Customer Reviews

Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali related her physical journey from the Islamic tribal culture, beliefs and traditions in her book "Infidel". In her newest book she makes a personal and emotional exodus from Islam and describes her culture shock experiences during assimilation into Western Society.

The memoir is divided into four distinct sections, "A Problem Family", "Nomad Again", "Sex, Money, Violence" and "Remedies".

In "A Problem Family" she is reunited with her father on his deathbed in London. Ayaan publicly renounced Islam after of the 9-11 bombings causing her entire extended family to disown her, a rift that lasted until June 2008. She reconnects with her mother(one of her father's 4 wives), brother and cousins after her father's death. If you have read "Infidel" you know about the violent, dysfunctional world that made up her childhood. She finds little has changed, describing it as 'Gender Apartheid'.

Ayaan recounts her years making the rounds in the lecture circuit in "Nomad Again". She speaks against female genital mutilation, honor killings, and the control of female will through the veil. She notes American naviete disbelieving that these atrocities happen in Muslim communities within the USA. Ayaan counsels against complacency of the rise of Islam in America, believing younger and more impressionable people will be radicalized through slick jihadist tactics. She reminds us the Ft Hood killer was not indoctrinated into radical Muslim beliefs in an Islamic country but in the United States where he was a member of the our military.

"Sex, Money and Violence" deals with obstacles to true integration of Muslim communities in the West. Western education (critical thinking) is in direct contrast to Islamic teachings, especially the education of females. This has led to a rise of dedicated Muslim (Quran) schooling. According to Ayaan extremist Islam teaches children violence against infidels (all non-Muslims), especially Jews and the American Satan. Ayaan dares to hope that more affluent Western women, especially American feminists, will form a united front against the current treatment of impovished, abused Muslim women. Why haven't we, I ask myself.

In the final section Ayaan hopes for formation of an "Enlightenment Project". She reminds us that, unlike Christianity, there has been no period of "Enlightenment or Reformation" in Islam. Consequently, the Islamic religion has never faced an internal opposition to its core beliefs by its followers. What is more, external opposition to extremist Islamic teachings have been severely constrained through fear of violent Islamic reaction. For example the Danish cartoonist and since this book went to press, "South Park" depicting the prophet Muhammed as a teddy bear.

Devouring this book in one marathon read I continue to find Ayaan's personal journey since the publication of "Infidel" fascinating and courageous. Her writing is always heartfelt and thought provoking. As an American woman, it is publication of literature like this that makes me realize just how incredibly lucky I have been.

Remarkable woman, remarkable read!

I don't want to spoil the book for people who are just checking reviews. But I would like to say that I consider Ayaan to have made some very interesting and unique arguments, and argues viewpoints that may make her unpopular even with liberals and atheists, who normally stand behind her. I think this book, as much or more as her other books, makes her stand out as truly a brave, enlightened, and perceptive woman--not to mention incredibly well educated and eloquent. I recommend everyone read her books for a different opinion on the problems of integration of immigrants into Western society, and the dangers of being overly tolerant to the point of simply acquiescing.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali's 2008 autobiography, "Infidel", a runaway bestseller, has justifiably become famous in the two years since it was published. "Nomad" is eloquent continuation of her startlingly eventful life story and an further elaboration of her ideas. Together they will probably be remembered--for their consequences as much as their passion & intelligence--as the 1845 "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave" is remembered today. (Douglass updated his own story with new books as he campaigned to end slavery.)

Comparing a religious defection to a physical escape from slavery is an inherently specious analogy--or is it? Wouldn't it be like comparing the body count of Nat Turner's Rebellion to that of suicide bombers and holy assassins? Slavery has a long, ugly history in human affairs, but has at last been eradicated in the modern world. Its few remaining pockets (and advocates) are virtually all in pre-modern Islamic countries. So maybe linking slavery and Islam isn't such a stretch.

One common way of distinguishing cults and religions is by the degree they seek to control believers. The word "Islam" itself means submission and as Ayaan's stories show, submission is the defining feature of Islamic life--escalating exponentially if you're female. Many Islamic women are de facto slaves. The second most common Muslim name is "Abdullah", the Slave of God. Mohammed (the ideal Muslim) executed and enslaved his enemies and their families en masse. Blasphemy or leaving the faith is a capital crime. By this "control standard" Islam, despite its billion plus adherents is more a cult than the Branch Davidians; the prophet outdoes Rev. Jim Jones.

