Review Praise for Infidel: “Brave, inspiring, and beautifully written…Narrated in clear, vigorous prose, it traces the author’s geographical journey from Mogadishu to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, and her desperate flight to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage.” (The New York Times)“Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one of Europe’s most controversial political figures and a target for terrorists. A notably enigmatic personality whose fierce criticisms of Islam have made her a darling of...conservatives...and...popular with leftists...Soft-spoken but passionate.” (Boston Globe)“Crammed with harrowing details, Hirsi Ali’s account is a significant contribution to our times.” (Kirkus (starred review))“A powerful, compelling read…Put simply, this woman is a heroine.” (The Christian Science Monitor)“A charismatic figure...of arresting and hypnotizing beauty...[who writes] with quite astonishing humor and restraint.” (Christopher Hitchens)“The five areas for Islamic reform highlighted by Ayaan in this book require deep consideration by my fellow Muslims…I thank Ayaan for having the resilience and determination to help in continuing this ongoing conversation.” (Maajid Nawaz, Co-founder and Chair of Quilliam, counter-extremism think-tank)“She is absolutely right to raise difficult issues that must be addressed worldwide, especially by Muslims...I hope that this book will help to stimulate vital discussions for the future of Islam, and in fact for the future of humanity.” (Sheikh Dr. Usama Hasan, imam and Islamic scholar)“Audacious? Quixotic? Visionary? Necessary? All of the above. This an urgent, complicated, risky subject, and Hirsi Ali, valiant, indomitable, and controversial, offers a potent indictment, idealistic blueprint, and galvanizing appeal to both conscience and reason.” (Donna Seaman, Booklist)“Whatever one may think of her solutions, Hirsi Ali should be commended for her unblinking determination to address the problem.” (Andrew Anthony, The Guardian)“A book full of compassion.” (Paul Steenhuis, NRC Handelsblad) Read more From the Back Cover “A charismatic figure . . . [who writes] with quite astonishing humor and restraint.”—Christopher HitchensIn the New York Times bestselling Heretic, Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that it is foolish to insist that the violent acts of Islamic extremists can be divorced from the religious doctrine that inspires them. Instead we must confront the fact that they are driven by a political ideology embedded in Islam itself. She makes a powerful case that a religious reformation is the only way to end the terrorism, sectarian warfare, and repression of women and minorities that each year claim thousands of lives throughout the Muslim world.Today, Hirsi Ali argues, the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims can be divided into a minority of extremists, a majority of believers who are not violent but tacitly condone extremism, and a growing number of dissidents who risk their lives by questioning their own religion. As Hirsi Ali shows, there is no denying that some of Islam’s key teachings—not least the duty to wage holy war—inspire violence not just in the Muslim world but in the West as well.Ayaan Hirsi Ali believes that a Muslim “Reformation”—a revision of Islamic doctrine aimed at reconciling the religion with modernity—is at hand, and may even already have begun. Boldly challenging centuries of theological orthodoxy, she proposes five key amendments to Islamic doctrine that Muslims must make if they are to bring their religion out of the seventh century and into the twenty-first. The West’s role should be to support the reformers rather than their persecutors.  Read more About the Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali is the New York Times bestselling author of Infidel, Nomad, and The Caged Virgin. A prominent speaker, debater, and journalist, she was chosen as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She is now a fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Hirsi Ali is the founder of the AHA Foundation. Read more
M**N
She has spoken out with admirable courage that makes Western apologists for Islam look like the wimps that they are
This book should be on the must-read list of every thinking individual in the Western World. It is a clarion alarm to wake up to a brutal and deadly but poorly understood threat. The murderers that she discusses as elements in Islamic State (IS), Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, the Taliban, suicide bombers and other militant groups are psychopaths. That these killers really believe that they are following the dictates of Allah is not questioned here. The Qur’an (as spelled in the book) and the Hadith have provided them with the only rationalization they need to pour out the hatred pounded into them daily from early childhood. Hatred for anything that deviates from their religious teachings begins in the home. The author writes, “The totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century had to work quite hard to persuade family members to denounce one another to the authorities. The power of the Muslim system is that the authorities do not need to be involved. Social control begins at home.” (Page 154) Hirsi Ali states that she is not extraordinary. That is probably the only misstatement in the book. Her writings and personal appearances reveal an uncommon courage in challenging a dangerous religion that has threatened her with murder and repeatedly perpetrated atrocities that clearly demonstrate that they mean what they say. She has spoken out