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