One brave as hell woman

WOW. Hats off to this courageous woman:

I won’t be intimidated for expressing my views

Hirsi Ali has been moved to a safe house following new death threats and the publication of her private address on an Islamic website just four days after her controversial film ‘Submission’ was screened on Dutch TV.

Somali-born Hirsi Ali, 34, is herself a former Muslim and an outspoken critic of Islam’s treatment of women. Her film ‘Submission’ which depicts the text of the Koran on the naked flesh of Muslim women, is provoking a furore in the Netherlands.

With the assassination of right-wing political leader Pim Fortuyn in May 2002 still horribly fresh in people’s minds, the Dutch security services are clearly taking no chances and have mounted round-the-clock protection.

But Hirsi Ali is undaunted: “Reactions to my film have been varied and I accept some people are offended, that’s legitimate, but in a democracy it is not legitimate to intimidate and threaten someone for expressing her views. I made the film to publicise an injustice that is being ignored not only in Holland but throughout the world.”

Hirsi Ali reflects the spirit of today’s Dutch society with her conviction that ‘tolerance’ means Muslims in the Netherlands – almost one million in a total population of 16 million – must accept Western values.

“That means people from non-Western countries need to be educated about democratic values which include the freedom of expression,” said Hirsi Ali. If people feel she has gone too far with her film they must take her to court and not take the law into their own hands, she said defiantly. “Otherwise the rule of the jungle will prevail,” she added.