Ian Hirsi Ali about his life in the United States and his new book

We have exactly fifteen minutes and the interview is conducted in English. “I have trouble speaking Dutch,” he apologizes. “I can understand every word, but I’m too slow to respond correctly in Dutch.” After all, it was already fifteen years ago that the former politician crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

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Ian Hirsi Ali was born in November 1969 in Mogadishu, Somalia. She is being raised in Islam. At the age of 22 he married his cousin, who then moved to the Netherlands via Germany. There Hirsch Ali studies political science at Leiden University. She eventually ends up in the lower house for VVD.

From her first day to her last day, she made a fuss in the backyard. Not only because she changed, but also because of her claims about Islam. In addition, he is producing in 2004 Submission With Theo Van Gogh not killed by Mohammed B due to Islamic criticism film. Hirsi Ali is also in danger, which means he will have to stay in hiding for a while.

Meanwhile, there is confusion over how Hirsi Ali acquired Dutch nationality. VVT member Rita Verdong, who was then Minister of Immigration and Coordination, took her passport with her. He will return to this under pressure from parliament, after which the Falconette II cabinet will fall short of what remains of Velcong’s minister. In May 2006, Hirsi Ali himself decides to leave the chamber “upset and disappointed”.

Ian Hirsi Ali with Minister Salm at the farewell reception in The Hague in 2006:

She wants an international forum for her views on the emancipation of Muslim women and the complex relationship between Islam and the West. Her book Prey, What we talk to her about, fits with it.

Lives in the United States

We have been listening to you for a long time! How are you, how are things in the United States?

Ian Hirsi Ali: “It’s going well. That’s right, it’s been a long time coming. It explains why I have so much difficulty speaking Dutch. But I love it in the United States and now lead a much quieter life. I work for a think tank, I am married and I have two sons aged three and nine. It’s not as exciting as I used to live in the Netherlands. I am much less worried by the media now. I have a normal life just like everyone else. ”

Did you miss the Netherlands?

“Of course I miss it. I especially miss my friends, I had built a career in the Netherlands. I also miss cycling. I have lived in places like Leiden, Amsterdam and The Hague, and there is something very sweet about the Netherlands. But I have a happy life in the United States. I’m not sad or anything, I just think about it when it’s heard. I think it would be nice to go back there and spend some time there, but I really enjoy my life here. I do not return to the Netherlands often. The last was in 2015. ”

Security

In the Netherlands you were not safe in the end, you got security. Still like that?

“It’s still like that, but I’m not allowed to talk about it. It’s the protocol in situations like this; you are not allowed to describe it.”

Do you feel well, do you feel safe?

“I feel safe and secure, but I can’t say anything else about it.”

Being a mother and being afraid for your own safety is very difficult.

Alexandra Reid: “Sorry, but you can no longer ask questions about security. The next question. “

Motherhood and politics

What has changed is that you are now a mother. How is that?

Hirsi Ali laughs proudly. “Motherhood is something that dominates your whole life. Especially when your kids are still young. This Life changes. When I lived in the Netherlands, when I still had no children, my life was always first. Now I understand what people are saying when you say you need to balance work and family. Truth be told, being a mother is not really a balance. Motherhood comes first, then everything comes. But it’s getting easier now that the kids are a little older. ”

As for life, you are no longer in politics and now you have a new president for your ‘new’ home. How do you see both governments?

“Because I’m not in politics now, I’m not focused on that anymore. I notice it from a distance. I look at the things Trump did better and what he did better. Trump’s cabinet was above all else Entertainment. But under his leadership the economy functioned very well. It was so confusing. Strange tweets from him, those arguments with the media … he drove people crazy. ”

“Trump’s attitude made me very sad when he lost the election, and he did not want to congratulate Pita. Then Capitol was attacked, all of that violence … it’s so terrifying.

Do you have more confidence in Biden’s cabinet?

“The Biden cabinet will do more I woke up Should be. They are more interested in identity politics. This, I think, is more than the Trump cabinet, because identity politics divides a country into groups. It is good to emphasize unity. ”

Thread

That too is something that more or less describes in your book.

The book is about the colonization of Islam in Europe. Large groups of Muslim men are coming there, which has an impact on the safety of women. There is a lot of misconduct against women by some Muslim men in some neighborhoods and public places. Women, like men, do not come from their own country. Because of this I have talked to women who no longer dare to go to the park, enter a particular street, or dare to take the train. They think twice before taking action. It is not possible, it will not be allowed. ”

“When I came to the Netherlands, women normally thought that public places were safe. And logical. But that is changing now. We have to talk about it and we have to fight to make it safe again. “

How do you think we can solve that problem?

Alexandra: “Sorry, but this is your last question, otherwise we will end.”

Hirsi Ali: “We need to create good integration plans for these people to follow. So they learn what the terms and values ​​of the country they want to go to are. In fact, I understand if you come from a country where rights are not equal and you are fighting with it. But that is why you are compelled to follow this plan. For me that is the responsibility of every country. You have to follow new rules and values ​​and if that doesn’t happen, there will be consequences. Do you refuse to obey the new rules? Do you constantly engage in misconduct against women? Then you have to leave the country. This is even what I say to my children: You all have to behave properly. We all have to live with the consequences of our choices. ”

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