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Facebook friends have a chance to ask noted activist, politician, and author, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a question. Comments may be left on this face book page with one to be chosen for a "Special Interview".
Have a question for Ayaan Hirsi Ali?
Seeded on Thu Oct 21, 2010 10:27 PM EDT
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- Public Discussion (17)
The suggested questions left in the comment boxes are worth the read...as of now there are 73 comments!
:~)...
...One of my most favorite people; Ayaan is a strong, smart, vocal opponent of Radical Islamic oppression.
Bonus question :
...Radical Islamic oppression.
...Would Ayaan use the term "radical Islamic oppression"?
- 11 votes
#1 - Thu Oct 21, 2010 10:33 PM EDTAyaan is a strong, smart, vocal opponent of Radical Islamic oppression.
She's a fascinating person. Born to a Muslim family in Somalia, she was forced to undergo FGM ("Female Genital Mutilation") at an early age, and was going to be the victim of a forced marriage. Eventually she escaped to the Netherlands, was elected to the Dutch Parliament, and became a womens' rights activist.
Here she is in an interesting panel discussion led by Bill Maher-- it gives a good idea of her progressive (and controversial!) viewpoints.
- 12 votes
here is an interesting video of hers,she is clearly not infected with political correctness
- 11 votes
here is an interesting video of hers,she is clearly not infected with political correctness
...I would agree.
That link is from a larger video here on FORA TV. It is just shy of an hour long; and, is both poignant and important. I have to admit that I get fairly impatient with many things that I am linked to read or watch; ...this interview is different. Ayaan's views shed light on so many questions that America is asking right now. Her straight forward and unambiguous manner is backed by an open and earnest spirit.
Frankly I am slightly encouraged to hear some honesty.
- 6 votes
I didn't get much out of the facebook page as I did from the link to the Bill Maher interview link.
I have to say, that this was quite eye opening. I find her comments on her personal journey interesting. One must keep in mind that this is HER personal journey and not all Muslims.
I think that she makes an excellent point about radical Islam. It has been the cause of much violence and it does seem to come from Saudi Arabia. She was quite right about where the US should have focused it's attention to.
I can't speak about the Koran. I am no expert on the subject. I do know that some use it as a justification to hate and Bill Maher does point out that this is true of the other two faiths, but also points out, that for the most part, besides the occasional lunatic, there is no mass murder going on in the name of their faith, like it is going on in Africa in the name of Islam.
A death threat is a horrible thing to live under and maybe this is why more moderate Muslims are afraid to speak out against the radicals. It takes a strong person to want to take that on.
I admire the woman. I hope that her message gets out there. I wish her well and I hope that she can be a light for a new future in Islam.
- 10 votes
#2 - Sat Oct 23, 2010 4:38 PM EDTI have to say, that this was quite eye opening. I find her comments on her personal journey interesting. One must keep in mind that this is HER personal journey and not all Muslims.
She was pretty devout herself for a while. During the Iran-Iraq war, she supported Iran against Iraq-- because they were Islamic fundamentalists (and of course Saddam was secular).
- 6 votes
I have to say, that this was quite eye opening. I find her comments on her personal journey interesting. One must keep in mind that this is HER personal journey and not all Muslims.
She was pretty devout herself for a while. During the Iran-Iraq war, she supported Iran against Iraq-- because they were Islamic fundamentalists (and of course Saddam was secular).
In the above mention link to a Fora TV interview with Ayaan she discusses how her disillusionment with Islam came about . It seems that she started reading some history, philosophy, and religion...next thing you know she did what most young people do; she began to ask the important questions and come to the realization that she was solely responsible for her choices.
- 6 votes
It seems that she started reading some history, philosophy, and religion...next thing you know she did what most young people do; she began to ask the important questions and come to the realization that she was solely responsible for her choices.
True enough. I do believe that she mentioned that she is still Muslim, but that she feels that the faith has to be more modernized, so to speak.
- 5 votes
...she started reading some history, philosophy, and religion...next thing you know she did what most young people do; she began to ask the important questions and come to the realization that she was solely responsible for her choices.
She actually states that in her view, the Koran, if strictly taken, requires jihad. That jihad is exactly what many deny, yet fear; as well, as a spiritual struggle. That in actuality, most Arabic Islamic cultures would view those whom we call "moderates" as the true radicals. These Arabic "radicals" are viewed with suspicion, unease and as dangerous. Arabic Muslims view these "radicals" as weird and outcasts.
Here's to the true Islamic radicals
- 6 votes
#3 - Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:14 AM EDTShe's had some inconsistencies in what she's told people about her past, but that doesn't invalidate her message that the Islamist movement is a threat to universal human rights and must be reversed for the sake of human rights.
I'd be curious to ask her why she's given conflicting stories about her past in Somalia.
- 2 votes
#4 - Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:52 AM EDTMaybe they are not so much conflicting as just bits and pieces told in a different way. My background is somewhat confusing and I am sure that when I talk about some parts of it, because it pertains to a specific point, and leave out other parts, later on, in might seem that I am telling a different story, when I talk about myself as it pertains to that subject.
I don't think that she is trying to hide any facts. She seems very earnest in her affect.
- 5 votes
She has given different and conflicting versions of her past to different people over time and in her own published books.
I' d be interested in seeing how she would address it.
- 3 votes
What does doubt have to do with asking her to explain discrepancies in accounts she's given in the past?
I don't understand.
- 2 votes
Well Ayyan was only 8 yrs old when they left Somalia; and , her father was thrown in jail as a leader in the opposition Salvation Democratic Front. They fled when he escaped prison...I can see both, an opportunity for her memory about these times not to be as fluid as she would probably like, as well as wanting to protect any family members who may still be there.
I agree that it in no way invalidates her arguments.
- 5 votes
I'm curious about whether she feels as though the physical and psychological abuse she faced growing up in Somalia might have led to what psychiatrists call "false memories" or if she thinks it might be the result of a sort of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, etc. I bet her most formative years were difficult to experience to say the least.
- 2 votes
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