December 29, 2007 3:04 PM
Infidel - a Muslim woman shares her journey
I've been in Africa lately, immersed in Islamic culture.
Such is the power of books today - to take us to places in the past we might have known only through newspaper stories of big picture politics or an outsider's agenda.
Infidel is a brave book by a woman who's fortunate to be alive to tell it. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in recounting her upbringing under Islamic fundamentalism in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya - as well as her experience of seeking refuge and finding freedom in Holland - has brought down the wrath of terrorists who three years ago assassinated the director who worked with her on a 10 minute film about the subjugation of women under Islam.
The book begins:
One November morning in 2004, Theo van Gogh got up to go to work at his film production company in Amsterdam. He took out his old black bicycle and headed down a main road. Waiting in a doorway was a Moroccan man with a handgun and two butcher knives.As Theo cycled down the Linnaeusstrat, Muhammad Bouyeri approached. He pulled out his gun and shot Theo several times. Theo fell off his bike and lurched across the road, then collapsed. Bouyeri followed. Theo begged, "Can't we talk about this?" but Bouyeri shot him four more times. Then he took out one of his butcher knives and sawed into Theo's throat. With the other knife, he stabbed a five-page letter onto Theo's chest.
That letter was addressed to me.
Ali's detailed recounting of her childhood and life as a young woman is painful on so many levels. But for a reader from a culture based on freedom, it makes it difficult to understand why the effort in our country to level the playing field with multiculturalism. As Ali herself says at the end of her story:
The message of this book, if it must have a message, is that we in the West would be wrong to prolong the pain of that transition [into the modern world] unnecessarily, by elevating cultures full of bigotry and hatred toward women to the stature of respectable alternative ways of life. . .The decision to write this book didn't come to me easily. Why would I expose such private memories to the world? I don't want my arguments to be considered sacrosanct because I have had horrible experiences . . . In reality, my life has been marked by enormous good fortune. How many girls born in Digfeer Hospital in Mogadishu in November 1969 are even alive today? And how many have a real voice?
. . . My central, motivating concern is that women in Islam are oppressed. That oppression of women causes Muslim women and Muslim men, too, to lag behind the West. It creates a culture that generates more backwardness with every generation. It would be better for everyone - for Muslims, above all - if this situation would change.
Between the beginning and the end is a fascinating story of a woman born into circumstances which make her escape almost unbelievable. Seeking refuge in Holland (which welcomes immigrants with every amenity possible and is now dealing with some tough consequences), she sees her beliefs challenged. When some young women from Kenya challenge her full body coverage, she says:
"But if men see women dressed like you are now, with your arms bare and everything naked, they will become confused and sexually tempted," I told them. "They will be blinded by desire . . . they won't be able to work, and the buses will crash, and there will be a state of total fitna!""So why is there not a state of total chaos everywhere around us, here, in Europe?" Mina asked.
It was true. All I had to do was use my eyes. Europe worked perfectly, every bus and clock of it. Not a tremor of chaos was detectible.
Her curiosity about how life is conducted in such peace and order causes her to consider the role of government:
There were rules about everything in Holland. I got stopped by a policeman one evening for cycling without my lights on and I froze, assuming something horrible was going to happen. But all I got was a firm but courteous lecture and a fine of twenty-five guilders. Moreover, the policemen said I wasn’t supposed to pay the fine right away; it would come in the mail. Sure enough, a month later I received a detailed bill. I thought about this system, how cleverly it prevented you ever giving a policeman money [her early years included having to bribe police and state officials out of war-torn countries], so he never got tempted to pocket it.Government was very present in this country. It could be bureaucratic, sometimes stupidly complex, but it also seemed very beneficial. I wanted to know how you do that. This was an infidel country, whose way of life we Muslims were supposed to oppose and reject. Why was it, then, so much better run, better led, and made for such better lives than the places we came from? Shouldn’t the places where Allah was worshipped and His laws obeyed have been at peace and wealthy, and the unbelievers’ countries ignorant, poor and at war?
Ali worked at becoming assimilated into the Dutch culture, becoming a translator. Caught in the middle of culture clashes gives her more food for thought. In one instance where a child had beat up another for sticking out his tongue, she had to explain to the teacher, “Where we come from, aggression is a survival tactic: we teach our children to hit first."
