Today I resign as a member of parliament….I will leave the Netherlands, saddened but also relieved. I will pack my bags. I will go on. [former Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Tuesday]
Anyone who thinks that Europeans have not cowered in the face of intimidation by Islamic extremists needs only consider the unfortunate fate that has now befallen Ayaan Hirsi Ali – Islam’s most progressive voice in Europe.
I wrote two commentaries last year (see here and here) about Hirsi Ali’s daring campaign to expose and reform the misogynistic and provincial tenets of Islam. The most controversial and provocative part of her campaign was a film she wrote and co-produced with iconoclastic Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. That film, Submission, portrays how conservative (literal) interpretations of Koranic verses compel Muslim women to submit to the most demeaning and abusive treatment to show appropriate obedience and devotion to the men in their lives, and absolute faith to Islam.
Theo van Gogh…Islam’s “blue-eyed” martyr
Alas, it did not matter that Hirsi Ali’s film presented a wholly accurate depiction of the scars (to bodies and minds) that conservative-Islamic practices inflict on Muslim women. Many of them are forced to wear chadors. But, arguably, these are designed more to hide the scars men inflict than to preserve their modesty. Immediately upon its release, Muslim clerics in the putatively liberal and progressive Netherlands issued a fatwa (decree of death) against her and van Gogh. Within short order, van Gogh was found dead in the streets of Amsterdam with a note stabbed in his chest warning Hirsi Ali that she was next….
Ayaan Hirsi Ali…Dutch MP
Initially, many people thought that Dutch authorities reacted commendably – by providing 24/7 security for Hirsi Ali and defending her inalienable right to freedom of expression. However, only now are they learning what some of us knew back then: That, from the outset, Hirsi Ali’s security detail was as much a quarantine (to keep her away from fellow MPs who were fearful of being caught in the line of Islamic fire) as it was a shield (to protect her from that fire).
Therefore, it is not entirely surprising that she has now become a casualty of Dutch fears of retribution and reprisals by Islamic fanatics who are still fomenting violence throughout Europe over the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by Danish cartoonists. Moreover, last November’s Muslim riots in France – that have made the French government now exceedingly solicitous of appeasing Islamic firebrands by any means necessary – have only heightened Dutch anxieties.
And, it’s in this climate of fear (and loathing) that Dutch authorities seem to have finally determined that Hirsi Ali’s campaign – to reconcile Islamic practices with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – posed a threat to national security, and, consequently, that she must be deported. (Especially since – instead of seeking to appease Islamic extremists – Hirsi Ali has vowed to continue writing and producing her series of Submission films. And Dutch courts had already ruled that she had to vacate her apartment in The Hague because “neighbours feared she was a security risk.”)
Therefore, they seized on a little white lie Hirsi Ali told about her 1992 asylum application in a documentary that was broadcast in the Netherlands last week. Her deportable offense was saying that she arrived there directly from her war-ravaged home in Somalia, whereas, in fact, she had lived in three different countries prior to arriving in the Netherlands. How ironic, though, that she presumably sought asylum in the Netherlands because of its reputation for being a progressive and tolerant society.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali…Somali Deportee
But, just as her truth about Islam did not matter to Islamic fanatics who vowed to kill her, her admission about her lies to attain asylum (having confessed them in 2002 when she was being vetted to stand for Parliament) did not matter to cowering Dutch authorities who feared she was a walking time-bomb that could set-off French-style Muslim riots in their country at any moment.
With that, her Dutch citizenship was summarily revoked on Monday and she was declared persona non grata. And, to add insult to this injury, the Dutch Immigration Minister, Rita Verdonk, who delivered this political fatwa, was a member of Hirsi Ali’s own political party. It was instructive, however, that Verdonk rationalized her government’s decision to deport Hirsi Ali as follows:
…in the light of the programme and other facts [like her campaign against conservative Islam], the MP’s citizenship was unlikely to be valid.
NOTE: Dutch authorities never disputed the fact that – at the time Hirsi Ali sought asylum – she was a citizen of and legally resident in only one place on earth: Somalia (where tribal warfare and warlords proved even too much for the US military to cope with….) Therefore, their patently fatuous and dastardly reason for deporting this world-renowed campaigner for women’s rights and religious tolerance is an injustice that offends the conscience of freedom-loving people everywhere!
ENDNOTE: According to the BBC, Hirsi Ali has accepted an invitation from the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington DC, to become a resident fellow and continue her campaign to reform her religion in a more hospitable and politically liberating environment.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dutch citizenship annulled, Islam women Submission
Jim says
great use of photos. just like the europeans to surrender and sellout under the slightest threat. the dutch should be ashamed of themselves!!!
i proud to be an american. welcome mrs hirsi ali!
