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Infidel
In this profoundly affecting memoir from the internationally renowned author of "The Caged Virgin, " Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West.
One of today's most admir
...moreHardcover, 353 pages
Published
February 6th 2007
by Free Press
(first published 2006)
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Although it is an autobiography her outlook on Islam is extremely biased. I don't know the Q'uran inside out to argue her points but despite all that I think every religion has the fanatics and extremists and the more liberal followers. It's a generalization to base it on her experiences in Saudi Arabia and denounce it all together. There are millions of Muslims practicing Islam throughout the world and they're not all going home to beat their wives and kill Infidels to gain entry into Heaven. ...more
"Infidel" is the personal story of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali woman who, after a loveless childhood (to put it very mildly), came to Holland at the age of 20 claiming refugee status to escape an arranged and forced marriage, and to assert her independence. She was accepted, found her way around, studied political science, became a citizen, fell away from Islam, and became a member of Parliament. In 2004 she and Theo van Gogh made the short film "Submission Part 1", which resul...more
This masquerades as pure autobiography of the daughter of an iconic Somali revolutionary, who was absent for most of her life and left her, her brother, and her sister to be cared for by a heavy handed grandmother and an abusive mother. If I were rating the review as an autobiography, I would give it an additional star. As an autobiography, it does not let you down, although it does drag a little slower towards the end.
When reading this book, however, you quickly realize that there...more
When reading this book, however, you quickly realize that there...more
I feel like my imagination isn't big enough to even begin to comprehend what life is like growing up in Somalia, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia - as a female Muslim with an absent father and an abusive mother. Even though Ayaan does a good job covering her youth and describing her life to those who have no frame of reference for that kind of life, it still is hard to imagine. It goes without saying that those of us born and raised in the United States have been so amply blessed; its almost beyond com...more
If I ever decide to make a list of the most important books I’ve read “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali would surely find its place on it.
First time I’ve heard about Miss Hirsi Ali it was after murder of Theo Van Gogh because of his film “Submission-part one” which he made in collaboration with Hirsi Ali. Theo has been shoot and slaughtered in the middle of the day and the letter for Hirsi Ali (in which assassin is promising the same to her) was staked with knife in Theo’s chest. It was r...more
First time I’ve heard about Miss Hirsi Ali it was after murder of Theo Van Gogh because of his film “Submission-part one” which he made in collaboration with Hirsi Ali. Theo has been shoot and slaughtered in the middle of the day and the letter for Hirsi Ali (in which assassin is promising the same to her) was staked with knife in Theo’s chest. It was r...more
Some of the reviews on GoodReads for Infidel have accused Ayaan Hirsi Ali of using the platform of autobiography to expound her political views and have suggested that any American reading this book may not pick up on a perceived subtlety of doing so (whereas, one suspects, in Holland this is quite obvious). My response to this is: of course she has. Any autobiography worth reading has to be more than a simple cataloging of life’s events; otherwise it would simply be a journal. Imagine readin...more
Last week, I heard a colleague ranting about Islam and women's rights. He was reading this book and espousing Hirsi Ali's views. The next day, I lent him my copy of the Quran so that he'd have some background on the basic text of the religion he was trashing. I tend to find that all of the major religious tomes are ridiculous, hopelessly outdated, and that it's not a flaw in religion but a fault of those interpreting fundamental texts in fundamentalist ways when religion becomes less a spiritual...more
Kinga
rated it
Ayaan Hirsi Ali said that Islam as a religion is backward. And for that some Muslims want to kill her, apparently Qur'an says they should. Am I the only one that thinks this is proving her point??