Then she explained to the parents, “look, in Holland, if you hit people then they think something is wrong with you. Here they solve disagreements by talking.”
I cycled home thinking, “This is why Somalia is having a civil war and Holland isn’t. It was all there. People in Holland agree that violence is bad. They make a huge effort to teach their children to channel aggression and resolve their disputes verbally. They had analyzed conflict and set up institutions to regulate it. This is what it meant, to be citizens.I wasn’t strong enough to think all these things through just yet. I didn’t feel ready to step back and ask myself why so many immigrants – so many Muslim immigrants [in Holland] – were violent, on welfare, poor. I just absorbed the facts. But I was beginning to see that Muslims in Holland were being allowed to form their own pillar in Dutch society, with their own schools and their own way of life, just like Catholics and Jews. They were being left politely alone to live in their own world. The idea was that immigrants needed self-respect, which would come from a strong sense of membership in their community. They should be permitted to set up Quranic schools on Dutch soil. There should be government subsidies for Muslim community groups. To force Muslims to adapt to Dutch values was thought to conflict with those values: people ought to be free to believe and behave as they wish. . .
But the result was that immigrants lived apart, studied apart, socialized apart. . . At the Muslim schools there were no children from Dutch families. The little girls were veiled and often separated from the boys. . . The schools . . . avoided subjects that ran contrary to Islamic doctrine. Children weren’t encouraged to ask questions, and their creativity was not stimulated . . .
Ali sees that this has produced a culture within a culture which continues to allow the oppression of women and children. Following the 9/11 attacks on the United States – which she immediately apprehended as jihadic, she writes of her thoughts on Islam:
The Prophet did teach us a lot of good things. I found it spiritually appealing to believe in the Hereafter. My life was enriched by the Quranic injunctions to be compassionate and show charity to others. There were times when I, like other Muslims, found it too complicated to deal with the whole issue of war against nonbelievers. Most Muslims never delve into theology, and we rarely read the Quran; we are taught it in Arabic, which most Muslims can’t speak. As a result, most people think that Islam is about peace. It is from these people, honest and kind, that the fallacy has arisen that Islam is peaceful and tolerant.But I could no longer avoid seeing the totalitarianism, the pure moral framework that is Islam . . . True Islam, as a rigid belief system and a moral framework, leads to cruelty . . . if you don’t accept Islam, you should perish.
Ali’s growing awareness of the ramifications of her religion caused her to leave it eventually – without taking up any other. She describes herself as an atheist. Her curiosity and keen powers of analysis drew her into the study of political science and she eventually ran for Dutch Parliament, where she described herself as a one-issue politician:
I am convinced that this is the largest, most important issue that our society and our planet will face in this century. Every society that is still in the rigid grip of Islam oppresses women and also lags behind in development. Most of these societies are poor; many are full of conflict and war. Societies that respect the rights of women are wealthy and peaceful.
This is a book worth reading and discussing. My heart goes out to those who suffer as Ali has suffered. And I understand the horror of Bhutto’s assassination on a much deeper level today.
How blessed we are to live in this country. But how careful we must be to defend all that is noble and good here!
~~~~~~~~
Followed up Infidel with A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Isnhmael Beah - another reminder of what a lala land we Americans enjoy while children around the world are living under oppressive governments and religious systems.
So important to thank God and to continue to pray and work in whatever way we can to help those who are oppressed and suffering. And important to teach our children, who are so spoiled by our consumer culture.
More on how to do that tomorrow.
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Comments
Barbara,
I believe that I've heard this woman speak either on the radio or on t.v. I remember being intrigued by what she had to say. I'll definitely read this book. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I'd also like to say that I think it's not just our children who are spoiled but, we adults as well. I complain bitterly on many occasions about what I view as complete idiocy run amok within our own government. I rarely ever take time to appreciate just how very fortunate we are. Of course, there's always room for improvement but, in the scheme of things, I know we have a much shorter distance to travel than many other countries in terms of our levels of peace and comfort. It's truly painful to stop and consider for more than a minute what our lives might be like had we had the misfortune to be born into one of these other societies. It's hard to fathom the degree to which so many suffer on a daily basis over whole lifetimes.
