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| Europe |
| A Critic of Muslim Intolerance Faces Loss of Dutch Citizenship |
| 2006-05-16 |
| PARIS, May 15 — The Dutch government on Monday abruptly threatened to revoke the citizenship of one of the country's most prominent members of Parliament, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born woman who arrived as a refugee 14 years ago. The minister of immigration, Rita Verdonk, said Ms. Hirsi Ali had provided inaccurate information when applying for political asylum in 1992 and seeking Dutch citizenship in 1997. As a result, the minister said, both applications were invalid. Ms. Hirsi Ali has been given six weeks to respond. The move is likely to provoke a widespread reaction because Ms. Hirsi Ali, 36, has faced repeated death threats since 2002, when she became well known because of her outspoken criticism of conservative Islam and of the mistreatment of Muslim women, even in The Netherlands. She was the writer of a short television documentary on violence against Muslim women made by the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered in an Amsterdam street in 2004 by a Dutch-Moroccan who said his victim had insulted Islam. The killer pinned a note to the body of Mr. van Gogh saying that Ms. Hirsi Ali would be next. Long before Mr. van Gogh's death, Ms. Hirsi Ali had been provided with full-time bodyguards by the Dutch government and had been living in a series of safe houses. Despite that, she continued speaking and writing on abuse of women in Islam and her view that the religion promotes intolerance. "I'm speechless," Ms. Hirsi Ali said in a telephone interview from The Hague after she had received a call from Ms. Verdonk on Monday night. . Ms. Hirsi Ali said she considered the move to take away her citizenship, leaving her stateless, as an attempt to silence her. "I have been fully committed to my work in Parliament, and I have taken many risks," she said. "This will make others think harder before they speak out." She said she was baffled by the unexpected uproar over her asylum procedure because she had told the story numerous times in interviews and in her own essays about how she changed her last name from Magan to Ali and changed her date of birth when she arrived in the Netherlands at age 22, escaping from an arranged marriage. She tried to hide at first "in case my father or my brother or my husband looked for me with bad intentions," she said. "I'm now being picked on for lying, but I have admitted this for years." She said she discussed the matter with the leaders of the conservative political party VVD when they invited her to run for Parliament. Her difficulty began over the weekend after a television documentary retraced her steps and she once more said on camera that she had changed some facts on arriving in The Netherlands. As elections approach, the debate about immigration in The Netherlands has become increasingly tense, with Ms. Verdonk taking an ever harder line and recently expelling would-be immigrants who failed to meet the criteria for political asylum. Ms. Hirsi Ali has also come under criticism. Opponents say she has polarized the immigration debate, and some have called for her to be deported. She said she would resign from Parliament on Tuesday and speed up her intended departure for the United States, where she has applied for a job at the American Enterprise Institute. She had intended to serve out her mandate, she said. But in April she was notified that she would have to vacate her secure government apartment because her neighbors won a lawsuit complaining that her presence exposed them to risk. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #24 Try Icelandic for some real surname fun. |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-05-16 21:31 |
| #23 On a historical note, fixed family names came about as a result of government Bureacracie's need to keep track of people. In many places they remain a flexible concept. I recall a friend of mine from south India telling me, that she needed a family name to get a passport, so she took her father's given name. The situation in Indonesia is similar where most people only use one name and will refer to their ancestry in the same way Hirst Ali does. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-05-16 18:59 |
| #22 Any man who lucky enough to marry her would presumably have his surname added to this (from her resignation statement): I am Ayaan, the daughter of Hirsi, who is the son of a man who took the name of Magan. Magan was the son of Isse, who was the son of Guleid, who was the son of Ali. He was the son of WaiÂ’ays, who was the son of Muhammad. He was the son of Ali, who was the son of Umar. Umar was the son of Osman, who was the son of Mahamud. This is my clan, and therefore, in Somalia, this is my name: Ayaan Hirsi Magan Isse Guleid Ali WaiÂ’ays Muhammad Ali Umar Osman Mahamud. A link to the whole statement is available at Little Green Footballs (my attempt to put the link in this comment was unsuccessful). |
| Posted by: ryuge 2006-05-16 13:58 |
| #21 God, forgive me. I despise the euros. Truly despise them. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-05-16 12:32 |
| #20 I wish her every personal happiness, too. It certainly wasn't my intention to discourage it. It is her decision, completely. |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-05-16 12:28 |
| #19 Other blog commentary (I think Dhimmi Watch) sez the Netherlands may strip her of her Dutch citizenship and attempt to deport her to Somailia. If she loses her Dutch passport, it may make her move to the US problematic if not impossible. Folks, ya gotta vote GOP this fall. The nutbars on the left have been sharpening their swords with bile, venom, and blind hatred for six years now. We can't afford to unleash them at this time. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-05-16 12:21 |
| #18 mhw, you are a love. Thank you for being a matchmaking ray of sunshine on this dreary day. Jules, Ms. Hirsi has been single a looooong time. It says something that, when she already has a job waiting for her, that she trusts America enough to think that here she can finally find personal as well as professional happiness. How long must she wait before she applies for American citizenship? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-05-16 12:14 |
