Nomad: From Islam to America
Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations is a memoir by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It is a sequel to her New York Times bestseller Infidel. It deals in greater depth than the earlier book with certain aspects of the author's childhood in Somalia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, and in particular with her family, as well as with her exile from the Netherlands and her present home with the American Enterprise Institute in the United States. The book is critical of Islam and the multiculturalism which the author sees as enabling Muslim extremism. It sets out to make the case that moderate Christian churches should seek actively to convert Muslim believers. The book has been praised by Christopher Hitchens, John Lloyd, and Richard Dawkins.
Cover of the first edition
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born, Dutch-American writer, activist and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced marriage, honour killing, child marriage, and female genital mutilation. At the age of five, following local traditions in Somalia, Ali underwent female genital mutilation organized by her grandmother. Her father—a scholar, intellectual, and a devout Muslim—was against the procedure but could not stop it from happening because he was imprisoned by the Communist government of Somalia at the time. Her family moved across various countries in Africa and the Middle East, but at 23, she received political asylum in the Netherlands, gaining Dutch citizenship five years later. In her early 30s, Hirsi Ali renounced the Islamic faith of her childhood, began identifying as an atheist, and became involved in Dutch centre-right politics, joining the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Hirsi Ali in 2016
Theo van Gogh
Ayaan Hirsi Ali in 2006
Ayaan Hirsi Ali in a panel discussion with Jordan Peterson, John Anderson and Os Guinness at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Forum, London, 2023