The more we oblige, the more we self-censor, the more we appease, the bolder the enemy gets.
AYAAN HIRSI ALIEvery time I went on TV I got a threat.
More Ayaan Hirsi Ali Quotes
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If such a young nation as the U.S. could make it to superpower status, we could do it as well.
AYAAN HIRSI ALI -
They decided to let immigrants in and I am an immigrant. They gave us a chance to participate in this country’s life and I took it.
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In Holland I have seen well-meaning, principled people blinded by multiculturalism, overwhelmed by the imperative to be sensitive and respectful of immigrant culture, while ignoring criminal abuse of women and girls.
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In the real world, equal respect for all cultures doesn’t translate into a rich mosaic of colorful and proud peoples interacting peacefully while maintaining a delightful diversity of food and craftwork. It translates into closed pockets of oppression, ignorance, and abuse.
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The idea that if people are just friendly and demonstrate they want peace, that will be answered with good will – that is really naive.
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Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.
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The Christian take on Hellfire seems less dramatic than the Muslim vision, which I grew up with, but Christian magical thinking appeals to me no more than my mother’s angels and djinns.
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The liberal psyche wants to protect minorities, to apologize for imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and the appalling treatment of black people during the civil rights movement. At the same time, they want to continue to defend the rights of individuals.
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Where there is no freedom of speech, there is no conscience.
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All my life I have been a nomad.
AYAAN HIRSI ALI -
I would like to be judged on the validity of my arguments, not as a victim.
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My conscience is informed by reason. It’s like Kant’s categorical imperative: behave to others as you would wish they behaved to you.
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I assume the closest members of my family don’t actually want to kill me, but the truth is that I have shamed and hurt them; they have to deal with the outrage that my public statements cause, and undoubtedly some members of my clan do want to kill me for that.
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No one in the American Enterprise imposes their beliefs. We clash, and I think that’s what the West is all about.
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We who don’t want radical Islam to spread must compete with the agents of radical Islam. I want to see what would happen if Christians, feminists and Enlightenment thinkers were to start proselytizing in the Muslim community.
AYAAN HIRSI ALI