Denmark steps up, offers Hirsi Ali asylum
posted at 10:10 am on October 15, 2007 by Allahpundit
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And not just her, either. I don’t know if this is a reaction to the Mohammed cartoons fiasco or what, but the fact that they’re willing to spit at the dragon this way when they’re already on the hit list is hugely commendable.
Brian Mikkelsen, the Danish culture minister, has indicated the government would be willing to allow outspoken Dutch-Somali author Ayaan Hirsi Ali to live in Denmark under its protection from fanatical Muslims seeking to kill her.
Over the weekend Mikkelsen sent out a request to the country’s municipalities to invite the threatened author and filmmaker to live here. The move is supported by a recent parliament proposal to establish several ‘free cities’ for persecuted writers, a programme to be created with the support of the International City of Refuge Network…
Mikkelsen said the government would be willing to pay all the expenses relating to Ali’s residence in Denmark.
‘It’s obvious the protection of Hirsi Ali would be a substantial expense,’ he said. ‘But we have to view that from a positive standpoint.’
Quite so. But since the big A’s all about the fair-and-balanced, here’s commentary from a Muslim at Newsweek explaining, contra Hitchens, Rushdie, Sam Harris, and a parade of others, why Hirsi Ali has in fact completely betrayed Enlightenment values in her criticism of Islam. (Note: he supports state-funded protection of her, however.) Takeaway: “[S]he’s got her story, and she’s taking it to the bank.”
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So Sanctuary Cities are now places where people hiding from Muslim murderers are offered protection. In that case, I’m now in favor of them.
JiangxiDad on October 15, 2007 at 10:22 AM
Making cash at the possible cost of your life. That Hirsi Ali must loooooove the almighty dollar! Does she not know that if she is killed for her
harsh critique of Islamquest of stacks and stacks of greenbacks, she can’t take them with her?Silly capitalist!!
Hoodlumman on October 15, 2007 at 10:27 AM
While I’m sure that Eboo Patel is a sincere muslim, he doesn’t appear to know much Islam. A debate between him and Ali would be most interesting.
Anyway, when I read Patel’s argument, my first thought was that I could have written his argument if someone asked me to write what Newsweek would want us to hear about Ayann Hirsi Ali. I understand how the Newsweek editors think. I just don’t understand why they are so willing to lie for Islam.
thuja on October 15, 2007 at 10:28 AM
Do I think she might be capitalizing on her notoriety? Sure…why not?
Do I think she’s anything less than sincere in her beliefs? Not a chance.
flipflop on October 15, 2007 at 10:32 AM
Patel has a point. A lot of what Islamists insist is Islam is actually tribal tradition, such as FGM. But the islamists find a passage in the Qur’an or Hadiths that they claim supports their position, and claim that it indeed is Islam, and furthermore, moderates like Patel are not Real Muslims, aka “apostates” like Ayaan herself, who are supposed to be killed.
And that’s the problem. Islam isn’t what the moderates say it is, until they start killing the Islamists for being apostates, so that people will be as afraid of the moderates as they are the Islamists. But then the moderates won’t be moderates anymore.
The Monster on October 15, 2007 at 10:46 AM
Sorry Denmark, we love you guys for defending Freedom of Speech and all that but Ayaan is OURS! You can’t have her.
Tony737 on October 15, 2007 at 10:52 AM
After the whole Koran-flushing incident at Pace, are you sure we defend freedom of speech more than they do?
I am glad to see countries step up and offer to help Ayaan. She may be a crucial catalyst in getting Europe to wake up to its creeping sharia problem.
MadisonConservative on October 15, 2007 at 11:02 AM
Sorry, Big A.
Newsweek is hardly an example of fair-and-balanced ANYTHING as far as Muslims go.
Or have you forgotten the Korans supposedly flushed down the lube at Gitmo. How many lives were lost in THAT little bogus fiasco.
Always Right on October 15, 2007 at 11:13 AM
to establish several ‘free cities’ for persecuted writers,
Has Europe really gone this far over the bend? They now need to establish “free cities” where people won’t be murdered for expressing free speach?
Babs on October 15, 2007 at 11:13 AM
Having read one Robert Spencer book, I can’t agree with you or Patel. His “enlightenment” is completely at odds with his Islam, and the only way he can reconcile the two is to ignore the reality of Islam’s scripture, teachings, history, and current status in the world.
peski on October 15, 2007 at 11:58 AM
I found a half-decent article on HuffPo (of all places) that brings up a good point: If the US can protect Prince Bandar, then why not Ayaan Hirsi Ali
mram on October 15, 2007 at 12:09 PM
Re Aboo Patel: his hypothetical about what would happen if Ayaan Hirsi Ali were to group a continent and its races together and demonize them is useful to think over. A rebuttal in Ali’s favor is that religious conflict is more relevant than race to key figures of the British Enlightenment (Hobbes, Locke, Hume). True also of other Enlightenment figures and movements: Kant writes Religion in the Boundaries of Mere Reason and not Race and Nationality in the Boundaries of Mere Reason.
