Most of Infidel is devoted to Ali’s life: born in Somalia, she moved between Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya before fleeing a marriage and settling in Holland. Her life also reflects an intellectual journey as she experiences the differences between Holland and Somalia, and her opinions and ideas, particularly about Islam, change as she does. In Holland she was elected Member of Parliament partly due to her advocacy and activism on the issue of Muslim women’s rights, receiving repeated death threats for her work. A filmmaker with whom she collaborated was murdered due to the film they made together, and she is forced into hiding with bodyguards, fleeing the country for her own safety.

Ali argues that Islam has never gone through an Enlightenment that would allow for questioning of its rigid views on individual freedom; that as a result, mistreatment of homosexuals and women is deeply embedded in it. Her life has been enriched by the good parts of Islam, including compassion, charity, and spiritual guidance, she argues, but she condemns their treatment of of women and minorities.

I found the book interesting for two different reasons. First was simply the very different environment she grew up in from mine: her description of female genital mutilation, though hardly pleasant reading, was one of many things in I know little about. Second, reading about her personal journey to how she arrived at her views is compelling, whether you agree or disagree with her conclusions, particularly when she is forced into hiding. Holland is hardly an oppressive country, and her description of being forced into hiding and having her colleague killed for making a movie is shocking; it’s hard to imagine such things happening in Holland, yet they most certainly did.

Though the book is not within my normal line, I got a lot out of it: it’s beautifully written and whether you support her criticisms or not, there’s a lot to be learned from it. It’s worth picking up.