with admirable courage that makes Western apologists for Islam look like the wimps that they are. Unilateral tolerance is dangerous. The author points out many times that murderous intolerance lies at the very heart of Islam. It is built into the very fabric of the religion. She asserts that militant Islam cannot be stopped with U.S. drone strikes. The foundation tenets of the religion must brought into question and reformed. She lists what she calls "five theses" (pages 74 and 235): 1. the status of the Qur’an as the last and immutable word of God and the infallibility of Muhammad as the last divinely inspired messenger; 2. Islam’s emphasis on the afterlife over the here-and-now; 3. the claims of sharia to be a comprehensive system of law governing both the spiritual and temporal realms; 4. the obligation on ordinary Muslims to command right and forbid wrong; 5. the concept of jihad, or holy war. Hirsi Ali divides Muslims into three groups that she calls Mecca Muslims (peaceful and law-abiding), Medina (militant) Muslims, and dissidents. She condemns the Medina group as the perpetrators of the ongoing atrocities that she describes in horrifying detail. She then expresses hope that the last group can stir people to bring about the changes desperately needed to bring Islam into the twenty-first century. The author’s optimism that Islam can be reformed, although an admirable and most welcome outcome, is also most unlikely. Sharia (religious law approved by a majority of Muslims - page 139), seeks to rule the world and drag mankind back to the seventh century. Islam, as she has portrayed it, finds a parallel in current Christian fundamentalism and Christian sadistic intolerance of centuries past. Virulent intolerance, stemming from whatever religious or political set of beliefs, is a psychologically defensive posture motivated by fear that questioning the smallest tenet of the faith throws open the entire doctrine to debate and threatens to collapse the whole belief structure. I question that backward, fatalistic, authoritarian and violent Islam could survive that exposure. It would cease to be Islam, the very word a cognate of submission.Michael Atkins, PhD
J**D
Islam - A Medieval Religion with an Inquisitional Mindset Bent on destroying everything Non-Muslim
If there is any single subject that Americans, and every other culture in the world, need to be clear about it is Islam. Americans by nature are inclusive and welcoming of a wide variety of cultures/religions, etc. But in this case one must be very clear as to what is going on and Ayaan Hirsi Ali gives the non Muslims of the world and inside look at what makes the Terrorists Tick! Obama and the intellectually lazy liberals of this country keep throwing out that insulting "Religion of Peace" quote like it means something. It does not! Terrorism and medieval practices are part and parcel of the faith of Islam, and Hirsi Ali points out very clearly that the moderate adherents of that faith who would truly like to see a reformation that would bring them into the current century are keeping silent because otherwise their very lives are in danger. Islam does not allow any criticism or questioning of any kind, so no moderate of Islam will say anything against even the most reprehensible and atrocious event promulgated by their brethren. If you want to understand what the truth about Islam today is, read this and other books by Hirsi Ali.
J**S
A must read book for anyone who cares about our future
HereticBy; Ayaan Hirsi Ali(Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now) I have watched her in a debate, the subject of which was “Is Islam a Religion of Peace” there were knowledgeable speakers on both sides. At the end the audience was requested to deliver their conclusion. Overwhelmingly it was that Islam is not a religion of peace. One of the most compelling points was when the audience were reminded that to attend the event they were submitted to checks such as we go thru at Airports. She has written three other books, the one I read and reported on was “Infidel”. She repeats some of that in this book as necessary to assure the reader that her background gives her credibility to write as she does. In reviewing other articles I have written describing my thoughts on how evil this religion is today, I will not restate these facts. If you are not aware you should be. Pretending it is not true is not the correct thing to do. Rather I will mention that she does report in the last chapter that she has reason to hope that the Muslims of the world can turn away from violence and become a respected part of humanity. There is no denying that much of what is written in the Old and New Testament contains support for actions which today we cannot accept, but that is exactly the point she is making. While Christian and Jew adherents have rejected these writings the Muslims as a group have not. Taking the world back 700 years and forcing these rules on people today will only continue the carnage being seen in countries all over the world especially in Western nations that have provided generous benefits to refugees from the Middle East. Those who willingly sacrifice their human lives for eternal bliss in the hereafter are tragic figures in my opinion. All you and I know is the here and now of our existence. To throw that away is irrational. She mentions the names of a number of Muslims trying to encourage people to reject Jihad as the way to preserve their religious beliefs. I recommend this book to any who wants to learn more about what is happening today.Jack B. WaltersApril 30, 2017
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