(And so my conclusion: Frederick Douglass' escape from a slave plantation is legitimately comparable to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's courageous apostasy: at least Douglass didn't need a permanent entourage of bodyguards.)

Douglass' awakening began as a teenager when his (illegal) literacy revealed to him that an abolition movement was then gathering force in America. Ayaan's revelation began at 21 when she fled to Holland to escape an arranged marriage to a man who repelled her. The discovery of freedom was for her every bit as life changing (and may prove as important) as Douglass' own.

I'd rather not over-summarize "Nomad". It was too satisfying and stimulating to discover its contents for myself to burden you with a catalogue of her topics. Her incisive, straight-to-the-point opinions are never dull, hateful, hysterical or poorly informed. Be advised that there may be more negative reviews this time around: she has (for excellent reasons) criticized prominent feminists' silence about Islamic misogyny and the bad (but politically correct) idea that all cultures are equal. Any revolutionary idea worth hearing will quickly draw ridicule from orthodox minds. (The sneering, inaccurate synopsis from Publishers Weekly, above, is such a reaction.)

I found "Nomad's" warm, clear prose as wise, honest, and as relevant as "Infidel" was 2 years ago. Ayaan's penetrating essays on the perverse psychological effects of compulsory beliefs and mandatory ignorance on believers of her intimate acquaintance, on the festering problem of unassimilated Muslim ghettos across Europe, and her humanitarian recommendations to be easily worth the price of the book.

On May 29, 1453, the city of Constantinople, the Eastern capital of the Roman Empire, fell to invading Turks, ending a thousand years of Byzantine rule and beginning a push to conquer the rest of the Roman Empire that lasted over two hundred years. That push ended on 14 July 1683, when the Ottoman armies under the command of Kara Mustafa Pasha were defeated at the Battle of Vienna. For the next 250 years, the Islamic world gave up its dreams of conquest and turned inward. Science, history, literature and the arts were neglected in favor of religious study. The Islamic world that had once counted itself one of the most advanced societies on globe slowly ground to a halt.

And then, in 1928, something happened that was to change the course of modern Islamic history. A group of Sunni Egyptians formed what became the Moslem Brotherhood, a group whose central tenet was that the Koran should be the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state." They had a lofty goal: To remake the entire world in this image. The movement grew, and one of its converts was a scholar by the name of Hirsi Magan Isse- the father of author Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Despite her father's elevated status and education, Ali was treated from the beginning in a way that seems frightening, almost primitive, to those of us raised in the West. Women in her world, she tells us, are mere chattel, the property of their fathers or husbands, kept only to bear sons or perform labor, and easily discarded when they no longer serve this purpose, or fall out of favor. Hirsi Ali's Grandmother was such a women, abandoned by her own husband when she did not produce any sons who lived to maturity. Hirsi Ali did have one advantage over most girls in her family and her village- she was given an education, if a basic one. But she was still chattel, and was promised in marriage to an older cousin when she came of age. And this is where her odyssey began.

She ran away from her family and became a refugee in The Netherlands, where she managed to quickly integrate herself into Dutch society, becoming not only educated, but a member of the Dutch Social Services, working with refugees and immigrants from Somalia and other Islamic countries. And it was here that she was radicalized. As she struggled to educate women and their families and integrate them into Dutch society, she became increasingly disgusted with what she saw as cruel and primitive practices that the new immigrants brought with them- practices like genital mutilation of young girls, who had their clitorises amputated and their vulvas sewn up, or honor killings, where a family would murder a daughter for such sins as talking to men, disobeying their fathers, or being the victim of rape.

Increasingly, she found herself believing that the flaw was not with the immigrant community, but with Islam itself- a view that was hardened by when her friend Theo van Gogh, with who she had collaborated on a movie, was assassinated by a young Dutch Muslim who also made threats against Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Jews, and Western Civilization. Ali went into hiding, and began her career as a campaigner against Islam.

