As a child, former Dutch Parliament member and filmmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali fervently embraced Islam.
The controversial best-selling author told members of the Vanderbilt community gathered in the Student Life Center on Monday night that when she wore her robe and covered her hair, she felt powerful; however, as Ali aged, she said, "a deep part of me rebelled."
During her presentation on "Islam and the West," the first of the three-part IMPACT Symposium series, Ali told the audience, "My desire to be obedient was in war with me and my desire to be independent." What had initially provided her with strength, she later challenged with questioning. She said she believed this was not disrespectful but constructive for the progression of any religion.
"It is silence," she said, "that leads to large masses of people who can't think for themselves."
For instance, in response to a common Islamic belief that women should cover themselves to prevent temptation, Ali questioned, "What about the men? Shouldn't they cover themselves too?"
Ali said she was especially torn by these two conflicting attitudes when her father arranged for her to marry a man she said she did not know or love. Instead of meeting him in Toronto, Canada, as planned, she instead traveled to Holland. There she was openly critical of Islam, particularly her belief in its mistreatment of women and the human rights violations that stem from it.
Because of Islam, Ali argued, "women are kept ignorant and dependent," two traits that mothers pass down to their daughters. Ali also spoke of Muslim women who are confined to their homes and forbidden to leave without permission from their husbands. She emphasized the prevalence of domestic violence, as women who are found with unrelated male chaperones are often punished. In addition, Ali stressed that often this punishment results in murder, a practice referred to as "honor killings," because of the shame the women bring on their families.
Ali did, however, recognize that not all Muslims are guilty of these crimes against women and stressed the difference between individual Muslims and the philosophy of Islam. Many Muslims, she noted, do not abide by all the ideologies of Islam. It is the ideology of Islam itself that she blames.
Because of her strong anti-Islamic stance, Ali's life was threatened several times - but that did not stop her from persevering. She has continued to speak out against the incompatibility of Islam's belief system and the Western democratic philosophy even after her colleague Theo Van Gogh, with whom she teamed to produce the movie "Submission," was murdered on the streets of Amsterdam and a note threatening her life was left on Van Gogh's chest.
In democracy, she said, "we are all bound by the same laws." She does not believe this is the case in Islam since it is founded on the practice of submission to the will of Allah, and universal rights are often not extended to Muslim women and girls.
Ali now calls herself an atheist and strongly supports individual responsibility. She said she believes that a religion is worthy of respect if it provides its followers with happiness and does not infringe on human rights.
Following her speech, opportunity for several student questions arose. During this time, Ali was challenged by several Muslim students who indicated disagreement with her speech. She was accused of not telling both sides of the story and blaming Islam as a whole for individualized actions of certain Muslims. It was this portion of the presentation freshman Chelsea Mayo enjoyed the most.
"I thought the debate with Ali and the students asking questions about whether she was criticizing Islam as a whole or individual Muslims was interesting and a key point in her message," Mayo said.
Gen. John Abizaid, who served as commander of the U.S. Central Command for four years, will speak tonight about "Diplomacy, the Military and the Future of the Middle East" in the Student Life Center at 7 p.m.
