I recently finished reading "Infidel" by Ayann Hirsi Ali and, although I have passed this book on to another woman, I know that it will cross my path again someday. Ms. Ali was born into a traditional Islamic family in Somalia, and spent much of her youth trying to adhere to her ascribed religious beliefs despite the abuse and oppression she experienced as an inherent result of being a female Muslim. A major theme of her experience was an internal struggle between what she felt she was "supposed" to do as a proper Muslim and what her gut an her intellect were urging her to believe instead. She eventually fled to Holland to escape an arranged marriage, and worked her way through the refugee system to a seat in the Dutch parliament. She lives under a constant threat of death because of her outspoken views on Islam, the Qur'an and the gross mistreatment of women under this umbrella of religion. She's also made some really striking observations about the difficulty of integration of immigrants and refugees into Dutch society, also linked to religious beliefs. My understanding is that she advocates for a dissolution, or at least a major shift, in Islamic belief.
I don't pretend to have a very firm grasp on the principles of Islam, or the Qur'an (I've had enough trouble with the Bible...) but her book resonated with me because of the clarity of her voice and the way that she demystified her life growing up Islamic. She was told she was worthless, she was stupid, she was just a woman (less than a man) and should submit submit submit. Through all of that, through beatings and civil war and female circumcision and arranged marriage, she still clung to her own voice, her own reason, and saw that women and children were being relegated to less than second class citizen status.
I am a middle class white woman who grew up in the USA with reasonably stable parents who shuttled me to Catholic school for 9 years. I have nothing in common with Ms. Ali beyond being a woman and being a citizen of this world, really. I am intrigued by her life story partly due to the concentration of the Somalian community in Minneapolis that I have no insight into. As a woman of my somewhat commonplace background, I feel compelled to seek out a purpose for myself: how do I contribute to this world? What difference am I capable of making, what do I want to stand up for?