Jennifer says
Hi Anthony
I read your previous posts about this brave women and she’s amazing. I think it’s the Dutch people’s loss. I think she’s really courageous and will likely do more good for Islmic women by campaigning from here anyway.
Anonymous says
Never let the truth get in the way of a personal fantasy.
This woman has admitted lying in her request for asylum and as a result her right to reside in Holland is under review.
Hirsi Ali was living in Kenya for over 10 years before coming to Holland and didn’t experience five civil wars in Somalia as she claimed in 2002.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20060515-0635-dutch-asylum.html
The issue is particularly sensitive for the VVD (which is Party she belongs too!!) as the party has taken a hard line on immigration, introducing tough new citizenship tests and leading a drive to expel 26,000 failed asylum- seekers. It has said that any foreigner found to have lied about their circumstances should be prohibited from having Dutch citizenship.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article484099.ece
So this lady is an opportunist who no doubt will do well in Dubya’s America.
She is NOT being forced out because of pressure from Islamic extremists or anything of the kind…. but because she has proven to be a liar and a hypocrite.
Do you even bother to find out the facts on any given story BEFORE you pass comment ???
Rebecca says
I read about her film Submission in Vanity Fair magazine and it was truly sad but inspiring. I think she’s really brave.
Rebecca says
OMG!!! are you some kinda neo-nazi “anonymous”. I just read your comment and it’s full of contradictions. You are proud that the Dutch are becoming like Hitler’s Germany with their drive to expel asylum seekers? And, if it isn’t fear of Islamic extremists, why didn’t the government deport her when she told them about her lies in 1992 before she became a Dutch MP? Not being forced to leave…? Are you smoking hash? The government revoked her citizenship and the court ordered her to vacate her apartment because they fear she’s become a “security risk”…Hello!!! What security risk do ya think they’re referring to, if not getting caught in the line of fire from “Islamic extremists”.
Anonymous says
Mr. Hall:
A man of your education should know, there are no “misogynistic…tenets of Islam”, as there are none of Christianity. There are roles, which may be accepted voluntarily which do not cohere with Western notions of freedom, which are nonetheless perfectly acceptable to those who choose them; as would say, a Nun in the Catholic Church. There are those – unfortunately – whose vanity and venality gives rise to abuses in the name if Islam. You will do well not to become an oracle for uneducated theological jingoism, lest I imagine you have become an affiliate of Fox News.
I admire the young lady of whom you have written so thoughtfully, but I pray that at the AEI, her reform campaign is not reduced to partisan, xenophobic foddering.
Anonymous says
Listen you moron those policies with regard to deporting asylum seekers who obtained asylum via fraudulent means were the policies of the party Hirsi Ali represented. And she was exposed by a documentary just last week, when this whole thing blew up in her face.
http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/005639.html
Phil says
No you listen Anonymous
You calling a woman a “moron” because she points out the contradictions in your argument makes you almost as bad as the Islmaic fanatics Hirsi Ali is fighting against so heroicly.
You are clearly upset because you and the Dutch goverment cannot explain why she’s being deported now when they knew about the lies on her asymlum before she became a Dutch MP. Why allow her to become a MP if this was “deportable offense”?
If it’s not fear of Islamic extemists that motivated them then it’s sheer hypocrisy. And like ALH said, it only added insult to injury that her own party betrayed her like this.
Liz Coleman says
Only a chauvinistic and misogynistic fool would claim that there are “no misogynistic…tenets of Islam, as there are none of Christianity.” As a woman I’m offended that anyone with an ounce of intelligence would publish such a comment even if anonymously.
This is a really informative post Anthony. Thank you for your advocacy.
Anonymous says
Please….
People knew (because she had told them) that she hadn’t been entirely honest on her application. HOWEVER, they did not know the extent of her deceipt until last week, when all hell broke loose because it became apparent just how opportunistic and deceitful she had been.
Almost as bad as Islamic fanatic…
PLEASE. Get a life.
Some facts:
Her marriage was by choice and it would appear that her husband was callously exploited and then dumped after he bought her a ticket for Canada and got her a visa. He claims they were in love and spent a week together after the marriage, very happily. He left for Canada and had made arrangements for Hirsi to follow him there. She embarked from Kenya and absconded from the airport in Germany. After sometime, she spoke to him and told him that she was in a refugee camp in Holland. He came from Canada to visit her there and asked her to come back to Canada with him. She refused and told him the marriage was over. He could not persuade her to return.
The husband was a Somali, a distant cousin, who had emigrated to Canada and settled there. The marriage was in Kenya just before she claimed asylum in the Netherlands. One week after the marriage, she took a flight to Canada via Germany but got off the flight in Germany and disappeared over the Dutch border. She told the Dutch that she had come from Somalia, as an aunt advised her to do, because at that time there was a famine in Somalia and it was easy to get asylum. That explains why she went to Holland and did not claim asylum in Germany. If she had claimed in Germany, the Germans would have been able to trace her arrival on the flight from Kenya and that would have invalidated her claim. She is a fraud!
