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Description:
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"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.
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Customer Reviews:Infidel
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Infidel: A remarkable story of Journeys!
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By Shweta Shah, 10/14/2013 9:51:48 AM
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Infidel lingers long after you have read the last word. It’s nothing short of a miracle that she survived her childhood - the patriarchal grandmother, castigating mother, absent father, bullying brother, childhood in exile… the perfect recipe for a one way ticket to a mental asylum. Hirsi Ali doesn’t lose her sanity but someone very close to her does. Sometimes, life is about how strong you are on the inside. I have to emphasize that nowhere in the book does Hirsi Ali portray herself as a victim or sounds bitter, but to me she is a survivor extraordinaire. The scary part is the circumstances that she writes about in her autobiography might be an ordinary thing for people who practice it – the female circumcision: the cutting up of inner labia and sowing up of outer labia because the ‘thing between your legs’ is shameful (and don’t forget, women are supposed to be pure); the subjugation of women by covering them up so they won’t provoke men; forced marriages which license rape; the blind faith which misquotes and misinterprets in turn condoning terrible crimes; existing as a non-human under a dictatorship, a tyrannical government; censorship.
The narrative gushes by though English is her third language. I think, she’s quite honest but she was a politician once. Her attack on hypocritical secularism hit home. It’s easy to oppose the system you are a part of – be it religion, or politics. To me, it would be outright bigotry if a non-muslim had written what Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote in the chapter “Leaving God”.
The book is peppered with shocking anecdotes – a man is shot to death in the refugee camp over a can of water; immigrant women in the Dutch camp laugh when they see a man crying on TV because apparently men don’t cry; a baby is burnt alive by the soldiers, once they rape the mother. The harrowing images never leave.
This is a story of journeys.
From Somalia to Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia to Kenya to the Netherlands to the US.
From the Oppression of Femininity to Feminism.
From Docility to Taking a Stand.
From Devout Muslim to Infidel.
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Reviews posted for Infidel
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Inspirational
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By Krupa Makim, 12/26/2020 3:00:34 AM
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A superb inspirational story especially for women from Hindu and Muslim communities.
What a beautiful journey of Miss Ayaan.
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Reviews posted for Infidel
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