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| Europe |
| Freedom fighter |
| 2006-06-03 |
| Under threat of death, bodyguards always near, Dutch politician and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali keeps on fearlessly criticizing Islam. Sitting regally at a small table in 19, the tony cafe atop Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, Ayaan Hirsi Ali smiles as if the world were a peaceful place, and all people brothers and sisters. Slim, black, beautiful and stylish, she lifts her espresso cup to her lips slowly, with a princess' sense of self. Waitresses flit about. Wealthy sorts chat across their overpriced breakfasts. Hirsi Ali, 36 looking like 26, turns heads. To the business guys eyeing her from other tables, her looks compute as "model," or maybe "TV anchor." Hey, is that Iman? Naomi Campbell? Well, they're easier guesses than the second coming of Spinoza. Hirsi Ali may be the boldest rationalist rebel the Netherlands has seen since that 17th-century philosopher got himself excommunicated for rejecting (among other things) the Amsterdam Jewish community's belief in immortality of the soul. |
| Posted by:ryuge |