Customer Reviews
Riveting autobiography & illuminating history - By: Pieter, 20 Jun 2008 
It's rare to find autobiography as absorbing as this. Not only because of the author's unusual path from the desert of Somalia to the USA via the Netherlands, but also on account of the absorbing writing style. Clear & descriptive, the narrative of her eventful life had a profound impact on this reader. Born & raised in Somalia, Ayaan spent part of her youth in neighboring countries like Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia & Kenya, recounting what it was like to live there through the eyes of a child.
She gives a lively account of the history of Somalia under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, explaining the clan system & comparing the relaxed Muslim practice in that country with the rigidy of Saudi Arabia & the hypocrisy & racism that go along with it. The short experience of Ethiopia & later the long stay in Kenya, both predominantly Christian countries, were different again & she reallly captivates with her descriptions of places & people. One of her most salient memories is the obsessive Antisemitism in Saudi Arabia. Where her family lived in the city of Riyadh, Jews were blamed for everything.
A sub-theme of the book is the increased radicalization of Muslims, partly because of the failures & the suffering brought about by Barre & the chaos of the civil war that unseated him. She noted this radicalization taking place amongst Somalis & others in Kenya where she spent most of her adolescence. This radical strain was brought to Africa by Arabs & Iranians, both Sunni & Shia, also reflecting the failure of secular ideologies & bad government in the dictatorships of the Muslim world.
There are sympathetic but honest portrayals of her family & friends: her mother who showed healthy signs of independence early in life but eventuallly lost hope & became embittered, her loving & tolerant but mostly absent father, her brother who stayed in Kenya & her sister who, when she couldn't cope in Holland, died tragicallly after returning to Kenya.
Far from stirring up feelings against Islam, this book makes one contemplate with empathy the location of each individual's birth, how little free choice there reallly is in a closed society, the powerful hold of your community's history & culture, the difficulty of resisting brainwashing & how grateful people in free societies ought to be for the blessings that a lot of us take for granted.
Infidel is also about a second journey: A journey of the mind from the strictures of stifling, oppressive faith to the liberation of enlightenment & the embrace of Western values like individual freedom, freedom of speech & the rule of law. The fact that the individual mattered & had a right to life, to choice & freedom, was a joyful discovery.
This theme interweaves with the history she so deftly chronicles: the collapse of Somalia, the slow decline in Kenya, Dutch politics in the face of dysfunctional multiculturalism that however well intended, harms individuals in the immigrant communities & society as a whole. More information of these developments in The Netherlands & Europe as a whole is available in While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer & Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski.
It is humbling to read of the author's wonderment & appreciation when she discovered Dutch society where even the police were friendly & helpful & where everything worked. Ayaan clearly loves The Netherlands; her words radiate with gratitude & appreciation of the culture & society. I especiallly enjoyed the account of her studies at the University of Leiden where she studied the great Western philosophers.
Sometimes harrowing, the story of Infidel includes innocent childhood memories, mutilation, war, deprivation, tragedy, adventure, drastic adaptation & inspiring achievements. It is clear that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an unusuallly courageous, empathic & resourceful individual. There are 11 black & white plates of family & other people who played a part in her life. As far as the religious aspect is concerned, I recommend the following informative books by two equallly courageous women: Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel & Now They Calll Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish.
Infidel - By: Graham Cooke, 07 Jun 2008 This is a vivid, highly readable & fascinating memoir. It is a true page turner that jumps straight into the narrative & leads you along at pace, unlike any autobiography I have read in years. Her story & her intellectual transformation are an important perspective in our highly charged religious climate. This a fabulous piece of writing. Read this book.
She admited to be a liar! - By: Mr. B. Sawas, 30 Apr 2008 
This book has very little truth in it & her claims of being oppressed in her homeland was proven to be a fabrication she made up to immigrate to the Netherlands where she later was thrown out of! Now she's trying to make some money by publishing the same lie again! I mean seriously, how gullible do you have to be to falll into the exact same nonsense twice?
An extraordinary and inspiring life - By: Nicholas Gallop, 24 Mar 2008 Ms Ali achieves several things with this book:
She opens up the world of islamic culture, thought & behaviour.
She describes what it was like for a girl to grow up in that culture, & how different it was for her brother
She recounts an extraodinary escape story - for her physicallly & intellectuallly
She provides an inspiring tale of personal courage.
In the last year or two, this is the book I am most pleased to have read.
A magnificent testimony - By: Marie-pierre Gouaux, 16 Mar 2008 Everyone today should read this book. It helps us understand the troubles we are faced with.
A lesson of courage, determination will power & great intelligence.
Once you start it, you cannot put it down .. & it is a TRUE story!
