Infidel
I just finished the book entitled Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It is an autobiography of one woman’s childhood in various countries with a prominent Muslim population and her flee to Holland where she takes control of her life. She does an incredible job at outlining the differences between Islam from country to country, ethnicity to ethnicity, and tribe to tribe. The story is excellently told and empowering. Even though I do not venture to directly compare other religions to fundamental Islam, I do feel that anyone who was raised in an environment where scripture was interpreted as literal and abandonment of religion could cause shunning by family and community will be able to relate to Ayaan’s story on a cursory yet powerful level.
She eventually abandons Islam but details her journey out, and the cognitive dissonance that initiated this journey. For anyone who has dealt with religious paradox, contradiction and cognitive dissonance, this book is for you. Ayaan ends up making a short film with a man named Theo van Gogh who is shot, stabbed and has a letter impaled to his chest addressed to Ayaan as a result of the film.
This film was named Submission Part I
I am left conflicted by books like these. We are constantly told that Islam is a religion of peace. Yet Ayaan, a once devout Muslim, is a strong opponent of this statement. Furthermore, when I read the Qur’an, I find plenty of passages that justify violence and terrorism.