A group of Muslim women have created a powerful video addressing the internationally recognised author and Islamic critic public Ayaan Hirsi Ali. One of the most well known works of Ayaan Hirsi Ali is her film ‘submission’ which depicts Muslim women as being subjugated to abuse and suffering as a result of religion. The film caused a huge amount of controversy and provoked the assassination of the director Theo Van Gogh. Ayaan has also publicly spoken out many times about how she believes that Islamic law is ‘inherently hostile to women’ and described Muslim women as 'irrational' and 'docile' (see below).
The women in the video criticising Ayaan's position insist that she does not represent them or their fight for freedom. They accuse her of having built a lucrative career on touring the world to speak out against Islam without having an in depth academic understanding of the religion, acting as a puppet of western interests. They also cirticise her discourse on Islam as being based on the language of colonialism and patriarchy.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was due to perform on a talkshow today in Australia but cancelled last miniute. Organisers ABC Q&A announced this on their twitter citing “a succession of organisational lapses” as the reason, however there has been speculation over fears of her life being the real reason.
SE
Follow the Loop on Twitter and Facebook
