C L O S E R – Hirsi Ali Controversy
Still, attention worldwide for the Dutch Hirsi Ali affair. In the Washington Post:
On her asylum application, she gave a false name and date of birth and lied about the countries she had lived in and visited before arriving in the Netherlands, claiming she recently had fled war-torn Somalia when she actually had lived in Kenya for 12 years. Although it has been known for at least four years that she put false information on her asylum application, the issue came under renewed focus last week when a Dutch TV documentary looked at her case. The report included statements from family members that her marriage was consensual, not arranged.
That element of her life story goes to the core of her international persona, and, if untrue, could seriously damage her reputation and credibility.
After the debate yesterday (which was live on tv with 5 million viewers -Â Dutch population is 16 million) Dutch minister Verdonk had to withdraw from her standpoint that Hirsi Ali’s Dutch citizenship was annulled. She has six weeks to find out if there are extraordinary circumstances for Hirsi Ali which may lead to an approval of her Dutch nationality. If not Hirsi Ali should be granted a fast procedure to obtain the Dutch nationality.
Meanwhile Hirsi Ali get’s support from several Dutch people such as writers, directors and comedians. They are stating that they are ashamed by the treatment that Hirsi Ali is given. The issue is also followed by Dutch bloggers abroad. Ornstein op Afstand states that this is the end of Dutch tolerance. Again I should add, because this case only makes clear in a very painfull way how the Dutch deal with refugees and asylumseekers. There is not a lot of tolerance for them, and Hirsi Ali has become the victim of that. Perhaps a symbolic victim.
Some others seem to feel the need to spread all kinds for lies such as Theipinionsjournal:
Because, immediately upon its release, Muslim clerics in the putatively liberal and progressive Netherlands issued a fatwa (decree of death) against her and van Gogh. And, within short order, van Gogh was found dead in the streets of Amsterdam with a note stabbed in his chest warning Hirsi Ali that she was next….
First of all a fatwa is an authoratative advice, not a decree of death. Second there was no decree of death against Hirsi Ali by Muslim clerics after the release of Submission I.
Therefore, it is not entirely surprising that she has now become a casualty of Dutch fears of retribution and reprisals by Islamic fanatics who are still fomenting violence throughout Europe over the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by Danish cartoonists. Moreover, last November’s Muslim riots in France – that have made the French government now exceedingly solicitous of appeasing Islamic firebrands by any means necessary – have only heightened Dutch anxieties.
Islamic fanatics are not ‘fomenting violence … over the caricatures’. The situation in Europe regarding those cartoons was rather quiet, with a few demonstrations.
And, it’s in this climate of fear (and loathing) that Dutch authorities seem to have finally determined that Hirsi Ali’s campaign – to reconcile Islamic practices with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – posed a threat to national security, and, consequently, that she must be deported. (Especially since – instead of seeking to appease Islamic extremists – Hirsi Ali has vowed to continue writing and producing her series of Submission films. And Dutch courts had already ruled that she had to vacate her apartment in The Hague because “neighbours feared she was a security risk.â€)
With that, her Dutch citizenship was summarily revoked on Monday and she was declared persona non grata. And, to add insult to this injury, the Dutch Immigration Minister, Rita Verdonk, who delivered this political fatwa, was a member of Hirsi Ali’s own political party. It was instructive, however, that Verdonk rationalized her government’s decision to deport Hirsi Ali as follows:
No way, that she has to be deported. Even if she loses her Dutch nationality, she can stay because she is considered to be a refugee. She is certainly not ‘persona non grata’. Stories like this fit within the same schema as those of the ‘jihadist tidal waves that hit europe‘. Hirsi Ali is seen is the great heroin in the battle against islam/islamism and therefore welcomed in the US by some.
Other people seem to be happy if she leaves:
Looks like she’s having a rough time, alright. It seems that Aryaan Hirsi “Ali” (her last name is not even “Ali”), the b*ch who was behind Theo Van Gogh in making that horrible short film, Submission1, had told tall tales regarding her background in order to get a citizenship in the Netherlands.
Or dr. Maxtor:
Hirsi is not only a liar, but a pathetic hypocrite like all other rent-a-reformer(s) running around these days plugging crappy third rate books and cashing in on fashionable Islamophobia. Now she’s coming to America to set up shop under the wing of the “American Enterprise Institute,”the neocon septic incubator which gave us the like of Wolfowitz and Perle. Pull out a fresh roll of extra absorbent toilet paper for this cash cow.
Fortunately there still are blogs that are less hysterical than those of Hirsi Ali’s supporters or opponents, such as VanBragt. Some are wondering that the Netherlands will look like a fool and others are questioning the role of the media and questioning how people criticize the media.
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