After the horrific massacre Wednesday at the French weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, perhaps the West will finally put away its legion of useless tropes trying to deny the relationship between violence and radical Islam.
AYAAN HIRSI ALIWe have to start with the little babies who are born now, socialize them in freedom and critical thinking. We don’t have to throw away their faith. People confuse the two, thinking if you are enlightened that means apostasy. It doesn’t.
More Ayaan Hirsi Ali Quotes
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Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.
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I want people to emphasize life before death as opposed to life after death.
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I think of Canada, first and foremost, in terms of space. The amount of space available is breathtaking.
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Free speech is the bedrock of liberty and a free society. And yes, it includes the right to blaspheme and offend.
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Let us recognize that we can no longer tolerate violent oppression of women in the name of religion and culture any more than we would tolerate violent oppression espoused by any other bully in the name of a twisted rationale.
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It takes a long time to dissolve the bars of a mental cage.
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I would like to be judged on the validity of my arguments, not as a victim.
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If we don’t take effective measures now, the Netherlands could be torn between two extreme rights.
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I don’t have much in me left for Somalia, because the country is so broken, it’s not realistic to daydream about it.
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My brother thinks it is very, very bad that I left Islam. My half-sister wants to convert me back; I want to convert her to Western values. My mum is terrified that when I die, and we all go to God, I will be burned.
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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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I believe that the dysfunctional Muslim family constitutes a real threat to the very fabric of western life. It is in the family that children are groomed to practise, promote and pass on the norms of their parents’ culture.
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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.
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What we are now doing with the victory, and I agree with you if you condemn that and I condemn whole-heartedly the trivial bullshit it is to go after a man who makes a scientific breakthrough and all that we as women — organized women — do is to fret about his shirt?
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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.
AYAAN HIRSI ALI