Ayaan Hirsi Ali: “the first refugee from Western Europe since the Holocaust”
Sam Harris collaborates with Salman Rushdie to tell the story of Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the LA Times:
Hirsi Ali may be the first refugee from Western Europe since the Holocaust. As such, she is a unique and indispensable witness to both the strength and weakness of the West: to the splendor of open society and to the boundless energy of its antagonists. She knows the challenges we face in our struggle to contain the misogyny and religious fanaticism of the Muslim world, and she lives with the consequences of our failure each day. There is no one in a better position to remind us that tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.
Hirsi Ali’s situation is an unfortunate example of why free inquiry and open criticism of religion are so desperately needed. Without them, Europe under an Islamic Caliphate may degenerate from sporadic death threats and assassinations into something more horrific.