Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations [Paperback]

Hirsi Ali's previous book, 'Infidel', ranks as one of the best I've ever read. If it were a work of fiction, I would acclaim its writer as one of the greatest of our time. That it is also true makes it even more of a compelling read. 'Nomad' is its worthy successor in every way. Whereas 'Infidel' was a systematic account of her life, this book constitutes more of a compendious collection of her messages about women, integration of Muslims into Western society, and personal freedom. The result is a stunning thesis, drawing from a myriad of sources, to construct an argument of compelling, inexorable logic, while still retaining the compassion and humanity of its predecessor.

The book itself is divided into four sections. In the first, she gives accounts of the lives of her immediate family members, and describes in each case how a combination of tribal mentalities and the oppressions of Islam have ruined their lives. In the second, she tells of how she came to leave the Netherlands, why she chose to live in the United States, and the status of Islam there. In the third, she explains each of the three reasons which she believes hinder integration of Muslims into Western society. In the fourth, she details what we can do about it. (All of this is listed and explained in the Introduction to the book.) Some of the book is derived from her own personal experiences, other parts are from the experiences of people she knows, and some is from other sources. All of it is moving, fascinating and inspiring.

It is a rare book that can simultaneously horrify you, with its blunt, uncensored, hard truths, and uplift you with its message of reason, hope, and Enlightenment values. I couldn't recommend it more.

I admire Ayaan Hirsi Ali; she is, by all accounts, a remarkable woman. Born in Somalia and fluent in six languages, she grew up in a middle-class Somali family. Contrary to her father's wishes, she was circumcised at the age of seven by her grandmother. Her family was forced to flee Somalia after her father tried to depose the country's ruler; they finally settled in Nairobi, Kenya. En route to an arranged marriage in Canada, she sought asylum in the Netherlands. There, she studied political science at the University of Leiden, abandoned her ancestral Islamic faith and became a Member of Parliament (MP) under the banner of the VVD, a Dutch free-market, liberal party

This book is primarily an autobiography. Ayaan Hirsi Ali gives a fascinating account of her childhood home and her relatives. Her authoritarian father, Abeh, loved Ayaan and her sister, but was a violent taskmaster to Ayaan's older brother. Ayaan's mother, on the other hand, mollycoddled the brother; she seemed to value him above all because he was male. Ms. Ali's apostasy deeply hurt Abeh, but the bonds of parenthood could not separate them. Ms Ali describes a very moving scene: on his death bed in London, he (the father) sends for Ms. Ali. At last, they reconcile one week before her father passes away. Her troubled family history: her brother divorces his wife and becomes 'mad'; her cousin is infected with HIV, yet manages to deny ever having sex; another cousin, trapped in a dreary, poor immigrant neighbourhood in London, has abandoned all hopes of earthly happiness.

Ms. Ali does not shy away from addressing the failure of many immigrants in the Netherlands to integrate and become productive citizens. While working for the Dutch Social Services, Ayaan Hirsi Ali experienced the failure of the multiculturalist social model: incidences of domestic abuse--especially against women--were much higher among immigrants; school drop-out rates among immigrants were also appallingly high; and young Muslim immigrants seemed to fall prey to a virulent form of Fundamentalist Islam. She challenges the concept of multiculturalism and excoriates its left-wing high priests. Ms. Ali surmises that multiculturalism is an inherently racist concept because it assumes that immigrants' ancestral cultures/traditions are inherently inferior in the modern world and, therefore, need to be `protected' in the West. Ms. Ali's phrase: "...like an exotic mask in a smart modern museum".

Her thesis is that there is a dark, unspoken presence in the 'Muslim mind' (whatever that means) that prevents it from integrating into mainstream Western society: Islam. All strands of Islam, according to Ms. Ali, are fundamentally opposed to the values of modern post-Enlightenment society (individual responsibility, free thought, critical thinking). Ms. Ali's prescriptions for integrating Europe's immigrants, her 'Enlightenment Project':

1. TEACH MUSLIM KIDS TO THINK CRITICALLY. Because Muslims hold that the Quran is perfect and unchangeable, they do not question it. Children are taught to defer to authority to the detriment of critical thinking. Therefore, Muslim kids should be encouraged to question the Quran and the religious/political authority.

2. CONVERT MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS TO CHRISTIANITY (GENTLY). Christian churches, like the Roman Catholic Church, could 'evangelise' among immigrant communities by providing support services and counselling to immigrants. Ms. Ali reports that she had seen this form of benign evangelisation help some of her Somali co-refugees assimilate very well into Dutch society.

While the first proposal is hardly controversial, her second proposal may not sit very well with many; however, I think it is worth considering. Ms. Ali only argues that churches in Europe should compete to provide spiritual succour to immigrant families. The churches have the resources to compete for immigrant souls, so why do they leave the field to radical Islamists?

