Infidel

Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Rating:  

Mum gave me this book a while back and I read it earlier this year, just forgot to put it on The Lemon…  I’d read about Ali once or twice in the media during her times as a politician in Holland, so I was aware before I started reading of the controversy she’d caused due to her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith.  As the book discusses, once she was thrust into the public eye in the Netherlands she was forced to live under constant protection to avoid persecution from Muslims as a result of her public criticism of Islam.  The book chronicles Ali’s childhood in Africa, the trials and tribulations she endured growing up in Somalia, life in Saudi Arabia and eventual flight from an arranged marriage in Canada to the safe haven of Holland.  Once in Holland her involvement with politics and controversial opinions about the Islamic faith saw her gain enough notoriety to run for office and get elected to Dutch parliament.  She writes about her life and especially the Islamic faith with a lot of passion and casts Islam in a less than favorable light throughout the book; I tried to keep in mind whilst reading that the book was her opinion, an opinion that has been biased by a life of persecution and mistreatment at the hand of a select few who happen to be Muslim.  I’m no religious scholar, but I’m sure there’s another side to the faith that’s cast in such an unfavorable light by the popular media and books such as this.  Regardless, I enjoyed the book, another piece chronicling an amazing life…