I was listening this morning to an NPR program. A Cambodian man was lobbying for assistance in the form of trade agreements with the U.S. and was imploring us to understand the struggles involved in becoming a democratic society. It never even occurred to me how difficult it would be to live under the different regimes he had experienced in his lifetime and then suddenly be thrust into a brand new struggling democracy. It's true, we've not experienced that struggle. Theoretically at least, our home has been "free" all our lives. How could a whole country of people be expected to unite around the theory and then put it into practice overnight? Seems like an insurmountable task. The man spoke of how new clothing businesses are struggling to compete with countries that refuse to allow unions, use child labor and other such practices in order to be able to profit from doing business with countries like ours. He talked about how his country is determined to follow fair labor practices and how that decision has priced them out of the market. Cambodia cannot compete. What will become of their new democracy? Will it become so impossible to institute and follow fair labor practices that they will be forced to run sweat shops and jeopardize the whole new ideal of freedom and justice?
What can we do? Peace and justice are lofty ideals. Where do we start? Will Cambodia as a successful democracy prove to be worth an investment on our part in their future? What about Pakistan? What about China? What about the Sudan? What about all the countries whose citizens long for justice in the form of basic human rights? Will we, as the standard bearer for freedom and democracy, find a way to unite other nations in support of these ideals for all people? Or, will we choose to invest our resources only in countries where we anticipate the biggest return on our investment? Is it enough that I educate myself on the human rights policies, the values and standards of living, on the types of governments and the labor practices of other countries before I buy? Is it enough that I check the labels for the countries of origin of the products I consume?
What can we do, individually and collectively? I’ve often been tempted to take the fallback position of isolationism based on my own frustration with my impotence to effect any change on any level. I mean, wouldn’t it be easier to focus on the fact that I have my own struggles keeping food on the table and paying for the medications my elderly parents need and cannot afford? No, we don’t need to ensure that our own house is immaculate before extending ourselves to the service of others. What form should that service take? What to do? I am looking forward to your next post on this subject and am interested in all of your ideas.
I'm sorry this was so long and tangential. I sometimes have difficulty containing my thoughts. I hope you'll be able to see where I was headed with all of this because I do believe it's all related. If it's too long or too far off, please feel free to not post it.
Maggie
Posted by: Maggie | December 29, 2007 9:03 PM
Wow, that really puts some perspective in our lives, doesn't it? Incredible. Off to Amazon.
Posted by: Shelley | December 29, 2007 9:04 PM
Theoretically at least, our home has been "free" all our lives.
Maggie, what do you mean?
Posted by: Amy K. | December 29, 2007 11:31 PM
Read this a couple months ago. So compelling. Maggie's right - we American adults are spoiled and have no idea how most people in this world live and do not understand other cultures. I strongly believe there is good and bad in other cultures and our own. But we tend to be taught there is bad in our culture and only good or a difference in others. Infidel paints a picture so clearly that there are bad, things that must be rejected - much like the Brits did in India with suttee (wife cremation) during the colonial years. Thanks for highlighting this great read.
Posted by: Barb | December 30, 2007 8:28 AM
Amy K.,
What I meant by "theoretically" was that even though we are a nation founded on freedom, there was a very long period of time when many of us were not free, and some are still struggling with the effects of that period.
Uh oh. I feel a whole nother issue surfacing. Freedom and democracy are not easy to achieve. It's evident in looking at the history of our country that many have had to struggle and fight for the freedom that some others were granted by birthright, based on their gender or the color of their skin.
Another thing I think is important to point out is that in many ways our culture seems to have moved to a place where we've exchanged freedom for license which ends up fostering other forms of slavery. Do you ever feel you have become in any way enslaved to any parts of our culture? I do. I'm struggling to extricate myself from sinful and excessive behaviors that have become acceptable as the norm in our society.
So, while I really do appreciate this country, and am so thankful that I am a citizen, I also, more often than not these days, worry about where we are headed. I'm hoping we'll be able to strike a healthy balance. I'm just not sure the majority know what a healthy balance is.
Posted by: Maggie | December 30, 2007 10:56 AM
Maggie, thanks for clarifying your point.
Posted by: Amy K. | December 31, 2007 1:42 AM
