Ayaan Hirsi Ali: A critic of Islam

By Nick Obradovich

Today, vital dialogue on a global controversy comes to campus by way of visiting author Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

A former Muslim turned feminist-atheist, Hirsi Ali is coming to Santa Clara to discuss her new book, "Infidel," as well as some of her previous works, including the script of the film "Submission."

"Submission," which aired Aug. 29, 2004, on the Dutch public broadcasting network, gained Hirsi Ali and director Theo van Gogh instant notoriety among Muslims worldwide.

The film's main goal was to highlight patriarchal structures within Islam and suggest that certain aspects of these configurations lead to the abuse and mistreatment of Muslim women.

In the film, the protagonist, a Muslim woman dressed in transparent dark clothing, is portrayed as having been raped and beaten by a relative. In addition, a bloody, beaten female body is employed as a vivid canvas for verses of the Qur'an.

The film is graphic; the response to it was murderous.

In November of the same year, director Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death on the streets of Amsterdam.

Attached to the knife buried in his chest was a note directly threatening Hirsi Ali. Following these threats, the author went into hiding for two months. Since coming out of hiding, she has been a strong critic of numerous religious practices within Islam.

She is also a strong proponent of secular society and has published two books: "The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam" and "Infidel," her autobiography.

Hirsi Ali is an infamous figure among Muslims for a myriad of reasons.

Some of the principal causes of ire are her public inflammatory challenges to Islamic Law, or Sharia, on the treatment of women in Islamic society (including female genital mutilation, a process Hirsi Ali underwent herself), homosexuals and severe punishments for adultery.

In addition, according to many Islamic scholars, Hirsi Ali has insulted the Prophet Muhammad by calling him a "tyrant" and by comparing him to Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein in an interview with the Dutch paper Trouw.

She has disputed the 'ismah,' or infallibility, of the Prophet Muhammad and contested the value of continued adherence to what she perceives to be archaic paternalistic codes in Islam.

By choosing to leave the Islamic faith in 2002, Hirsi Ali became an apostate. As an Islamic apostate, she is subject to either death or imprisonment, depending on various interpretations of the Sharia. Because of threats stemming from her open critique of Islam and her status as an apostate, an entourage of bodyguards follows her closely, as they will tonight when she speaks here.

Yet, in addition to controversy and increased security measures around campus, Hirsi Ali brings with her an invaluable aspect of Western, democratic society. She brings reasoned (albeit incendiary, at points) discourse and critique of religious tradition for tradition's sake. She challenges religious ideals that oppress or discriminate based on doctrine and dogma.

She also questions whether Islam and Western, secular society can harmoniously coexist, as many moderate Muslims claim, or whether the two institutions are inextricably at odds. Her responses to these concerns are highlighted in the Evening Standard, where she stated, "We risk a reverse takeover. In 50 years, a majority Muslim society could democratically vote for Sharia law, and then what you face is that Britain will slowly start to look like Saudi Arabia. Women will be veiled, driven away from the public sphere, polygamy will be rife."

In a time of heightened tensions between Islamic and Western nations, a thoughtful, frank debate on the merits and demerits of both Islam and secular, democratic society is needed. Ayaan Hirsi Ali will serve as a necessary catalyst for just such a dialogue at Santa Clara.

This presentation is the most important intellectual event so far this year at Santa Clara. If you can still pick up overflow tickets for the event, I suggest doing so.

Nick Obradovich is a sophomore economics and environmental studies double major.