As you might expect, most criticism against Hirsi Ali have come from Muslims, who see her as maligning all Muslim, based on the actions of the most radical. Yet significant criticism has also come from the liberal West, where she is also attacked as an extremist- curiously enough, by many of the same critics, like Nicholas Kristof, who have no difficulty in attacking Western religion in general. But Ali defends herself against these charges by pointing out that when radical Imams endorse killing all Jews, or beating a wife to death, they are not giving their own interpretation, but quoting directly from the Koran. She believes the only way to liberate women from what she sees as their roles as slaves under Islam is to free them from Islam. And she believe the only way to defeat the rising tide of Islamic violence against the West is to confront it head on. Ali has no patience with the cultural relativism and multiculturalism of the West; she believe that the West must either fight for its cultural heritage, or becomes slaves to that of Islamic world.

A good deal of the material in Nomad is a recap of her first book, Infidel, but the bulk has to do with her search for her identity, her coming to America, and he attempts to reconcile with her family- in particular, her father, with who she does manage to come to some agreement with, and with her grandmother, who, despite her use of a cell phone and her abuse by her own culture, can never bring herself to accept any of Ali's belief in Western liberal democracy. Nomad is not quite as well organized as is Infidel, and not quite as compelling a narrative, as it skips around a bit from the present to Hirsi Ali's past, but still stands on its own.

This is a contentious book- as should be clear from the last few paragraphs!- but an important one in its contribution to the debate on the struggle between radical Islam and the West that belongs alongside such books as Mark Styne's America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It. You may not accept Ali's critical indictment of all of Islam, but her story is one that should be heard.

After having just heard Ayaan Hirsi Ali with my daughter, I immediately bought and read this book. I did not regret it. It is a powerful testimony to her experience, and is a serious, clear-minded critique of radical Islam today: its relationship to Western societies (especially as embedded in them), and its relationship to Muslim women. Nomad is a stimulating revelation to read and I highly recommend it.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has become a lightning rod for criticism and threats of violence for her indictment of Islam and in particular for that faith's treatment of women. To this argument she brings both her passion and considerable intellectual heft. Not surprisingly, even as some try to murder her, certain western intellectuals react by seeking to marginalize and caricature her views. Unfortunately, this new memoir offers further ammunition to these opponents

Where "Infidel" used aspects of her personal experiences as a launching point for excellent -- even if at times too polemical -- essays about the limitations of Islam in its current state and her opinion on the so-called "Clash of Civilizations." "Nomad" seeks instead for a more personal touch, spending more time on the memoir aspect of her youth in Africa and her journey to the West. While well written, it lacks the intellectual heft of the previous volume and feels like an attempt to sell her life to more middle brow audiences. Those who have not read "Infidel" would do well to start there and only those with a great interest in the personal aspects of Ali's life should follow her as a "Nomad."

I first read about Ayann Hirsi Ali a couple months ago. She sounded like a brave woman and I wanted to learn more about her.

My intention was to read "Infidel" first, but I accidentally grabbed "Nomad" and brought it along to read on a plane flight. When I realized my mistake it was too late so I decided to read this one first.

The book presents an insider's view of Islam. While the author is critical of many aspects of the religion she does not appear mean-spirited or out on a personal vendetta. In the book she sites her respect for the intellectual tradition of the European Enlightenment--and it is this process of critical reasoning and analysis that she uses to identify the obstacles and remedies to over coming the negative and violent aspects of Islam.

One of the points she makes that really impacted me was how a misplaced belief that honoring all aspects of all cultures (multiculturalism) is a virtue. She sums it up with these words: "All human beings are equal, but all cultures and religions are not." She goes on to explain why she feels this way . . . and while I won't explain it here . . . that alone is worth the price of the book!

Another reason for wanting to read this book was because I was especially intrigue (and somewhat shocked) when I read that many liberal feminists in America did not support this brave woman. Apparently there are some who believe you cannot be a feminist and speak out against Islam. I believe the opposite is true.

Thank you, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, for risking your life once again by writing this book.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has written another powerful book about the role of women in Islam and the role of the west. This book captivated me from start to finish.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a splendid nomad and a model for all immigrants to the United States. They must assimilate, but the huge majority foolishly cling to their habits, morays, and customs from their homeland - the land they left because they hoped to find a better life in America. I agree with her that Islam is extremely dangerous and the only way to overcome its threat is through education. As heartfelt as Christians and others sometimes try to be in allowing them freedom to worship and organize their own schools, it is exactly what shouldn't be allowed. The same cultural problems will be perpetuated in such an environment. Think of the wonderful musicals West Side Story and Flower Drum Song and the difficulties ethnic groups encountered until they assimilated into American culture. Then and only then can they really become true citizens of the United States. Until then, they will merely be nomads who will most likely remain in poverty and a burden to the welfare system. Ali is a brilliant woman who has lived through more hardships than most of us can imagine. Please listen to her. Please take her advice.

