirsi Ali's 'Heretic'|first=Susan|last=Dominus|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1 April 2015}}</ref>

''[[The Economist]]'' wrote: "Unfortunately, very few Muslims will accept Ms Hirsi Ali's full-blown argument, which insists that Islam must change in at least five important ways. A moderate Muslim might be open to discussion of four of her suggestions if the question were framed sensitively. Muslims, she says, must stop prioritizing the afterlife over this life; they must 'shackle sharia' and respect secular law; they must abandon the idea of telling others, including non-Muslims, how to behave, dress or drink; and they must abandon holy war. However, her biggest proposal is a show-stopper: she wants her old co-religionists to 'ensure that Muhammad and the Koran are open to interpretation and criticism.'"<ref name=":6">{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21648627-controversial-new-book-says-islam-must-change-five-important-areas-thoughts-its|title=Thoughts on its future|newspaper=The Economist|date=18 April 2015|access-date=22 October 2015}}</ref>

Clifford May of ''[[The Washington Times]]'' wrote: "The West is enmeshed in 'an ideological conflict' that cannot be won 'until the concept of jihad has itself been decommissioned.'" May goes on to suggest that if "American and Western leaders continue to refuse to comprehend who is fighting us and why, the consequences will be dire."<ref name=":7">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/14/clifford-may-ayaan-hirsi-ali-risks-life-with-call-/|first=Clifford D.|last=May|title=The case for Islamic heresy|date=14 April 2015|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref>

=== Books ===

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[[Category:Dutch women in politics]]

[[Category:Dutch-language writers]]

[[Category:~~Former~~American ~~Muslims~~free ~~turned~~speech ~~agnostics or atheists~~activists]]

~~[[Category:Free speech activists]]~~

[[Category:Hoover Institution people]]

[[Category:Leiden University alumni]]

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[[Category:Victims of human rights abuses]]

[[Category:Violence against women in Somalia]]

~~[[Category:Dutch podcasters]]~~

~~[[Category:American podcasters]]~~

[[Category:African-American women screenwriters]]

[[Category:Former atheist critics of atheism]]▼

[[Category:Critics of New Atheism]]

[[Category:American critics of atheism]]

▲[[Category:~~Former atheist~~Christian critics of ~~atheism~~Islam]]