Ms. Ali's thought suffers one handicap: over-generalisation. She extrapolates her Somali Muslim experience tothe rest of the Muslim world, leaving no room for nuance. It beggars belief that the nomadic, animist Islam practised in Somalia is representative of global Islam. How about Islam as practiced in equally poor, but peaceful states such as Senegal, Mali and Ghana? Why do Senegalese Muslims not blow themselves up as readily as Somali Muslims do? How about countries with large Muslim populations such as India and Indonesia? Are they fundamentally opposed to modernity? If so, how come these countries have managed to sustain high growth rates in the past decade and are slowly pulling themselves out of poverty? How come many Indonesians successfully integrated into Dutch society? No, Islam in Somalia, with its umbilical connection to Saudi Arabia, is not the entire story.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali uses the hackneyed, ugly phrase, 'clash of civilisations'. What a pity that this phrase has gained so much currency. It assumes that the great civilisations (Islam, the Christian West, Hinduism, Chinese civilisation etc) are pitched in deep existential opposition to each other. Is that true? It is not clear to me that the world's civilisations are fatalistically doomed to clash. Case in point, Europe. After the World War II, no one gave Europe a chance to succeed; afterall, the experts said, European societies had been doomed to perennial conflict for over a thousand years. Yet, today, Europe is prosperous and somewhat united. What's more, Ms. Ali has christened herself with the toga of high-priest, presuming to speak for oppressed Muslim women in this Armageddonian clash of civilisations.

It is easy to blame Ayaan Hirsi Ali for giving intellectual respectability to Far Right political parties like the UK's BNP and Holland's PVV. However, it is intellectually dishonest to blame Ms. Ali for that. These political parties feed on a groundswell of popular discontent about how their countries are run. Instead, therefore, blame European political elites, who are perceived--fairly or unfairly--as been out of touch with the people. In many Western societies, there is a fear--legitimate or illegitimate--of, ahum, the visible Other. Politicians sweep this under the carpet at their peril.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali's grasp of post-Enlightenment thinking and Western history is admirable. In Nomad, she comes to terms with herself, her roots and her place in a world vastly different from that of her birth. She is undoubtedly an intelligent and courageous woman. Her worldview, however, is somewhat hollow, self-serving and alarmist (it is unclear to me that Islamic Fundamentalism is as great an existential threat to the West as Ms. Ali suggests). In my view, Nomad deserves three stars: two for the messenger and one for the message.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in muslim societies in Somalia, Saudi etc, and fled to Holland when her father tried to wed her to a man in Canada. Hirsi Ali is today one of the most prominent critics of islam. And the price for this is living with bodyguards under constant threat of death. If you want a feel-good or PC description of life under islam, this book is not for you.

After an introduction "Nomad" deals with Hirsi Alis' family, and the problematic relations with her father and mother after she chose to become an "infidel". This part is very interesting as it provides glimpses of life in a muslim family and culture. It is also a story of opression of women, physical violence, sexual taboos and the fear of hell.

The following part is about her move to USA. She really likes the US, but sees it as threatened from the inside by the rise of fundamentalist islam. She is met by angry muslims when holding speeches at universities (in one case, a girl in headscarf cried out "Who in hell gives you the right to talk about islam?". And another student replied: "The first amendment!". "That was inspiring", Hirsi Ali comments (p 135).) She also comments on how there are student activist groups for everything, but nothing for the right of muslim women, women fleeing islam or against violence in the name of islam.

She also delivers in depth criticism of islam as an opressive system where women are reduced to breeding machines under sex apartheid, and where people are taught to be submissive, afraid of allah, and not to question religious authority. This has created docile subjects, easily manipulated by radical imams.

The temperature rises when Hirsi Ali confronts western feminists who have failed to criticise the opression of women under islam. She also accuses multiculturalists to deny muslim children the opportunity break free from the shackles of religion and superstition. "In the real world, equal respect for all cultures doesn't translate into a rich mosaic /.../ It translates into closed pockets of oppression, ignorance and abuse." (p 261). The remedies she proposes are increased exposure of muslims to open debate and enlightenment values, and more active spread of christianity, which she sees as a more humane religion. This can seem surprising as Hirsi Ali declares herself to be an atheist.

Hirsi Ali has got many valid points and insights into the problem of islam, and islam in the West. After all, it is not those who criticise christianity or western values who have to use body guards 24-7, and live in fear. It is those who dare to criticise islam, like Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan, Soorah Hera, Irshad Manji, Salman Rushdie, Theo van Gogh, Lars Vilks and Kurt Westergaard. Just for voicing their opinions. Ayyan Hirsi Ali is a bright and very courageous human, the very opposite of those who condemn her. I recommend everyone to buy and read her book.