INDCJournal: An Irony in the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Case?

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May 17, 2006

An Irony in the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Case?

Posted by Bill

I received this e-mail from Ayaan Hirsi Ali's publisher:

As you are probably aware by now, there is yet another smear campaign against Somali-Dutch Parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali, renown for her outspoken criticism of conservative Islam and the mistreatment of Muslim women. There has been another attempt to silence her, not through violence this time, but politically. Yesterday the Dutch Minister of Immigration revoked Ayaan's Dutch citizenship (thus making her stateless and forcing her to resign from Parliament - you cannot be in Parliament unless you are Dutch.) There is also a very racist undertone to some of the attacks with calls from the extreme right wing for Ayaan to "go home to Africa".
This charge against Ayaan stems from the conditions in which she applied for asylum, when she first arrived in Holland. She was advised at the time to lie about certain details (her age and full name, and the country she was fleeing - to say Somalia rather than Kenya), in order to speed up the process. Since 2002, Ayaan has been VERY open about this. It is in hundreds of profiles of her and interviews she has given over the years, and she told the political establishment officially when they approached her to become a political figure. This has been public knowledge, by Ayaan's own admission, since 2002.

However, the reason why it is suddenly an issue is that the Minister of Immigration (Rita Verdonk, who is very ambitious and currently trying to become the next party leader) is now taking a very hard line against asylum seekers, and sending people back to their country of origin who have lied. The Dutch Parliament is currently debating the issue and Rita Verdonk is coming under fierce attack from members of her Party.

Assuming accurate characterization, this becomes a more interesting and slightly ironic event, because while most of Hirsi Ali's supporters in the blogosphere have strictly interpreted her citizenship troubles as run of the mill European (perhaps leftist) appeasment of the Islamists within their borders, in fact, at least part of the push to revoke her citizenship may stem from traditionally right wing interests (exemplified by an ambitious politician) in tightening immigration controls, presumably as a political blowback to recent negative actions by ... unassimilated Muslims in their midst. At which point one of the strongest advocates against the cultural segregation and appeasement in Holland is thereby revoked citizenship and effectively booted out of Parliament. Head-spinning irony? I can't be certain that I'm perfectly interpreting the Dutch political climate, but it seems that way.

Then again, many have predicted that Europeans will rapidly swing between popular socialist/leftist values and popular hard right-wing values as they begin to appreciate and perhaps overreact - late - to the cultural and demographic problems within their midst. Probably an oversimplification, but we certainly see the odd blend in this case.

UPDATE: On the other hand, looks like it wasn't such a popular move after all:

Backlash: Dutch parliament sides with Hirsi Ali

Though make sure to read the atrocious excerpts from the WSJ article at that link ...

Excerpts from her resignation from Parliament speech (and an update) below the fold:

I am Ayaan, the daughter of Hirsi, who is the son of a man who took the name of Magan. Magan was the son of Isse, who was the son of Guleid, who was the son of Ali. He was the son of Wai'ays, who was the son of Muhammad. He was the son of Ali, who was the son of Umar. Umar was the son of Osman, who was the son of Mahamud. This is my clan, and therefore, in Somalia, this is my name: Ayaan Hirsi Magan Isse Guleid Ali Wai'ays Muhammad Ali Umar Osman Mahamud.
I have been very open about the fact that when I applied for asylum in the Netherlands in 1992, I did so under a false name and with a fabricated story. In 2002, I spoke on national television about the conditions of my arrival, and I explained then that I fabricated a story in order to be able to receive asylum here. Since that TV program I have repeated this dozens of times, in Dutch and international media. Many times I have truthfully named my father and given my correct date of birth. I also informed the VVD leadership and members of this fact when I was invited to stand for parliament.

I have said many times that I am not proud that I lied when I sought asylum in the Netherlands. It was wrong to do so. I did it because I felt I had no choice. I was frightened that if I simply said I was fleeing a forced marriage, I would be sent back to my family. And I was frightened that if I gave my real name, my clan would hunt me down and find me. So I chose a name that I thought I could disappear with - the real name of my grandfather, who was given the birth-name Ali. I claimed that my name was Ayaan Hirsi Ali, although I should have said it was Ayaan Hirsi Magan.