| #17 "I'm speechless," Ms. Hirsi Ali said in a telephone interview Me too. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2006-05-16 12:05 |
| #16 not tougue in cheek It is true she won't be here long enough to date until Sept or Oct. It is also true she will do a fair amount of traveling and put in a lot of hours on research and the like so she won't be able to have a clingy relationship. However, policy heroines can have a life too. Michelle Malkin is married and has kids. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-05-16 11:49 |
| #15 Phew. That was freaking me out! :) Ayaan-You are a hero to many. Hang in there-people want to help you out of this nightmare. |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-05-16 10:44 |
| #14 Jules, I think that mhw's post might be *tounge in cheek*. Be sure to post the address of AEI, so I can send flowers too. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-05-16 10:42 |
| #13 "Ayaan is looking to meet guys in the Washington DC area; freethinkers, preferrably moslem ancestry, in their 30s with a decent job and a sense of humor." You gotta be kidding. Her only legitimization in the country is gonna be by relationship to a man? That's only marginally better than what was offered to her in the first place by her Somali parents. If that is true, I wonder about her state of mind right now. I hope she comes here and hope she meets a nice man and has children with him, if that's what she wants. But that shouldn't be her escape hatch out of a Dutch deathtrap. |
| Posted by: Jules 2006-05-16 10:09 |
| #12 You gotta love the |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2006-05-16 09:49 |
| #11 This lady rocks. My older brother in DC is single. Unfortunately for her we have no muslim background other then busting muzzy balls at gas stations back in Dearborn. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-05-16 08:55 |
| #10 I'm violating Godwin's Law here, but I think it has to be said. The people tossing her out would also have notified the Gestapo of the hiding place of Anne Frank. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2006-05-16 08:36 |
| #9 Last night I spoke to one of Ayaan Hirsi's American friends who helped arrange the AEI gig. Ayaan is looking to meet guys in the Washington DC area; freethinkers, preferrably moslem ancestry, in their 30s with a decent job and a sense of humor. I know a few like that (or close to it) but I don't think they can deal with the fact that she is both intelligent and somewhat famous. For those who are into physical beauty, Ayaan is a size 2 or 4, a great smile. She will need to learn a bit about American makeup and fashion but that's easy. Before they get a date with Ayaan they will have to be interviewed by two or three fellows that Ayaan trusts - yes, I admit that's another turn off. Title your e-mail "Date with Ayaan". |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-05-16 08:07 |
| #8 C n P here: May 15, 2006 Netherlands: Hirsi Ali "Was Never Dutch" Minister Verdonk tried to play the "tough on Islamism" card for a while. But she has proven herself to be the worst Dhimmi of all. She is selling her soul for 'peace' but doesn't know the Muslims don't pay those debts: Ayaan Not Dutch; According To Dutch Minister Ayaan Hirsi Ali received her Dutch passport on false grounds. This wrote minister Verdonk in a letter to the VVD-MP. [...] The definitive results (re: of the investigation) will come later, but on the basis of the broadcast of the tv-show Zembla and the "now known facts", Hirsi Ali is "concidered as not having reveived the Dutch nationality" according to Verdonk. [...] Not having a Dutch passport will mean that Hirsi Ali is falsely a member of Parliament. Hirsi Ali has six weeks to (go in) appeal to the letter from Verdonk.[...] Shameless, shameless cowards. http://westernresistance.com/ |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-05-16 05:41 |
| #7 who will speak out for the oppressed muslim women now? No one in the Netherlands. That's the point. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-05-16 05:31 |
| #6 This is terrible. I suppose if you're going to crack down on immigrants you cant very well leave them a loaded gun to say: well look at Hirsi Ali, she lied, but she stays why can't I? But seriously she should apply again and they should expedite the process and give her refugee status IMMEDIATELY. she was a national treasure. who will speak out for the oppressed muslim women now? |
| Posted by: anon1 2006-05-16 04:41 |
| #5 In 2005, 188,000 children were born in the Netherlands, a decrease of 6,000 with 2004. 2005 recorded 137,000 deaths. In 2005, 121,000 Dutch emigrated, mostly to the neighboring countries Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom and to the Netherlands Antilles. About half of the emigrants were ethnic Dutch; the other half are both Western and non-Western foreigners returning to their country of birth, or rejected asylum seekers. www.answers.com |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-05-16 02:03 |
| #4 This is a disgusting episode - which will become a signal chapter in the History of the Fall of Europe. The Dutch Govt is riddled with dhimmis - and soon-to-be dhimmis. That none of them seems willing to step forward and bitch-slap Verdonk (how appropriate) and her co-cowards slams the door, IMHO. Will the Dutch people allow such scum to continue to grease the slide? Same goes for all of the other Europeans, are you also gutless? |
| Posted by: Thrunter Ulaling6166 2006-05-16 01:11 |
| #3 Not the lying part. The part about getting rid of people ... Ah, you guys are smart. You know what I mean. |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2006-05-16 00:43 |
| #2 She will be a credit for the US of A, I have no doubt. But, like Clinton, don't be mistaken that she got shot by the gun she supplied her enemies. Lying on her emigration visa, and being part of a party makes that one of their tenants? |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2006-05-16 00:41 |
| #1 We should all send flowers to her at the American Enterprise Institute to welcome her here, as well as make sure her ideas get the exposure they deserve in the future. It does make you wonder if she foreshadows a wave of intelligent, productive European refugees like the one we benefited from starting in the 1930's. |
| Posted by: ryuge 2006-05-16 00:37 |