Over the course of my life, I have made many transitions - most of them taking me further away from my Somali roots and steadily toward the enlightened mentality of Western democracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali More Quotes by Ayaan Hirsi Ali More Quotes From Ayaan Hirsi Ali In a well-functioning democracy, the state constitution is considered more important than God's holy book, whichever holy book that may be, and God matters only in your private life. Ayaan Hirsi Ali democracy important book Let us recognize that we can no longer tolerate violent oppression of women in the name of religion and culture any more than we would tolerate violent oppression espoused by any other bully in the name of a twisted rationale. Ayaan Hirsi Ali bully names culture Reality is not easy, but all this make-believe doesn't make it easier. Ayaan Hirsi Ali easy believe reality Avoiding offense means that we don't accept each other as equals. Ayaan Hirsi Ali accepting acceptance mean I have had to pay a price for leaving Islam and for speaking out. I have to pay for round-the-clock security because of the death threats against me. Ayaan Hirsi Ali islam leaving pay I see no difference between Islam and Islamism. Islam is defined as submission to the will of Allah, as it is described in the Koran. Islamism is just Islam in its most pure form. Ayaan Hirsi Ali submission islam differences I confront the European elite's self-image as tolerant 'while under their noses women are living like slaves. Ayaan Hirsi Ali women self europe What matters is abuse, and how it is anchored in a religion that denies women their rights as humans. What matters is that atrocities against women and children are carried out in Europe. What matters is that governments and societies must stop hiding behind a hollow pretense of tolerance so that they can recognize and deal with the problem. Ayaan Hirsi Ali what-matters europe children Most unmarried Somali girls who got pregnant committed suicide. I knew of one girl in Mogadishu who poured a can of gasoline over herself in the living room, with everyone there, and burned herself alive. Of course, if she hadn't done this, her father and brothers would probably have killed her anyway. Ayaan Hirsi Ali girl brother suicide I believe that the dysfunctional Muslim family constitutes a real threat to the very fabric of western life. It is in the family that children are groomed to practise, promote and pass on the norms of their parents' culture. Ayaan Hirsi Ali real believe children Of course, the overwhelming majority of Muslims are not terrorists or sympathetic to terrorists. Equating all Muslims with terrorism is stupid and wrong. But acknowledging that there is a link between Islam and terror is appropriate and necessary. Ayaan Hirsi Ali majority islam stupid After the horrific massacre Wednesday at the French weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, perhaps the West will finally put away its legion of useless tropes trying to deny the relationship between violence and radical Islam. Ayaan Hirsi Ali charlie-hebdo islam trying My friend, the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, was murdered in 2004 for having been insufficiently reverent toward Islam. Ayaan Hirsi Ali dutch vans islam Infuriatingly stupid analysts - especially people who called themselves Arabists, yet who seemed to know next to nothing about the reality of the Islamic world - wrote reams of commentary [after 9/11]. Their articles were all about Islam saving Aristotle and the zero, which medieval Muslim scholars had done more than eight hundred years ago; about Islam being a religion of peace and tolerance, not the slightest bit violent. These were fairy tales, nothing to do with the real world I knew. Ayaan Hirsi Ali zero real stupid Young people, some of whom are not born into the faith, are being fired up by preachers using basic Islamic scripture and mobilized to wage jihad by radical imams who represent themselves as legitimate Muslim clergymen. Ayaan Hirsi Ali scripture islamic people We have to start with the little babies who are born now, socialize them in freedom and critical thinking. We don't have to throw away their faith. People confuse the two, thinking if you are enlightened that means apostasy. It doesn't. Ayaan Hirsi Ali baby mean thinking Liberal capitalism is not perfect, but compared to the other 'isms,' it's far superior. Ayaan Hirsi Ali isms capitalism perfect The Christian take on Hellfire seems less dramatic than the Muslim vision, which I grew up with, but Christian magical thinking appeals to me no more than my mother's angels and djinns. Ayaan Hirsi Ali angel christian mother You have to let individuals make their own choices and respect that, even if it's your own child. And that's what was taken away from me. My father passed away thinking I still had to go back to his way of believing. Ayaan Hirsi Ali believe father children There can only be one answer to this hideous act of jihad against the staff of Charlie Hebdo. It is the obligation of the Western media and Western leaders, religious and lay, to protect the most basic rights of freedom of expression, whether in satire on any other form. The West must not appease, it must not be silenced. We must send a united message to the terrorists: Your violence cannot destroy our soul. Ayaan Hirsi Ali media expression religious