Anyway, lots of reviewers here say she is biased, and doesn't paint the TRUE picture of Islam. Well, of course, she is biased. It's her autobiography. She will say what she thinks. She was born Muslim, lived in two countries where Islam was official religion including Saudi Arabia (it does...more
Anyway, lots of reviewers here say she is biased, and doesn't paint the TRUE picture of Islam. Well, of course, she is biased. It's her autobiography. She will say what she thinks. She was born Muslim, lived in two countries where Islam was official religion including Saudi Arabia (it does...more
I found that her view of Islam was extremely negative and she sounded more bitter then she exclaimed. The situations that she faced in a closed society where women's rights are pretty much non-existent I felt somewhat tainted Her opinions and descriptions about Islam..... They were quite biased and one sided and at most times I felt more resentment then honesty which is quite sad, she brought though some very good points about mutilation and the rights of women in such societies. But got distrac...more
Overall, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best book ever, 1 being i hated it... I would give it a 2, meaning it was so-so. I didn't hate the book, because I have total utter respect for what this woman went through, and then having the courage to write about it and as a result live a life of constant threats is very admirable. Initially I felt like the book was pretty interesting, hearing about her childhood and life in Mogadishu, Saudi Arabia, etc. I really liked her father at first - he seemed...more
Nimave
marked it as to-read
Growing up in The Netherlands, I always admired Muslim women who chose to wear headscarves.
The mainstream Dutch attitude towards anything not 'safe, known and familiar' is to condemn and ridicule it, and to stand up to that pressure shows real strength, faith and individuality. To stand up for what you believe in takes courage in The Netherlands, and instead of being praised and applauded, it is belittled, condemned and ridiculed.
Not all Muslim women in The Netherlands are op...more
The mainstream Dutch attitude towards anything not 'safe, known and familiar' is to condemn and ridicule it, and to stand up to that pressure shows real strength, faith and individuality. To stand up for what you believe in takes courage in The Netherlands, and instead of being praised and applauded, it is belittled, condemned and ridiculed.
Not all Muslim women in The Netherlands are op...more
Peggy
rated it
Recommends it for:
biography, Africa, Saudia Arabia, Islam. War, religious freedom, Womens rights
oh gosh.. only 30 pages into this book and I'm not sure I can read it..
Female castration/ mutilation - this isn't in the dark ages.. this happens in mid 1970 and still happens today!!
This is an incredible biography of a girl who was born in a country torn apart by war, in a continent mostly known for what goes wrong rather than right. Measured by the standards of Somalia and Africa she states she is privileged to be alive and thriving.
She states; "Where I grew up, ...more
Female castration/ mutilation - this isn't in the dark ages.. this happens in mid 1970 and still happens today!!
This is an incredible biography of a girl who was born in a country torn apart by war, in a continent mostly known for what goes wrong rather than right. Measured by the standards of Somalia and Africa she states she is privileged to be alive and thriving.
She states; "Where I grew up, ...more
This book is a must read for all people trying to understand the Muslim attitude and outlook. Hirsi Asaan Ali is a courageous woman who has given us a peek into her mind on what a Muslim thinks. I quote so you can see how powerful she is.
"We Muslims had been taught to define life on earth as a passage, a test that precedes real life in the Hereafter. In that test, everyone should ideally live in a manner resembling, as closely as possible, the followers of the Prophet. Didn’...more
"We Muslims had been taught to define life on earth as a passage, a test that precedes real life in the Hereafter. In that test, everyone should ideally live in a manner resembling, as closely as possible, the followers of the Prophet. Didn’...more
If anything, Ayaan Hirsi Ali's autobiography suffers most from a case of misleading advertising. This work has been heavily marketed (and attacked) as heavy-hitting political and social commentary, an anti-Islamic polemic, and a wake-up call to European society along the lines of Oriana Fallaci's The Rage and the Pride and The Force of Reason. Unfortunately -- and this is no detriment to its other merits -- it just isn't. It is a deeply personal autobiography by the middle daughter of a promi...more
This book is the spiritual and intellectual odyssey of a very remarkable and courageous woman. Ali was born in Somali and raised in a Muslim family. She also lived in Ethopia and Kenya before fleeing to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. While there she became an interpreter for the government and an advocate for the rights of Muslim immigrant women. She eventually became a citizen of that country and a representative to the Dutch parliament.
After she produced a film ca...more
After she produced a film ca...more
Betsy
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Betsy by:
GR Atheist Book Club Group
Shelves:
nonfiction,
biography
This is an excellent book. Hirsi Ali writes well, direct, and painfully honest. She does not complain excessively about the horrendous treatment she received as a child; she just describes it matter-of-factly. But it clearly influences the rest of her life. Nor does she treat herself as unusual, which she is. Very intelligent, brave, loyal, caring ... an incredible woman, but with some very human flaws which she doesn't hide.
