Blast you Marty Moss-Coane! I was going to buy this book when it came out in paperback, mostly because I enjoyed Infidel. Then who does Marty Moss-Coane have on Radio Times? Yes, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. As usual for Moss-Coane, it was an excellent interview and made it impossible for me to wait for the book to come out in paperback. (As an aside, Radio Times is one of the reasons why NPR should be supported. Excellent, unbiased interviews. Hurtful to your wallet though).

This book is not a sequel or follow-up to Infidel. In this book, Ali focuses more on the causes of violence in Islamic culture, though primary in the Islamic culture she was raised in. At times, one might be justified in thinking that Ali is a bit colored by her personal experiences and one wishes for more data. Yet, Ali is very persusive and her solution relies on education of women (see also Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. It is no surprise that Nicholas D. Kristof reviewed this for the New York Times Book Review).

Ali makes a case that too much easy acceptance of other cultural systems without a close examnation can lead to something worse than sterotyping. I wish she had gone into more detail about the conflict between the American idea of freedom, especially religious freedom, versus the need to educate and bring change. In many ways, it is an important part of this topic, and Ali doesn't quite give it the airing it needs.