Washington Post, Monday, October 8, 2007. Anne Applebaum.
A Dutch Retreat on Speech? discusses the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch-Somali politician and writer who voiced her opinions about the harsh treatment of women in the Muslim world. Her words led to death threats by the Dutch
Muslim community and forced her under Dutch protection in 2002. The murder of Theo Van Gogh intensified the threat toward Hirisi. A Dutch Muslim extremist murdered Van Gogh, director of a film about the oppression of Muslim. When Van Gogh was murdered, the knife stabbed in his heart had a letter with Hirsi’s name attached to it.
Many of Hirsi’s followers were in a sense inspired and wanted to address the mistreatment of women in the Dutch Muslim community. Others view Hirsi as a threat to the rest of the Dutch community and simply want her and her words gone. Hirsi
eventually moved to the United States after continuous battling with neighbors and other Dutch citizens who wanted her gone. Although she moved away, the Dutch Government cut off her security funding.
This week the Dutch leaders are set to talk about Hirsi’s status. Hirsi is still a Dutch citizen and most of the threats she faces come from Holland. Since she lives in the U.S. she has become somewhat of an international threat.
But what is there to say about the Dutch detachment and non-support of citizen Hirsi? Now the US has to support Hirsi through private security and financial grants. What is there to say about a country abandoning their citizen even though he/she presents
a threat to the country? The Greek word “phuego” means to flee and is considered to represent cowardice. Has the Dutch country become a coward? Or are the leaders just trying to protect their people?
3 comments:
I found this article very interesting. I had no idea that this was going on. I knew Muslim women were treated harshly but didn't know it was to this level. I found it shocking that the Dutch government would threaten their own citizens because she speaks out for what is right. I hope Hirsi can find many followers that will help her solve the mistreatment of the Dutch Muslim women. However I think she is going to need much more support to tackle a problem that has endured for generations. I think this is a much bigger problem than most realize and think that the Dutch government is willing to cover it up no matter the cost. The Dutch government is a coward.
The article about the Dutch retreat is a bit confusing. Ayaan Hirsi Ali gave her thoughts on how women are treated in the Muslim world. Some people agree and some disagree, but the situation is getting dangerous.
I personally think that this is her counrty needs to be at her side, not against her. If there are threats being made and killings, then the law needs to step in and figure out who these Muslim extremists are.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, is a Dutch-Somali politicain who expressed her frustration with the treatment of women in the Mulim community. She was appauled that the women in the Dutch Muslim community did not have free speech. The women could say what they want but they could get killed for what they say. Hirsi Ali get many death threats after voicing her opinions and she was put under Dutch protection. Even though she was under protection she continued to have conflicts with her neighbors and other Dutch people in her community; those people wanted her gone. Hirsi was forced to move to the United States and put under US protection.
It seems like the Dutch community abandoned her and instead of the government going to extremes to protect her, they just handed her off to a different country. They did not support Ayaan Hirsi Ali at all and it seems as if they were scared to keep her in the country. This mistreatment of Hirsi and all the threats that she got alomost prove her point of the mistreatment of women in the Dutch Muslim community, she almost got killed for the things she said.
Post a Comment