I talk about a Christianity that is enlightened enough to separate spirituality from the rest of life. Not just church and state, but knowledge and church. Ayaan Hirsi Ali More Quotes by Ayaan Hirsi Ali More Quotes From Ayaan Hirsi Ali We had a world dominated by the Soviet Union on the one hand, and the Americans on the other hand. They called it the Cold War. But it wasn't cold. I am someone who comes from the third world. In the third world, the cold war wasn't cold. Millions had been killed. It was a proxy war. Ayaan Hirsi Ali war hands world Women covering their heads is traditional, but now we're seeing more and more women covering themselves from head to toe. This is said to be for religious reasons but it's actually the conflation of religion and politics - every political movement has its slogans, flags and dress. Ayaan Hirsi Ali covering political religious It was Friday, July 24, 1992, when I stepped on the train. Every year I think of it. I see it as my real birthday: the birth of me as a person, making decisions about my life on my own. I was not running away from Islam, or to democracy. I didn't have any big ideas then. I was just a young girl and wanted some way to be me; so I bolted into the unknown. Ayaan Hirsi Ali friday girl running I grew up in Somalia, in Saudi Arabia, in Ethiopia, and in Kenya. I came to Europe in 1992, when I was 22, and became a member of Parliament in Holland. Ayaan Hirsi Ali kenya arabia europe I don't have much in me left for Somalia, because the country is so broken, it's not realistic to daydream about it. Ayaan Hirsi Ali daydreaming broken country I'd like Muslims to look at their religion as a set of beliefs that they can appraise critically and pick and choose from. Ayaan Hirsi Ali picks belief looks Free speech is the bedrock of liberty and a free society. And yes, it includes the right to blaspheme and offend. Ayaan Hirsi Ali free-speech freedom-of-speech liberty When I was with the Labor Party, I'd get into trouble because the party bosses determined that some of what I wrote, or proposed to write about, wasn't conducive to their policies or to electoral success. Ayaan Hirsi Ali boss party writing As soon as something like Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian' appears with a Muhammad figure as the main lead, directed by an Arabic Theo van Gogh, the controversial late Dutch filmmaker, we will have taken an enormous step forward. Ayaan Hirsi Ali muhammad roles steps In April 2006, a Dutch court ordered that I leave my safe-home that I was renting from the State. The judge concluded that my neighbors had a right to argue that they felt unsafe because of my presence in the building. Ayaan Hirsi Ali judging safe home My first experience in the Netherlands was very pleasant, extremely pleasant. I mean, I got my residence permit, refugee status, within four weeks of arrival. People treated me extremely well. Ayaan Hirsi Ali netherlands mean people Every time I went on TV I got a threat. Ayaan Hirsi Ali threat tvs My conscience is informed by reason. It's like Kant's categorical imperative: behave to others as you would wish they behaved to you. Ayaan Hirsi Ali categorical-imperative reason wish I would rather clean than beg. Ayaan Hirsi Ali clean If such a young nation as the U.S. could make it to superpower status, we could do it as well. Ayaan Hirsi Ali wells hope young All my life I have been a nomad. Ayaan Hirsi Ali nomad has-beens I do not believe in God, angels and the hereafter. Ayaan Hirsi Ali believe-in-god angel believe I call myself a liberal - a classical liberal as in John Stuart Mill. Ayaan Hirsi Ali mills I am grateful to my father for sending me to school, and that we moved from Somalia to Kenya, where I learned English. Ayaan Hirsi Ali grateful father school But without doubts, without a standpoint reached through questionings, human beings can't acquire knowledge. Ayaan Hirsi Ali standpoint questioning doubt