Very good.

But there is no way for the average person to read her writings and know if she is biased because of her treatment and background, or if she is being as honest as possible.

I had read maybe fifty books about Islam "before 911" (along with hindu, christianity, zoroastrian, buddism, orthodox christianity, and others). I have a deep interest in history and began to realize how religion played the central role in formation of civilizations. By the way, I do not go to church, but very much respected all religions before I started reading. Despite the abuses, most religions built the foundations for the better laws and progress we have today.

So I am in the 1980's reading about Islam and was surprised to find it did not seem peaceful to me. I wondered why am I thinking this? Probably not enough books,,,must have gotten an exclusively biased view,,,did not understand the viewpoint? So I read more, and became depressed. I knew that "world peace" was not around the corner! I knew a new round of Islamic activism had been developing since World War I. The reasons for many historical events suddenly made sense. How could this have been left out of our education?

Why is the truth hidden so well? Why won't "bridges" work? We are taught we must reach out, find a common understanding, and try to treat others as we would ourselves. We do not always do it, but that is our civilizations basic "truth". Is this good or bad? Not all belief systems actually believe this, despite what is often said to the contrary. The problem the world has in understanding Islam is we try to interpret it through our understanding of the world,,,NO, you must accept to understand it through their world,,then you will know what they mean. It is quite a shock.

There is no way to really understand what Ayaan Ali is trying to say without reading many other books by others that have talked about their experiences in Islam. Her's is not unique, but the courage is. Someone commented she said things that would have made liberals mad. Now it is true the liberals in Europe and US seem to dislike or explain away her writings,,,,but why? There is nothing in it that seems like it should,,,in fact it seems like it would be the opposite,,,but it there does seem to be a historical attraction between liberals and Islam (anyone have any ideas why?).

Other fantastic brave authors that talk about the problems in Islam:

Mark A Gabriel (not his real name) was an Iman and Islamic professor in Egypt. He does a great job of explaining how the Koran and Hadith resolve the inconsistencies between peace/love and violence we hear about (unfortunately resolves toward violence and intolerance). It is actually quite simple once the story plays out, and explains what at first seems bizarre to non-muslims. For some reason I really identified with this unbelievably courageous man. I felt like this could be me if I was in his situation. Read this book. "Islam and Terrorism" http://www.amazon.com/reader/0884198847?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sib_books_pg&qid=1275086612&query=islam#reader_0884198847

Walid Shoebat claims to be a former (probably light weight) terrorist who also has a really interesting story. A very good writer who goes into detail that seems bewildering at first, but then you realize this is the legalistic approach to religion Islam has. And he applies it in an surprisingly entertaining and insightful manner. But this was the mental process he had to go through to see the non-muslim point of view,,,and explains why it is so hard for a Muslim to make that jump (it was sure tough enough for me to jump the other way).

Bridgette Gabriel (her real name) is a Lebanon christian who basically explains she was as clueless as we are, but the civil war eventually woke her up. She is definitely ticked off about her experience, but she mainly seems alarmed people whitewash the problems. Her story (like the others) will make you cry.

Nonie Darwish is very good.

Wafa Sultan is very good.

An interesting concept seems to be we must help the Muslim women. But there are books by muslim women where they seem very content with things the way they are. Most men I know would be unhappy as muslims(at least as I understand it). Making half of a population the victims is a squirrelly way of saying Islam is bad. It ends up saying men oppress women. This changes the subject. It ignores the fact that the women are some of the biggest supporters of Islam. It ignores that men are oppressed also. It is a bizarre concept to send american boys to die for muslim women. Muslim women will not see it that way,,,read why.

Another interesting concept is we must educate! Educate what exactly? Explain why Germany did what it did. These are clueless comments about education. What will happen is they will learn only what the people in control of their education let them. Read the above books.

Try to read books written hundred of years ago. It shows what is happening today is identical to 1400 years ago.