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Sunday, January 6, 2008

Review: Infidel


I mentioned last week that I had a stack of books to be read, and I started reading Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali on New Years. All I can say is that this was an amazing, extremely intense book that opened my eyes to a whole new world.

The book is the autobiography recounts Ali's days as a child who was raised in an ultra-strict Islam family, moved from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia trying to escape the tribal violence and clan fighting.

I learned a great deal about the clan and tribal systems that are prevalent in many African countries. In a place and time where honor and family name matter more than life and death, it's difficult to be a child who begins to question the rationality and validity of Islam.



The reader learns about how women and children are considered property, regularly beaten and sexually abused through circumcision. Children, both boys and girls, routinely endured the incredibly cruel and painful surgeries without anesthesia or antibiotics, generally in their own home. I hate to mention this because it's is so awful, but I think we can no longer ignore these things. You can read more about female genital mutilation by reading the World Health Organization's website.

As Ali grows older and watches the horror around her, the constant killing and continual treatment of women as inferior to men, she slowly begins to crack through the scar tissues of guilt and fear that had be so methodically instilled into her.

After being married off to a man she neither knew nor loved by her father, as was the custom for all women, she flees to Holland on her way to her husband in Canada and seeks asylum in the country.



Her story continues as she adapts to life in a modern world instead of on a dirt floor. She must face the demons of her past and question the values that were literally, beaten into her nearly every week of her life. She works hard to make the most of this opportunity to leave behind her painful past, getting an education, working hard and finally beginning to share her first-hand experience as a Muslim woman with the outside world. She discusses the 9/11 attacks and the death of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, whom had helped her produce a provocative film about the inhumane treatment of women in Islamic countries.

Amazing book. I highly encourage everybody to read it. I learned so much about African culture and the inner-workings of Islam. I understand so much more now and it's so disturbing. I am even more committed to the causes of women's equality throughout the world. You owe it to yourself, as a woman (and any many that loves a woman), to be aware of this on-going global tragedy.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I'm so incredibly lucky and blessed to gave just been born in this country and to a loving family.

3 comments:

Courtney said...

Wow, what a small world. My brother's girlfriend's mom (got that?) works with a friend of the author and was telling me about this empowering book over Christmas. Apparently this woman's story is incredible. I think I will have to add that to my list!

Me... said...

Thanks for the recommendation. I just added to my goodreads.com to read list, and my wishlist on amazon. It's one of my goals to expand my reading this year.

Have you read The Kite Runner and 1,000 Splendid Suns? Great books.

ABriscoe said...

It is very sad that in this day and time people are still judging a way of life that has been existing for thousands of year with dignity by the word of a few who has stories of bad experiences from people who they claim are muslim. The prophet they claim to follow never beat his wife and children. So these action are inconsistent with the teaching of Islam. What if I say to you, that I am a christian and I was sexually abused by my family member who was extremely religious and I was not allow to do a lot of things that other girls got to do when they are young.
My family did not protect me from abuse and did not want me to leave and felt that I embrassed them when I told the world of my horrible life. Could I then write a book about how bad Christians are and can I then look at all the horrible things done in history by christians (and there is plenty) murder, sodomy, rape, slavery, stole, lie, cheat, oppress and then
say that the Christian faith is a bad faith and the Christian people are bad people? No, I don't think that would not be fair to judge the whole religion by a number of bad people. Also don't forget that people cry wolf before to make money among other things and there is two sides to ever story only God knows the truth and on the day of judgement he will be the sole decider on what is true and what is not. I don't know her but her story sounds alittle fishy.You want to look in at an Islamic cultures fairly without being bais look up Gambia, Senegal, Malaysia and many other muslim countries and also find other stories from the 1.8 billion muslims in the world to judge this God given religion by. Don't judge this religion unfairly because people have taught you to fear what you don't know. I am a happy,educated, unoppress muslim women who is in love with God first my family and my work second. I pray like God said I should and like all the prophets of God did. I also have plenty of female friend that are muslims and christians they are all well educated and are world traveler so we cannot relate to this woman's story, but I sympathize for her as a human being for her suffering, if the story is true.

P.S Is the tattoo and the lashes real I thought she ran away when she was young and I know that tattoo are not allow in conservative muslim household so how did they tattoo her back? hmmm


From: please don't let hate and lies breed more hate and lies.