Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Two articles caught my eye over at the NYT today. The first is about Debbie Almontaser, who has lost the first round in her suit against the NY Dept of Education, filed after she was fired as principal of a Brooklyn Arabic language school. The second article is an Op-Ed by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. You might recall that Hirsi was formerly a member of the Dutch Parliament, and has been outspoken against radical Islam, particularly in relation to women’s rights. She is currently a fellow at The American Enterprise Institute, a neoconservative think tank.

Taken together, the two articles highlight the predicament of a living in a diverse world in which moderate religious and cultural views are so important, but that is also a world that values extremism for its political and commercial value.

Hirsi Ali, whom I have following for a few years, has a real talent for making political statements. She is good at getting to what is at stake in an event, at the larger implications of events that might otherwise seem random or unconnected. In recent years, however, I cannot help but feel that Ali has lost sight of her feminist/activist goals and has simply become one self-interested talking head among many.

Several respondents to Ali’s article were quick to post links to the very kinds of moderate responses Ali seems to be calling for, particularly from national organizations. Why has she not reached out to these groups? Where do they fit in her article? Or where, for instance, do the lawyer marches in Pakistan (a story she could not have missed) fit into all of this? Read the rest of this entry »