Author posts
Are Muslims victimized in the West?
Author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali says she doesn't buy into the major worries about Islamophobia.
Bombs Aren’t Working. Spies Aren’t Working. How Do You Stop Islamic Extremism?
Shifts away from Islamism require grassroots, ground-up approaches to change.
Mohammed: the Anti-Innovator, with Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of "Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now," argues that Mohammed was a creative genius who, upon his death, froze innovation in Islam forever.
Hey Ben Affleck: Would You Play Mohammed in a Movie? Ayaan Hirsi Ali Wants to Know.
"Islamic extremism is an assault on the ideas of liberalism, on the idea of innovation, on women, on gays, on tolerance, on civilization," says the author and social activist. She says if American cultural leaders like Ben Affleck can't see this, it's because they're not paying attention.
Living By the Humanist Narrative
God doesn’t answer back. That’s the problem. Humans can.
Change in the Muslim World Means Emancipation from Allah
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The change we are talking about for the Muslim world is essentially a change where we hope that Muslim individuals will be emancipated from their own concept of a God, submission to the will of Allah.
How Do You Change One Billion Minds?
The only thing we can do in our lifetime—those of us who do want change—is to keep pushing for it.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Dutch-American feminist filmmaker and political writer. She is author of several books, the latest of which is Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now. She is also founder of the AHA Foundation, a former fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a former member of the Dutch parliament.
Ali is a vocal critic of Islam whose writings often focus on the religion's subjugation of women. Her work is controversial and has resulted in numerous death threats. In 2004 Ayaan gained international attention following the murder of Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh had directed her short film Submission, a film about the oppression of women under Islam. The assassin left a death threat for her pinned to Van Gogh's chest. This tragic event, and Ayaan’s life leading up to it, are all chronicled in her best-selling book, Infidel.
