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Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Quotes

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Famous Ayaan Hirsi Ali Quotes

“I assume the closest members of my family don't actually want to kill me, but the truth is that I have shamed and hurt them; they have to deal with the outrage that my public statements cause, and undoubtedly some members of my clan do want to kill me for that.”

WantCausesHurtDealsTruth IsMembersMy FamilyAssumingStatementsClosestKill MeOutrageClans
Book:Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
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“Many people in Europe and the U.S. dispute the thesis that we are living through a clash of civilisations between Islam and the west. But a radical minority of Muslims firmly believes that Islam is under siege, and is committed to winning the holy war it has declared against the West.”

PeopleBelieveWarWinningHolyEuropeWestIslamCommittedRadicalMinoritiesDisputesClashCivilisationThesisSiegeHoly WarUnder Siege
Book:Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
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“I cannot emphasize enough how wrongheaded this is. Withholding criticism and ignoring differences are racism in its purest form. Yet these cultural experts fail to notice that, through their anxious avoidance of criticizing non-Western countries, they trap the people who represent these cultures in a state of backwardness. The experts may have the best of intentions, but as we all know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

PeopleKnowsMayCountryStatesEnoughFormCultureDifferencesHellFailingRacismCriticismIntentionWesternExpertsCriticizeAnxiousTrapsAvoidanceGood IntentionsWithholding
Author:Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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“It was Friday, July 24, 1992, when I stepped on the train. Every year I think of it. I see it as my real birthday: the birth of me as a person, making decisions about my life on my own. I was not running away from Islam, or to democracy. I didn't have any big ideas then. I was just a young girl and wanted some way to be me; so I bolted into the unknown.”

ThinkingWayYearsPersonsIdeasRealBigsRunningWantedYoungGirlMy OwnDecisionDemocracyBirthTrainIslamRunning AwayFridayJulyMaking DecisionsBig Ideas
Book:Infidel
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“What matters is abuse, and how it is anchored in a religion that denies women their rights as humans. What matters is that atrocities against women and children are carried out in Europe. What matters is that governments and societies must stop hiding behind a hollow pretense of tolerance so that they can recognize and deal with the problem.”

HumansChildrenMatterProblemGovernmentDealsBehindsRightsEuropeAbuseDenyToleranceHidingWhat MattersHollowPretenseAtrocitiesGovernment And Society
Book:Infidel
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“The veil deliberately marks women as private and restricted property, nonpersons. The veil sets women apart from men and apart from the world; it restrains them, confines them, grooms them for docility. A mind can be cramped just as a body may be, and a Muslim veil blinkers both your vision and your destiny. It is the mark of a kind of apartheid, not the domination of a race but of a sex.”

MenWorldMindKindMayBodySexRaceVisionDestinyMarkPropertyVeilsDominationOur DestinyYour DestinyApartheidBlinkers
Book:Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
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“This was not an attack by a mentally deranged, lone-wolf gunman. This was not an 'un-Islamic' attack by a bunch of thugs - the perpetrators could be heard shouting that they were avenging the Prophet Muhammad. Nor was it spontaneous. It was planned to inflict maximum damage, during a staff meeting, with automatic weapons and a getaway plan. It was designed to sow terror, and in that it has worked.”

PlansHeardWeaponsMeetingsTerrorBunchDamageProphetIslamicStaffSpontaneousMaximumMuhammadNotableShoutingLoneThugPerpetratorsDerangedLone WolfProphet MuhammadAvengingGetawaysGunmenAutomatic Weapons
Author:Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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“There can only be one answer to this hideous act of jihad against the staff of Charlie Hebdo. It is the obligation of the Western media and Western leaders, religious and lay, to protect the most basic rights of freedom of expression, whether in satire on any other form. The West must not appease, it must not be silenced. We must send a united message to the terrorists: Your violence cannot destroy our soul.”

SoulFormReligiousAnswersUnitedLeaderRightsViolenceMediaExpressionProtectMessagesLaysWestWesternTerroristObligationSatireStaffCharlieNotableHideousFreedom Of ExpressionJihadAppeaseBasic RightsCharlie HebdoWestern Media
Author:Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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