Infidel: My Life
 | |
| Author | Ayaan Hirsi Ali |
|---|---|
| Original title | Mijn Vrijheid |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Free Press |
Publication date | 2006 |
Published in English | 2007 |
| Pages | 368 |
| ISBN | 0-7432-9503-X |
| Preceded by | The Caged Virgin |
| Followed by | Nomad: From Islam to America |
Infidel (2006/published in English 2007) is the autobiography of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-Dutch activist and politician. Out of consideration for the safety of the female ghostwriter, her identity is not given, as Hirsi Ali has attracted controversy[1]and death threats were made against Ali in the early 2000s.[2]
Synopsis
Hirsi Ali writes about her youth in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya; about her flight to the Netherlands where she applied for political asylum, her university experience in Leiden, her work for the Labour Party, her transfer to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, her election to Parliament, and the murder of Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the film Submission. The book ends with a discussion of the controversy regarding her application for asylum and status of her citizenship.
Reception
Praise
The launch of the book in the Netherlands was considered a success, with the initial print run selling out in two days.[3] A review in de Volkskrant concluded that "anyone who discovers Hirsi Ali's tumultuous history can only sympathise with her".[1] The German edition of the book, Mein Leben, meine Freiheit ("My Life, My Freedom"), debuted in the top 20 of the bestseller list of Der Spiegel.[3][4]
The book was also well received upon the release of the English edition in 2007. Reviewing the book for The Sunday Times, Christopher Hitchens called it a "remarkable book."[5] Hitchens provided a foreword to the 2008 paperback edition.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum, writing in The Washington Post, said "Infidel is a unique book, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a unique writer, and both deserve to go far."[6] A review in The New York Times described the book as a "brave, inspiring and beautifully written memoir".[7] In an interview, Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria described it as "an amazing book by an amazing person".[8]
Criticism
Reporter Lorraine Ali in Newsweek magazine gave the book a negative review, claiming that the reader will feel "manipulated" by Hirsi's story. She said that "Hirsi Ali is more a hero among Islamophobes than Islamic women." She also said that Hirsi sounds as "single-minded and reactionary as the zealots she's worked so hard to oppose.".[9]
Translations
- German,[10] see also German page about Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
For other translations see Languages in sidebar.
References
- 1 2 van Zijl, Frank (September 30, 2006). "De zware beproevingen van een moslimmeisje" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant.
- ↑ Ali, Ayaa Hirsi. Heretic. Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2015. P.6
- 1 2 van Zanten, Claudia (October 3, 2006). "Boek Hirsi Ali in twee dagen uitverkocht" (in Dutch). Elsevier.
- ↑ Broder, Henryk (October 2, 2006). "Mohammed wird Liebe bedeuten" (in German). Der Spiegel.
- ↑ Christopher Hitchens (February 4, 2007). "A voice that will not be silenced". London: The Sunday Times.
- ↑ Anne Applebaum (February 4, 2007). "The Fight for Muslim Women". Washington Post.
- ↑ William Grimes (February 14, 2007). "No Rest for a Feminist Fighting Radical Islam". New York Times.
- ↑ "Show 308 Transcript- February 23, 2007". Foreign Exchange. February 23, 2007.
- ↑ Lorraine Ali (March 5, 2007). "Only One Side of the Story". Newsweek.
- ↑ Mein Leben, meine Freiheit. Die Autobiographie. Übersetzt von Heike Schlatterer und Anne Emmert. Piper, München 2006, ISBN 3-492-04932-X
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Infidel: My Life |
- "Defiant Infidel: An Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali" on the AEI website.
- Excerpts
- Reviews
- Sandip Roy (February 24, 2007). "The High Price of Freedom". San Francisco Chronicle.
- Joel Whitney. "Un-Veiled". The Village Voice.
- William Grimes (February 14, 2007). "No Rest for a Feminist Fighting Radical Islam". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- "Dark secrets". The Economist. February 8, 2007.
- Anne Applebaum (February 4, 2007). "The Fight for Muslim Women". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- Christopher Hitchens (February 4, 2007). "A voice that will not be silenced". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- Andrew Anthony (February 4, 2007). "Taking the fight to Islam". London: The Observer. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- Luuk van Middelaar. "Out of Europe: Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali". The Wall Street Journal.
- Sol Schindler. "A Muslim woman, her leadership and its costs". The Washington Times.
- Theodore Dalrymple. "A feminist for the ages ...". The Globe and Mail.
- Interviews on book
- Joel Whitney. "Infidel - An interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali". Guernica Magazine.
- Carole Zimmer. "How `Infidel' Hirsi Ali Rejected Islam, Survived Death Threats". Bloomberg.
- Tom Ashbrook. "Ayaan Hirsi Ali". On Point.
- William C. Mann. "Critic of Islam finds new home in U.S.". Associated Press.
- Laurie Goodstein (February 4, 2007). "Enter the Dutch ‘Infidel,’ Faithful to Herself". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- Penny Wark (January 31, 2007). "My life as an infidel". London: The Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- Deroy Murdock. "Who Says "Ladies First"?". National Review Online.