Book Review: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Infidel is the memoirs of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ayaan Hirsi Ali fits so many labels it's difficult to exactly give her a title. She's a writer, a film maker, a Dutch politician, a feminist, and an opponent of Islam. She's an extraordinary person.
The book describes Hirsi Ali's life from childhood to present day. She was born in Kenya but moved around to several other Muslim countries throughout her childhood. The book describes how she survived an abusive mother, an non-present father, a religious system that treats women as property, genital mutilation ("female circumcision") at age 5, forced religious teachings, poverty, being beaten so severely by a teacher that it cracked her skull, the preventable death of her sister, forced marriage, exile from her family, the murder of her business partner, and finally her life in forced isolation due to threats on her life. Through all this Ayann Hirsi Ali survived, became a best-selling author and a member of the Dutch Parliament.
What struck me about Hirsi Ali's hardship was not how incredible they were, but how common such abuses are in the Muslim world. If fact, it is more normal for a woman to be beaten, genitally mutilated, and forced into marriage in the Muslim world than it is abnormal. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is extraordinary for how she overcame this abusive system, but not for what she went through within the system. Millions of Muslim women go through similar abuses. Hirsi Ali's main platform as a politician is to give rights to oppressed women throughout her country and the world.
The book is written in a simple, matter of fact manner. It is not written lyrically or in a fancy style. The power of the book is in Ayaan Hirsi Ali's story, and not in the style of writing. She is so raw in opening up about her emotions as well as the events in her life that it evokes a powerful response in the reader. At about 351 pages it was a quick read.
The book does not just discuss the events of her life. She delves into the lessons she has learned, and how the event of her life have shaped her philosophy. She logically explains many points regarding the farce that is modern Islam. As she explains, Islam is not a religion of peace. The religion you see in practice (violence, abuse, radicalism, anti-liberty) is not radical Islam. As Ali explains, there really is no radical Islam. All these things we observe are standard Islam, right out of the Quran. Westerners can hardly imagine such a system, so we give it the label "radical-Islam" to help us make sense of it. The system set up in countries like Kenya and Saudi Arabia is totally contrary to the concepts of liberty in which western society is built. Islam is the number one threat to liberty in the world today. Islam is the number one threat to the United States. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali has opened my eyes to the true nature of Islam in practice.
The book was highly educational for me as a westerner, relatively unfamiliar with Islam. In light of the current state of the world, this book and Ayaan Hirsi Ali's message are especially important. This is one of the most eye-opening books I have read.