190 Quotes by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

It’s not enough to say it’s shocking, it’s appalling, and to condemn only individual acts. We need to challenge and bring down the tribal honor-and-shame culture as codified in the Islamic religion.

In the real world, equal respect for all cultures doesn’t translate into a rich mosaic of colorful and proud peoples interacting peacefully while maintaining a delightful diversity of food and craftwork. It translates into closed pockets of oppression, ignorance, and abuse.

You could see her face, because she was Somali. Saudi women had no faces.

Confronted with such flagrant acts of intolerance – such abuses of the freedom of speech – a free society must surely do more. For intolerance is the one thing a free society cannot afford to tolerate.

As a woman you are better off in life earning your own money. You couldn’t prevent your husband from leaving you or taking another wife, but you could have some of your dignity if you didn’t have to beg him for financial support.

If you are a Muslim girl, you disappear, until there is almost no you inside you.

My conscience is informed by reason. It’s like Kant’s categorical imperative: behave to others as you would wish they behaved to you.

Women covering their heads is traditional, but now we’re seeing more and more women covering themselves from head to toe. This is said to be for religious reasons but it’s actually the conflation of religion and politics – every political movement has its slogans, flags and dress.

But without doubts, without a standpoint reached through questionings, human beings can’t acquire knowledge.