"...September 11, mark my words, was the beginning of the end of Islam as we know it."

This quote by Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a good example of her directness and courage in speaking the truth as she has learned it from living, study and reflection. Born a Muslim in 1969 in Mogadishu, Somalia, Ms. Ali endured a long and arduous struggle to overcome the damaging influences of her youth. In this brief collection of essays she succinctly defines the issues at the heart of the modern culture clash between Islam and the West. With remarkable clarity she uses Western Enlightenment reason to expose the dark, backward, superstituous and cruel side of Islamic thought and practice.

With this publication Ayaan Hirsi Ali joins the growing number of female voices on the Western side of the clash along with Bat Ye'or, Brigitte Gabriel, Phyliss Chesler, Wafa Sultan, Oriana Fallaci and others. Her willingness to share the specifics of her hellish experiences growing up in the smothering cloister of an Islamic family and culture makes her writing vivid, real and unique.

A member of the Dutch parliament, Ms. Ali has been under attack for misrepresenting the facts about how she came to The Netherlands. The details of this "tempest in a teapot" are available on the Internet, along with her response. One gets the distinct impression that Ms. Ali has too large and loud a voice for a small European country that is crippled by multiculturalism and fearful of the growing numbers of Islamists within its borders.

I learned on the Internet today that Ms. Ali will officially announce she is leaving her position as a Member of Parliament and is moving to the United States. She is going to work for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a Washington think tank founded in 1943.

It has been a long trek for Ms. Ali from Mogadishu, Somalia to the United States of America. Given her fervent belief in the freedom of the individual I'm certain she will find America to be the home of her inner affinity.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali may very well become an American. The fearful citizens of Holland have essentially stabbed her in the back. Engaging in nit-picky legalism, they have declared Ali to be an illegal alien due to her white lies to get into the country (at the time, she was escaping an impending forced marriage). This is, of course, similar to a traffic cop ticketing somebody for going 55 1/4 miles per hour in a 55 per hour zone. The overwhelming likely reason is that she is forcing the Dutch to honestly confront the threat of Islamic nihilism. It is something this nation of cowards prefers not to do. Capitulating to thugs like Adolph Hitler and Muslim hard-liners is their normal response to evil.

The stereotypical male chauvinist pig of Western origins is usually a raving liberal feminist next to Muslim traditionalists. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and realized early in life that women are second class citizens within her social milieu. Female circumcision is common. A woman's sexuality is perceived to be dangerous to men. The latter are supposedly unable to control themselves and therefore are deemed essentially guiltless if they sexually abuse females even within their own families! The author soon learned that the Dutch are hypocrites and sniveling wimps. Protecting women's rights might be the official policy---but the politically correct adherence to "multiculturalism" is considered to be of far greater importance. When push comes to shove, Holland's legal and political institutions will do little to curtail the misbehavior of male Muslims. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was a close friend and partner of the murdered Theo van Gogh. The same ideological extremists now wish to put her to death. Ali's book is not pleasant reading. It will enrage you. The Caged Virgin is a harsh reminder that much of Europe is doomed. Moreover, countries like Holland only have themselves to blame. The Dutch majority are truly not worthy of respect. We Americans must make sure the same thing doesn't happen to us.

David Thomson
Flares into Darkness