She made up a story which she thought (correctly) would get her asylum and then went on to work and study in Holland and the rest of the story we know.
She was an African Moslem living safely in Kenya who fancied her chances in the West, probably could not get a visa to travel and so used the marriage as a means of obtaining a visa and an air ticket out of Kenya. Once the husband had come up with the goods, he was ruthlessly dumped and then portrayed as an abusive monster. Some gratitude! Given these facts, she has systematically lied her way into obtaining asylum, citizenship, education and political office. One must wonder how genuine her criticisms of Islam are and if these are just a means of getting her attention and adulation. She is untrustworthy.
Ivana says
It’s the usual deal, there is an oil crazy administration in the U.S.A. keen to invade the (Oil Rich) Middle East. But they need an excuse. The excuse is the ‘fight for democracy’ and of course denigrating Islam doesn’t hurt. So anyone with a tale that denigrates Islam suddenly has the opportunity for a lucrative contract and lots of publicity (care of Random House for example).
It has happened before. Take the story of the girl who said she had to flee Jordan because Islamic extremists would kill her. Turns out that this particular publicity seeker hails from New York, where she had been responsible for serious real estate fraud, and that her sob story was ENTIRELY FABRICATED.
See link:
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2004/s1162313.htm
“Norma Khouri told the world she grew up in Jordan and was forced to flee the country after her Muslim friend was murdered for having an affair with a Christian.”
Ivana says
Oh and people like Anthony are here to help spread the propoganda, fuel the flames of bigotry and hatred and generally be one of W.’s little helpers.
Want to make a quick book deal Anthony ? Just invent some story of appalling mistreatment at the hands of Islamic extremists. Unfortunately for you you are probably the wrong sex and have the wrong accent. But given the outright lies that have been flogged as fact lately, I wouldn’t let that stop you.
And Random House (which is part of Rupert Murdoch’s publishing stable, along with Fox and Sky, The Sun in England, etc. etc.) will be there for you. Although I do believe they dropped Norma Khouri quick smart once she was exposed as a fraud.
Tom says
Hey ALH
I don’t know where the whack jobs are coming from today but at least “Ivana” has the balls to put a name behind her anti-American rant.
How did this became our fault anyway??? Muslim fanatics murder a filmaker in the Netherlands and threaten to kill this woman for making a film and these idiots are blaming Bush and America?
They just can take responsibility for anything. Even after the Dutch government knew this woman lied on her application it not only allowed her to remain a Dutch citizen but also become a Dutch MP! So why the outrage now?
BTW Ivana: Hirsi Ali is fighting fo other women, not herself, who are oppressed and abused in the name of Allah! That’s what her campaign, her film Submission and this post is about. So why not deal with these facts and save the anti-American crap for another day…
Em Asomba says
I was surprised to learn about these latest developments. But they should not come as surprises. Holland is not after all such a tolerant country. for the Dutch Ministry of Immigration (Rita Verdonk) this is only another example of her blunders, when dealing with integration and human rights practices. One example could be her policies towards citizens of the Dutch antilles (which are full dutch citizens) living in Holland and the of kind policies aiming toward this group in regards to integration in the “mother land”.
Michelle says
Em
Thanks for bringing some perspective to these comments. Something’s really wrong when people defend what the Dutch goverment did by attacking the US. Hirsi Ali is the kind of Muslim they should be praying to have in their country. Instead they’re deporting her and cuddling the murderers of Theo van Gogh.
Insanity!!!
ALH ipinions says
Dear Readers
I’m afraid professional obligations made it impossible for me to respond earlier to challenges to and queries about this article. However, I am much obliged to those of you who took the time to not only read it with some care but also respond to those challenges (no matter how biased or uninformed) on my behalf.
Hirsi Ali is clearly a very provocative and controversial woman. Nonetheless, her advocacy for women’s rights and pleadings for the dignity of her religion are unassailable. And I agree with Jennifer that her contrived deportation is a loss for the Dutch and a gain for the Americans.
Thank you all for your comments.
Tom says
We got your back ALH. You have a great blog.
Anonymous says
The MP has in fact long admitted lying to the Dutch authorities in 1992 about her name, her age, and the fact that she did not flee directly to Holland from Somalia.
She presented those omissions as necessary lies to obtain refugee status. Asylum seekers are expected to seek shelter in the first safe country they come to, and she would have been automatically deported if she had owned up to spending more than a decade outside Somalia, in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and, briefly, Germany.
