Infidel [L0053]

2007 - PB Excellent condition. Infidel shows the coming of age of this distinguished political superstar and champion of free speech as well as the development of her beliefs, iron will, and extraordinary determination to fight injustice. Raised in a strict Muslim family, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable countries ruled largely by despots. She escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree in political science, tried to help her tragically depressed sister adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim women and the reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Under constant threat, demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from family and clan, she refuses to be silenced. "Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story tells how a bright little girl evolved out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no story could be timelier or more significant."

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "What sets this book apart from other personal journeys is the captivating backdrop from which this fascinating story occurs. It takes you on a ride to a world that few Westerners know, from a perspective that few can even conceive and the courage of a woman that will not be denied."; "This is a taut and honest autobiographical portrait. It's poetic, sincere, and at times gritty. As a progressive Christian who was raised in the States in a Protestant home, I felt deep connections with Hirsi Ali's story. Her story is a story of struggle and the social consequences of political, gender, and racial oppression. This book is mainly about challenging the birthright of gender categories and instituting reform in Islam. Her argument is for human rights and social equality through progressive social reform not radical apostasy."; "This book will grab your imagination like no other, transplant you into a world you have probably never known, and introduce you to the intimate world of a Muslim family swept by circumstance all over Africa, Arabia, and Europe. The complex interaction of tribes, clans, cultures, extended families and nations (and their consequences) isn't dryly analyzed, it is woven into a personal drama with the momentum of a locomotive. The love of family rides perilously over the jarring railbed of refugee life, of ancient and modern Islamic conflicts, all of it recounted with real compassion in beautifully clear English. This multilingual immigrant needs no ghostwriter."