A lot of people think Ayaan Hirsi Ali stands against Islamic extremists because she was forced to undergo genital mutilation and an arranged marriage as a young Muslim growing up in Somalia. Her critics also claim she’s no expert on Islam.
But she told the standing-room only crowd that heard her speak at Yale University on Monday those assumptions are inaccurate.
In a moving and powerful personal testimony – one that befits an institution of higher education – Hirsi Ali offered her version of growing up Muslim, including this shocking revelation: at one point she said she was indoctrinated and considered herself part of the Muslim Brotherhood. She then goes on to explain the “cancer” at the heart of the religion, using her upbringing to weave the tale. A video of the speech was released Thursday, and parts of it are transcribed on The College Fix.
A lot has been said about Hirsi Ali since she was disinvited to speak at Brandeis University’s graduation ceremony last May and in the weeks leading up to her appearance at Yale University, where the Muslim Student Association tried to silence her.
But she finally gave the campus speech they didn’t want her to give, and she laid out her case against Islamic extremism in a powerful and provocative way.
Her talk at Yale was a victory for free speech, intellectual inquiry and academic freedom. Hats off to the conservative students who invited her, and the administrators who didn’t buckle under pressure to censor her speech.