Her story is very compelling, a fairly easy read. N...more
Her story is very compelling, a fairly easy read. N...more
Bruce
rated it
Recommends it for:
Buffs of autobiography, history, comparative religion, skeptics, feminism, & everybody else
Infidel is an amazing book, on many levels. It’s an amazing story, work of historical analysis, political philosophy, and dissection of Islam as viewed through the autobiography of a remarkable woman (Ayaan Hirsi Ali/Magan) who will not fail to point out that among Muslim women, she is singularly fortunate. Just look at what she has done through the power of logos: mastered languages (she is fluent in Somali, Arabic, Swahili, English, and Dutch), logistics (she has negotiated her way from the ...more
This book is not unlike Into Thin Air as it is a story of incredible courage and perseverance in the face of extreme danger. On the other hand it is nothing like Into Thin Air as there are no physical mountains climbed in this book. It is an autobiography of a Muslim child/girl/woman from the shacks of Somalia that ultimately rose to be the first African to serve in the Dutch parliament. Her escape from Islam has not been just physical but equally spiritual and emotional. The liberation of h...more
A Remarkable Transition
What a transition this individual has gone through! This autobiography describes the Somalian author's early life in Mogadishu, Saudi Arabia, and Nairobi, Kenya. Most of it is repressive. She was beaten routinely by her grandmother and mother. She had to do household chores while her older brother went out with his friends. She was also genitally excised (clitoris and labia removed) - the sole purpose being to inhibit sexual enjoyment. It is another way to in...more
What a transition this individual has gone through! This autobiography describes the Somalian author's early life in Mogadishu, Saudi Arabia, and Nairobi, Kenya. Most of it is repressive. She was beaten routinely by her grandmother and mother. She had to do household chores while her older brother went out with his friends. She was also genitally excised (clitoris and labia removed) - the sole purpose being to inhibit sexual enjoyment. It is another way to in...more
I'd have given this one 3 stars except that it seemed to drag a bit. It's an autobiographical look at one woman's take on her upbringing in an Islamic culture and her subsequest disillusionment and rejection of the religion.
Born in Somalia in 1969, she lived in Kenya and Saudi Arabia before fleeing to Holland to escape an arranged mariage. Her description of female excision is grim, of course, as is the description of treatment of women. Her struggle to come to terms with Islam b...more
Born in Somalia in 1969, she lived in Kenya and Saudi Arabia before fleeing to Holland to escape an arranged mariage. Her description of female excision is grim, of course, as is the description of treatment of women. Her struggle to come to terms with Islam b...more
This book is the incredible autobiographical account of a remarkable and beautiful Somali rationalist. Born to humble origins in Somalia, she eventually rises to become a member of Dutch Parliament. It was interesting learning about the cultural differences between the various places Ayaan lived during her childhood, of the clan based Islam in Somalia, the more layed back system in Kenya, and the Sharia in Saudi Arabia. She experiences culture shock when she moves to Europe, and eventually aband...more
This was an incredibly powerful, eye-opening book. I have been aware of most of the atrocities that Ali has endured, or has seen other endure, but it was always from some abstract, peripheral viewpoint. Ali, by writing this autobiography, put these realities right in front of my face to deal with. I think I am much like the residents of Holland she describes in her book, who want to deny the negative attributes of a race or religion in the name of equality or not being "racist".
...more
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A very personal and yet rational look at the problem with Western acceptance of cultural relativism; both a feminist tract and an indictment of Islam; a memoir.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her story of growing up in an increasingly prohibitive and extremist Muslim Africa, escaping to Holland and becoming enraptured with a functional and peaceful liberal welfare state, entering politics and aiming to reform the European walking-on-eggshells approach to addressing female excision, honor killi...more
Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her story of growing up in an increasingly prohibitive and extremist Muslim Africa, escaping to Holland and becoming enraptured with a functional and peaceful liberal welfare state, entering politics and aiming to reform the European walking-on-eggshells approach to addressing female excision, honor killi...more
Laura
rated it
Recommends it for:
feminists, atheists, mothers, people interested in international politics, Africa, Islamic criticism
I learned so much from reading this book. Aayan Hirsi Ali has led an astonishing life characterized by cruelty and oppression, and yet throughout her life has somehow preserved a sense of hope, love of mankind, and a deep perception of real justice. I found her premise about the reason for the rise of terrorist groups very compelling. Hirsi Ali argues that because governments based on Islamic Law (Sharia) cannot be criticized (because if Allah requires it, it cannot be questioned), when gover...more
Synopsis
The author tells her account of how she became an Infidel in the eyes of Islam. She was raised Muslim and after an abusive childhood and adolescence she began to question her faith. She ran away from an arranged marriage and was granted refugee status in Holland. While there further questioning and more education eventually caused her to turn away from Islam and God.