If the religious skeptics of the various Enlightenments did not write as scathingly about Christianity as Ali does about Islam, it is partly because those earlier writers did not have latitude, socially, to do so. Some of Hume’s most skeptical writings were only published posthumously. It’s hard to think that he would exempt say Baptists from his criticism but say Catholics and Presbyterians gotta go as Patel suggests Ali ought to do as well. This does not mean Ali et al. are correct, but that they have a better claim to exemplifying important aspects of Enlightenment thinking than Patel admits.
jaychandra on October 15, 2007 at 12:31 PM
Patel is right that our leftists would consider that “racism” at best, and “cultural genocide” at worst. They already accuse us of that when we oppose Islamism, under the perverse notion that thinking that Brown People are just as capable of greatness as White People, given the right set of values to guide them there, is “racism”. In reality, it is their own racism that presumes values based on ethnicity, and considers people with darker skin pigmentation but “white” values to be “inauthentic” or “race traitors”.
MLK’s dream has become a nightmare Bizzaro-World version.
The Monster on October 15, 2007 at 12:47 PM
My favorite quote – why has Mr. Patel used “ludicrously”? What is ludicrous in defending capitalism? This should tell you everything about Newsweek.
First thing which came to my mind Tony. If only our government would have their act together. I’d like it if she’d become a U.S. citizen quickly and then shuttle btw. here and Denmark, or wherever she’d please.
The idea of sanctuary cities form the wild ones is preposterous. The world should be protected from them. Mr. Patel – Enlightenment is progressive, and in some parts of the world, or in some religions, it actually did progress. Re. some parts, though, look at the Zimbabwe link in headlines, to see how little, or the 3-year old bride in Afghanistan, or the mutilating, raping, stoning of women, behadings, cutting off of limbs, or, or, or…Where is Newsweek and its ilk on all of that?
Needed fixing, Always Right.
Entelechy on October 15, 2007 at 12:58 PM
So, it it supposedly part the “Enlightenment” values to tolerate the intolerant who would destroy the Enlightenment itself?
But that’s irrational (i.e. contra The Age of Reason).
Somebody’s trying to blow smoke up the West’s butt.
But, the Constitution is still not a suicide pact.
Newsweek, however, is.
Islam is anti-Constitutional, and anti-Bill of Rights and anti-The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
However much its lying apologists and disinformation pimps pretend otherwise.
profitsbeard on October 15, 2007 at 1:23 PM
Denmark rocks! (got a little Viking in my blood, too)
I gotta go visit it someday soon, before the Religion of Peace wipes it off the map or something…
Frozen Tex on October 15, 2007 at 2:00 PM
The only cure to this is solar power. Sunshine in a bottle is a quite wonderful disinfectant. With the Salafists thus handled, people who want Islam to be like Judaism and Christianity, as well as that practiced by Sufis, Ismailis, and Ahmadyiyas, will have the security and ability to promote their ideal. No one will have any security until this happens.
This is a great offer by Denmark, and it should be offered by all western countries, while the salafists should be given the choice to leave or face a firing squad.
libertarianuberalles on October 15, 2007 at 3:30 PM
And he’d be the only one not issuing a Fatwa.
Is he sincerely trying to tell me that his Muslim faith has a tradition of turning the other cheek? What’s the point of Denmark’s offer? Schmuck!
Sultry Beauty on October 15, 2007 at 4:21 PM
I comend Denmark – again.
As for Patel, he’s right about one thing:
The rest of his article consists of unsupported charges of “hyperbole” etc. If it’s hyperbole, then why are there so many “extremists” who not only want to kill Hirsi Ali, but progressive Muslims like Patel as well? Patel needs to explain the true meaning of Islam to the misunderstanders who want to kill him – not to me.
forest on October 15, 2007 at 5:04 PM
Denmark won’t dare fall or be wiped off the map and today I’m proud I live here. I was thinking the danish government should invite her and now they have. Mikkelsen isn’t just a pretty face anymore.
yggdrasil on October 15, 2007 at 5:09 PM
My salute Denmark!
Holland…not so much.
BL@KBIRD on October 15, 2007 at 7:18 PM
Exactly right. His article seems designed to convince non-muslims that they misunderstand Islam and should not believe all the negative things someone like Ayaan has to say. Meanwhile, he has almost nothing to say about how the fundamentalist have it wrong after he just admitted they want to kill him. Aparently no one understands Islam. I guess it is must be a nebulous philosophy
Resolute on October 15, 2007 at 7:20 PM
Well,if Denmark takes her that would be super,but it would be very interesting,even though shes muslim,for Isreal to give her shelter.It’s got to be the safest place on the planet,have Mossad keep an eye on her.I bet Tehran’s Mullahs
would be p!ssed with this new(so called) perceived provocation by Isreal!
canopfor on October 15, 2007 at 10:36 PM
Another reason to buy Danish!
hadsil on October 16, 2007 at 2:52 AM
She’s apparently said “no thank you” and is back in the US, according to the news here. Hopefully it will show up in english somewhere as I only have a danish link.
Here it is in danish:
yggdrasil on October 16, 2007 at 6:14 AM
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