Infidel: My Life
| Company type | Autobiography |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Ayaan Hirsi Ali |
| Products | Book |
Infidel: My Life is a 2006 autobiography authored by Somali-Dutch activist and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Upon release, the book generated significant controversy and resulted in death threats directed at Hirsi Ali during the early 2000s.
Synopsis
In this memoir, Hirsi Ali narrates her early years spent in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, followed by her escape to the Netherlands where she applied for political asylum. She describes her academic pursuits at Leiden University and outlines her political trajectory—beginning with the Labour Party and later moving to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. The book covers her parliamentary election, her partnership with filmmaker Theo van Gogh on the film Submission, and the aftermath of his assassination. The account concludes by addressing disputes related to her asylum request and citizenship.
Reception
The Dutch edition achieved commercial success, with its first print run sold out within two days. A review in de Volkskrant expressed widespread empathy for Hirsi Ali’s challenging past. The German translation, titled "My Life, My Freedom," reached the top 20 bestseller list in Der Spiegel.
The 2007 English version was met with considerable praise. Reviewer Christopher Hitchens of The Sunday Times described it as a "remarkable book" and contributed the foreword to the 2008 paperback edition. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Anne Applebaum commended both the memoir and its author in The Washington Post, highlighting their distinctiveness. The New York Times characterized it as a "brave, inspiring and beautifully written memoir," while Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria referred to it as "an amazing book by an amazing person."
External links
- "Defiant Infidel: An Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali" featured on the AEI platform.
- Excerpts
- Reviews
- Sandip Roy, "The High Price of Freedom", San Francisco Chronicle, February 24, 2007
- Joel Whitney, "Un-Veiled", The Village Voice
- William Grimes, "No Rest for a Feminist Fighting Radical Islam", The New York Times, February 14, 2007
- "Dark secrets", The Economist, February 8, 2007
- Anne Applebaum, "The Fight for Muslim Women", The Washington Post, February 4, 2007
- Christopher Hitchens, "A voice that will not be silenced", The Sunday Times, London, February 4, 2007
- Andrew Anthony, "Taking the fight to Islam", The Observer, London, February 4, 2007
- 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, "Enter the Dutch ‘Infidel,’ Faithful to Herself", The New York Times
- Penny Wark, "My life as an infidel", The Times, London
- Deroy Murdock, "Who Says 'Ladies First'?", National Review Online