The polarized, even violent, reactions to Hirsi Ali’s opinions challenge us to reflect on the definition of religious tolerance and free speech in our own society.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a scholar and activist whose work focuses on the rights of Muslim women and the relationship between Western and Islamic thought. Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1969. As the daughter of a political opponent of the Somali dictatorship, she grew up in exile in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. In 1992, to escape an arranged marriage, she obtained political asylum in the Netherlands. In a personal journey she describes in her first memoir, Hirsi Ali spent her early life as a devout Muslim, but by 2002 identified as an atheist. In the Netherlands, she obtained a Master of Science in Political Science from the University of Leiden and served as an elected member of the Dutch parliament from 2003 to 2006. Today, Hirsi Ali is a fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and The Harvard Kennedy School. She is also a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is the author of numerous books, including two autobiographies published in 2006 and 2010. As a member of the Dutch parliament, she campaigned to raise awareness about violence against women, including honor killings and female genital mutilation. In 2004, she collaborated with the Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh to produce “Submission,” a short film critical of the oppression of women in Muslim communities. In her most recent book, “Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now” (2015), Hirsi Ali argues that a major reformation of Islamic doctrine is necessary in order for the religion to peacefully co-exist with the values of western democratic states. She emphasizes that Muslims are not naturally violent, as evidenced by the millions of peaceful Muslims that live around the world today. However, she believes there is a powerful connection between theology and violent extremism, because extremists “cite the same religious texts that every other Muslim in the world considers sacrosanct” (p. 14). For Hirsi Ali, “the fundamental problem is that the majority of otherwise peaceful and law-abiding Muslims are unwilling to acknowledge, much less repudiate the theological warrant for intolerance and violence embedded in their own religious texts” (p. 13). She calls on both moderate and dissenting Muslims, and citizens of western democracies, to support a critical and meaningful theological reformation.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s work has provoked both praise and intense criticism. She has received numerous awards for her brave support of women’s rights. In 2005, Time magazine included her in its list of 100 most influential people in the world. Her critics, on the other hand, argue that her focus on Islam as a repressive religion ignores the concrete political, social, and historical causes of radicalization, contributing to Islamophobia in the western world. Other critics have taken a violent path to silencing her views: soon after the release of their 2004 film, Van Gogh was murdered by a radical Muslim, who pinned a five-page death threat against Hirsi Ali to his victim’s chest. In the ensuing years, Hirsi Ali faced political controversy over her status as a Dutch citizen, and persistent threats of violence, which prompted her to immigrate to the United States.
The polarized, even violent, reactions to Hirsi Ali’s opinions challenge us to reflect on the definition of religious tolerance and free speech in our own society. In “Heretic,” Hirsi Ali acknowledges that not everyone will agree with her argument, but she hopes that those who do not will still “defend my right to make it” (p. 20). In this phrase associated with the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, an avid defender of free speech, Hirsi Ali underlines that the right to express dissenting opinions, especially about religion, has been fundamental to the development of modern democracies in Europe and North America. The deplorable efforts to silence Hirsi Ali throw into stark relief the difference between criticism and hate speech; between debate and death threats. This is a helpful distinction to keep in mind as public discussion about the relationship between Muslim communities and Western democracies continues in the New Year.