Review
Although this book was quite intriguing I can only give it 2 ½ stars (at best 3). A book must...more
The author tells her account of how she became an Infidel in the eyes of Islam. She was raised Muslim and after an abusive childhood and adolescence she began to question her faith. She ran away from an arranged marriage and was granted refugee status in Holland. While there further questioning and more education eventually caused her to turn away from Islam and God.
Review
Although this book was quite intriguing I can only give it 2 ½ stars (at best 3). A book must...more
This book made me question many of my views on a range of topics, such as immigration, freedom of religion and so on. It is a MUST READ. As a Christian I have long been a supporter for freedom of religious expression within the public realm...thinking bans on displaying The 10 Commandments in public were asinine. However, pondering the fact that this could open the door for fundamentalist Muslims to impress THEIR religious beliefs on an accepting society makes me think twice. I'm only talking ab...more
Ayaan grew up in a strict Muslim Somalian family, but the world she thought of as being so normal, to me, seemed like some surreal nightmare alternate reality, or a circle of hell that women are condemned to. Growing up, she secretly reads old English novels, and Nancy Drew mysteries, all the while living an otherwise strict Islamic life, occasionally slipping up and enduring the horrors of female genital excision, near-death beatings from family members and teachers, and eventually the ea...more
This is the autobiography of a Ayan Hirsi Ali, a Somali Muslim who had a pretty awful childhood. At twenty, she sought asylum in Holland, and eventually became a member of parliament and becomes an atheist.
The first part of the book essentially describes her life, and the latter part reflects on the question "Why is life in Holland (or in the West) so much better than life in Somalia?" She concludes that its a matter of attitude, and the reason for the bad attitude ...more
The first part of the book essentially describes her life, and the latter part reflects on the question "Why is life in Holland (or in the West) so much better than life in Somalia?" She concludes that its a matter of attitude, and the reason for the bad attitude ...more
I, probably like most Americans, had never heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali before ordering this book because I had heard great things about it. She has been compared to Salman Rushdie, only because of the price on her head.
The book begins, perfectly in this regard, with the death of Theo van Gogh. Some people might remember the book "Murder in Amsterdam" which was about his 'assassination'. He was killed because of a movie he and Ayaan Hirsi Ali made together called "Su...more
This is an utterly fascinating book on so many levels it’s hard to count. As a memoir, this chronicle of Hirsi’s journey from the good daughter of a Muslim Somali family to her current role as an outspoken critic of Islam who lives under 24-hour armed guard is gripping. The stories of trauma she endured as a child—from violent abuse to life under an oppressive dictator to the horrors of war viewed firsthand—are not easy to read, but I couldn’t put the book down as I sought to discover how she ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does anyone remember if Ayaan Hirsi Ali mentions speaks to this book? I thought she did. | 2 | 16 | Jan 30, 2012 04:25pm | |
| Infidel by Ayann Hirsi Ali | 13 | 101 | Jan 12, 2012 10:26am | |
| Infidel | 9 | 112 | Feb 15, 2009 03:34am |
"Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Somali: Ayaan Xirsi Cali; born Ayaan Hirsi Magan 13 November 1969 in Mogadishu, Somalia) is a Dutch feminist, writer, and politician. She is the estranged daughter of the Somali scholar, politician, and revolutionary opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse. She is a prominent critic of Islam, and her screenplay for Theo Van Gogh's movie Submission led to death threats. Since van ...more
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“As a woman you are better off in life earning your own money. You couldn't prevent your husband from leaving you or taking another wife, but you could have some of your dignity if you didn't have to beg him for financial support.”
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32 people liked it
“I would like to be judged on the validity of my arguments, not as a victim.”
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13 people liked it
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Oct 25, 2011 07:10pm
updated Oct 26, 2011 04:23am