One of today's most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan
Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following the murder of
Theo van Gogh by an Islamist who threatened that she would be next. She
made headlines again when she was stripped of her citizenship and
resigned from the Dutch Parliament.
Infidel shows the coming of age of this distinguished political
superstar and champion of free speech as well as the development of her
beliefs, iron will, and extraordinary determination to fight injustice.
Raised in a strict Muslim family, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female
mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the
rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable
countries ruled largely by despots. She escaped from a forced marriage
and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree
in political science, tried to help her tragically depressed sister
adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim women and the
reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Under constant threat,
demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her
father, and expelled from family and clan, she refuses to be silenced.
Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story
tells how a bright little girl evolves out of dutiful obedience to
become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments
struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no other
book could be more timely or more significant.
