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.

This book should be read by every sensible politician. It shows what we are up against when asylum seekers (especially from Northern Africa and the Middle East)come to the country we live in. It would help them and us understand each other better and the things that could be done to help them integrate into a new society.

I'm a foreigner from Scotland living in Denmark and even I have had to accept that our societies can differ tremendously even though Scotland and Denmark are countries in Northern Europe.

George Rutherford

I admire Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is a truly 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 paternal grandmother. Her family was forced to flee Somalia after her father led an unsuccessful revolt to depose the country's ruler. She and her family 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 liberal party.

A VERY PERSONAL STORY
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, valuing him above her other children simply because he was male. Fast forward to Ms. Ali's life in the Netherlands where she finally abandoned her faith. Her 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 (Abeh) sends for Ms. Ali. At last, they reconcile one week before her father passes away.

In addition to her strained relationship with Abeh, Ms Ali had a very 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. Luckily for Ms Ali, living in the Netherlands - far from the poisonous influence of her Somali relatives - she flourishes and comes to terms with herself.

SHE IS NO SHRINKING VIOLET
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 traditions are inherently inferior in the modern world and, therefore, need to be 'protected' in the West "..like an exotic mask in a smart modern museum".

A FLAWED THESIS
Ms. Ali's main thesis is that there is a dark, unspoken presence in the 'Muslim mind' (whatever such a reductive term means) that prevents Muslim 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 solving the integration problem, her 'Enlightenment Project' as she calls it is:

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 thought. Only by teaching Muslim children to question the Koran will the stranglehold of religious authority be relieved.

2. CONVERT MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS TO CHRISTIANITY (GENTLY). Christian churches in Europe should not be afraid to 'contend for the souls' of Muslim immigrants. Churches, according to Ms. Ali, 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.

The first proposal is hardly controversial. Who opposes critical, independent thought? Why not teach every child to think critically and independently? The second proposal, however, may not sit well with many who take a dim view of the Church. However, her proposal is worth considering. If Church groups have the resources, social capital and heart to help immigrants acculturate to their new societies, why should they not compete to provide spiritual succour to immigrant families? The churches have the resources to compete for immigrant souls, so why leave the field to Islamists?

The trouble with Ms. Ali's thesis is that she blames the multiculturalist stance of Dutch elites for the inability of Muslims to integrate into Dutch society. The truth is more complex and multifactorial: political correctness, lip service to multiculturalism, conflation of immigration with asylum, poor immigration policies, and the secularisation of the power structure of Dutch society have all contributed to the problem. Like other European societies, Dutch society is struggling with issues of identity. Ms. Ali does not discuss these other trends. This is perhaps forgiveable since hers is not a sociology textbook, but an autobiography.

OVER-GENERALISATION
Ayaan Hirsi Ali's thought suffers from a more serious handicap: over-generalisation. She extrapolates her Somali Muslim experience to the rest of the Muslim world, leaving no room for nuance. It beggars belief so suppose that the nomadic, animist Islam practised in Somalia is representative of global Islam. How about Islam as practised in poor, but stable countries such as Senegal and Ghana? 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 is not the entire story.

In addition to hasty generalisation, Ayaan Hirsi Ali uses the ugly phrase, 'clash of civilisations'. The phrase, popularised by Professor Samuel Huntington (The Clash of Civilizations and The Remaking of World Order), assumes that the great civilisations are reducible to essentialist regligious categories (Islam, the Christian West, Hinduism, Chinese civilisation). And that these civilisations are pitched in deep existential conflict against each other. Is this true? It is not clear to me that this is the case. After the World War II, no one could have predicted that European societies, which had been at war with each other for centuries, could live in peace. Yet, today, Europe is prosperous and somewhat united. By using so facile a term as 'clash of civilisations', Ms. Ali exaggerates the failure - petty and grand - of multiculturalism in order to make her case. Yes, integration of muslim immigrants into Dutch society is an important social concern. No, failure to integrate does not a clash of civilisations make.

CONCLUSION
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; Nomad is a coming-of-age story. She is undoubtedly an intelligent and courageous woman - and I deeply respect her for that. However, her worldview - that the West faces an existential threat from Fundamentalist Islam abroad and within the West's borders - does not survive close scrutiny. Even though her gripe with multiculturalism is valid, her spin on its impact in Dutch society is facile and self-serving. Despite my admiration for Ms. Ali, I think Nomad deserves only three stars.