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Defender of womens rights speaks out

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By David Morris - FJN Editor

Ayaan Hirsi Ali addresses AJC

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The Greater Miami and Broward Chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) recently hosted Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the outspoken author of ‘Infidel’ and former Dutch Parliamentarian, for a public lecture and book signing at Temple Sinai in North Miami Beach. Proclaimed a staunch defender of women’s rights in Islamic societies, Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and received political asylum in the Netherlands in 1992 after fleeing from her own family to escape an arranged marriage.

Temple Sinai’s assistant Rabbi David Young praised Hirsi Ali for speaking out against any religious group that would pervert its holy texts to perpetuate the inferiority of women.

Upon arriving in Holland, Hirsi Ali held various menial jobs as she attended the University of Leiden. After graduating with a political science degree, she won a seat in the Dutch Parliament in 2003 as a member of the Liberal Party and became an outspoken critic of Islam for its subjugation of women. Hirsi Ali wrote a script called ‘Submission’ that was turned into a movie by Theo Van Gogh criticizing the treatment of women throughout the Islamic world. Shortly after the airing of the film on Dutch Television, Van Gogh was murdered by an Amsterdam-born Moroccan in Nov. 2004 on the streets of Amsterdam. The attacker announced the impending death of Hirsi Ali in a letter he stuck with a knife to Van Goth’s corpse.

In the face of the acrimony and death threats she faced, She decided to leave Holland temporarily and come to the United States where she now holds a position with the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank.

"The criticism of Van Gogh was legitimate," she said, "but when someone is murdered on account of his world view, whatever he may have said or done is no longer the issue."

Hirsi Ali pointed out that ‘Submission’ still isn’t being shown in theaters.

"This is when we have to stand up for our basic rights. Otherwise we are just reinforcing the killer and conceding that there was a good reason to kill this person," Hirsi Ali said. "A culture of self-censorship of criticism when it comes to Islam now pervades Holland and is spreading throughout Europe. Not a day passes where radical imams aren’t preaching hatred in their mosques and the Koran’s claim to absoluteness and infallibility."

Brian Siegel, Executive Director of AJC’s Miami and Broward County Chapter, compared Hirsi Ali’s struggle to that of his own organization.

"Just as AJC has spent the past 100 years fighting for human rights, Hirsi Ali, who was recognized in 2005 as one of Time Magazine’s ‘World’s Most Influential People,’ has been steadfast in her fight for equal rights for all," Siegel said. "It was a real honor to bring a person of such dedication and bravery to South Florida."


Founded in 1906, the American Jewish Committee is the nation’s oldest human relations organization. For information, call 305-670-1121 or visit: http://www.ajc.org.


Posted by David Morris - FJN Editor on 03/30 at 02:00 AM • Hits: 142



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