She obtained Dutch citizenship in 1997, and was elected to parliament in 2003.
However, the controversy has been stoked by a television documentary last week, which showed members of her own family striking at the very heart of her dramatic life story – her claim that she fled a forced marriage to a cousin she had never met.
Relatives, including her brother, said she had not been forced into marriage, and had nothing to fear. The documentary showed images of her family’s comfortable middle-class home in Kenya.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=IM4NTPXTZPAIBQFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2006/05/16/wneth16.xml
Ivana says
The lies that Hirsi Ali fabricated were substantial (what she previously admitted was very unspecific and she let it be assumed that her lies were minor details, like changing her name – which she also did to cover her tracks). Now that the specifics are known it has become clear that her lies have allowed her to take up residency and nationality in Holland on the basis of a carefully crafted and elaborate fraud.
No doubt the ‘anti-Islam’ climate of the times saw potential critics turn a blind eye to the inconsistency of her story.
And America (given that it needs to find justification for an unforgiveable and unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation: Iraq – not to mention justify another potential attack on another oil-rich Islamic nation: Iran) needs to depict muslims in the worst imaginable way. This is just propoganda, lies and spin. And the Hirsi Ali case fits right into the case America is trying to fabricate against Muslims in general.
“First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.”
Pastor Martin Niemöller
There is nothing to be proud of in America’s position on Hirsi Ali. She is an opportunist working the current political climate to her personal advantage.
But I guess you admire that, don’t you Anthony ?
Dominic says
Some of you people are so blinded by your own prejudices and political agendas that you can’t see the forest (her campaign to liberate Muslim women from abuses supposedly sanctioned by Islam) for the trees (her lies to get Dutch citizenship).
And if her lies were so “substantial”, what does that say about the government’s vetting process that allowed her to become an MP?
And by the way, I don’t have to rely on second-hand accounts of the documentary. We saw it here too. Why hasn’t it occurred to any of you that her family members might be telling lies because they fear her campaign against radical Islam may cause them more embarrassment and harm?
All the lies and counterlies aside though, what about the legitimacy of her campaign? Forget the documentary about Hirsi Ali, did any of you self-righteous critics see her film Submission about abused Muslim women? Speak to that, please!
Anonymous says
Provocateur, but darling of the US media, Hirsi Ali and a small group of Dutch warmongering Neocons did great damage to the Dutch society. Personally I don’t regret she’s going to the American Enterprise Institute. I never trusted her in the first place and always believed she was some kind of operative. Now that she’s got a job at her masters’ lair at least that issue seems to be cleared up.
The current Dutch right-wing coalition government that includes Hirsi Ali’s own party introduced very strict rules for immigration and asylum issues. One of the rules is that if you successfully apply for asylum but afterwards it turns out you lied on your application your Dutch nationality will be withdrawn. In the normal procedure she would be locked up in some inhumane deportation facility and deported to Kenya, or where-ever she really originates from. The hardliner immigration Minister who has to decide about this issue is member of the same party as Hirsi Ali and has rejected asylum applications in many other prominent cases claiming she always just applies the rules. If the Minister would not take the Dutch nationality from Hirsi Ali it would amount to abuse of ministerial powers, or even corruption.
Anonymous says
“they seized on a little white lie”
No: a total fabrication of her past and a careful, calculated fraud.
Anonymous says
The American Enterprise Institute has announced a major hiring coup – Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch anti-immigration activist, will be joining the neoconservative think tank. Some are spinning that Ali was chased out of the Netherlands by “religious persecution,” and indeed she’s ducked years of death threats from the country’s knuckle-dragging imams. But the immediate cause, apparently, is that Ali lied about her past to win Dutch asylum.
A storm erupted about her asylum application last week after a Dutch television documentary interviewed members of her family about her background. They said she had not been forced into an arranged marriage and had had nothing to fear.
Asked whether she had falsified her asylum application, Hirsi Ali told the programme she lied about her name, age and how she came to the Netherlands.
Under different circumstances this would have been a survivable scandal. But Hirsi Ali’s party, the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, has a draconian stance on illegal immigration which includes deportation for anyone who lies in their citizenship or asylum applications. The irony is delighting Hirsi Ali’s enemies – it might give pause to Dutch politicians who have swung wildly to the right on immigration policy.
Anonymous says
It is the issue of female circucision that most offends Hirsi Ali’s Muslim opponents; not because she has spoken out against the practice – plenty of Muslims have done that before – but because her critics insist that she has described it either as a universal feature of Muslim life, or one that is explicitly sanctioned by the Qur’an. Neither is the case. Rather, Hirsi Ali views it as a product of specific tribal practice combined with a broader cult of virginity, which is indeed upheld by the Qur’an (as it is by the Old Testament).