I came to Holland in the summer of 1992 because I wanted to be able to determine my own future. I didn't want to be forced into a destiny that other people had chosen for me, so I opted for the protection of the rule of law. Here in Holland, I found freedom and opportunities, and I took those opportunities to speak out against religious terror.

It is common knowledge that threats against my life began building up ever since I first talked about Islam publicly, in the spring of 2002. Months before I even entered politics, my freedom of movement was greatly curtailed, and that became worse after Theo van Gogh was murdered in 2004. It is difficult to live with so many threats on your life and such a level of police protection. It is difficult to work as a parliamentarian if you have nowhere to live. All that is difficult, but not impossible. However it became impossible last night, when Minister Verdonk informed me that she would strip me of my Dutch citizenship.

I am therefore preparing to leave Holland. But the questions for our society remain. Issues related to Islam - such as impediments to free speech; refusal of the separation of Church and State; widespread domestic violence; honor killings; the repudiation of wives; and Islam's failure to condemn genital mutilation -- these subjects can no longer be swept under the carpet in our country's capital. Some of the measures that this government has begun taking give me hope. Many illusions of how easy it will be to establish a multicultural society have disappeared forever. We are now more realistic and more open in this debate, and I am proud to have contributed to that process.

My transition from becoming a member of a clan to becoming a citizen in an open society is what public service has come to mean for me. Only clear thinking and strong action can lead to real change, and free many people within our society from the mental cage of submission.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as of today, I resign from Parliament. I regret that I will be leaving the Netherlands, the country which has given me so many opportunities and enriched my life, but I am glad that I will be able to continue my work. I will continue to ask uncomfortable questions, despite the obvious resistance that they elicit. I feel that I should help other people to live in freedom, as many people have helped me.

I will go on.

UPDATE from dorkafork: There's much more background on Rita Verdonk here. Wiki article, so take with a grain of salt, but has some interesting bits of trivia. She has a degree in sociology and supported the Pacifist Socialist Party in the '70s. She joined the VVD in 2000, the same political party Hirsi Ali was a member of. And she is definitely a hardliner on immigration.

Posted by Bill at May 17, 2006 09:35 AM | TrackBack (0)

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Comments

This is a useful reminder to never underestimate the power of old-fashioned paleocon racism having certainly got used to the (supposedly) new-fashioned racism of the moonbat left. Basically, people are jerks.

Posted by: Flea at May 17, 2006 10:07 AM

Hard to believe such levels of denial can still exist in Holland. But then, if an Islamonutter set off a suitcase nuke in America tomorrow, many Lefties would blame Bush. It's a more soothing worldview than accepting that some people hate your very existence & want to exterminate you

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at May 17, 2006 06:25 PM

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The Caged Virgin: Dutch government's treatment of Ayaan Hirisi Ali " (See article below message)

This issue is very new (only 5 days old / started may 17, 2006))... Rita Verdonk, the dutch minister of "aliens" (do not know the exact english word for it).... made a lifetime blunder by saying that Hirsi Ali "was never Dutch" .....

This implicated that the Dutch parliament had only 149 parliamentair and NOT 150...so the whole parliament is illigal....and so all decisions over the last 3 years are not applicable....

The Dutch government is now dealing with a time bomb....They have 6 weeks to make the final conclusions....but the timebomb is ticking....

Making Hirsi Ali dutch ....and back in time .(do not know the english wor for it) ...over the past 3 years ....is a lie against the law
saying that she will be Dutch now....is saying she was not the past 3 years....

Then the issue rest that the government says that 149 parliamentairs is OK also....but that is against the constitution....
Saying that the parliament was always 150 is a problem for one of the did not have a Dutch ligal passport....

The timebomb is ticking and the only words written on the internet are weblogs ...and in Dutch

The vison of Hildebrand Nawijn parliamentair.....and once a Pim Fortuyn follower (Pim Fortuyn was shot ....just like Kennedy....).......
http://www.hilbrand-nawijn.nl/c_news.asp?nummer=528

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