The Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Discussion Question

• The First portion of Ayaan's book is dedicated to her childhood, and the second portion is focused on her response to her childhood (activism for women and against Islam and religion.) Do you think one section is more valid or useful than the other?

• How much weight should personal experiences play in advocacy choices? Does Ayaan's perspective help or hinder her goals? And to what degree?

• How could Ayaan bolster or supplement her book to make it less biased, more helpful for her cause? Or is this unnecessary?

Background

In Critique of Ayaan

• Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia to a Somali Opposition leader in 1969

• She was raised in a strict Muslim family, but later renounced her faith; Infidel is the memoir of this journey

• She writes mostly from memory and separates her book into two sections: "My Childhood" and "My Freedom"

Somalia

• In comparison to They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, this from-memory autobiography has a purpose for activism more than just sharing a story- which creates greater disadvantages

• She describes her central motivated cause and makes several statements without any supporting evidence (p 345)

• She assumes all experiences are like her own, and is not a proponent of a middle ground

• Because she is alienated from her family, she is not aware of the opportunity that may exist for resolution of compromise

• In the documentary, she uses fictional stories instead of altering the identities of exisiting women- if oppression is as horrendous as she once to convey, perhaps she should find a way to tell these women's stories

• This is where Ayaan Hirsi Ali spent her first years

• Her father, Hirsi Magan Isse, was imprisoned throughout most of her childhood

• Her first experience of Folk Islam occurred here through her extended family and grandmother

Kenya

Saudi Arabia

• In 1980, the family moved from Ethiopia to Kenya

• Ayaan's mother hated the idea of living in Nairobi. She believed that Kenyans were "barely human."

• Twelve years after their arrival to Kenya, Ayaan traveled to Europe to visit some relatives.

In support of Ayaan

• After their father escaped prison, they left to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was considered God's country, the homeland of the Prophet Muhammad

• Attended Islamic school, and only learned the Qur'an

• In 1979 the family was deported out of Saudi Arabia. Their only option was to fly to Ethiopia

• Islam oppresses women

• Hijab
• Need of male escort
• Abuse
• Osama bin Laden's post-9/11 video
• The Qur'an "spreads a culture that is brutal, bigoted, fixated on controlling women, and harsh in war"
• "True Islam, as a rigid belief system and a moral framework, leads to cruelty."
• Self-segregation only breeds more fanaticism

Ethiopia

• Her mother hated the idea of living in a non-Muslim country

• After spending one year in Ethiopia, the father agreed to move the family out of the country

• Although the mother wanted to move to a Muslim country, they moved to Kenya. "Kenya, too, was an infidel country."

The Netherlands and the US

• Ayaan was able to claim refugee status in The Netherlands after her father trys to arrange her marriage by lying about why she was a refugee

• She later became a member of Parliament and spoke out against the oppression of women in Muslim societies

• She starts a documentary series with Theo Van Gogh, but the inflammatory nature leads to death threats and the assassination of Van Gogh

• She is eventually is forced out of The Netherlands because of the nature of her entrance

• She moves to the US and continues to be activist for oppressed women and stands against the tolerance of Islam