Heretic

"Why are these people impelled to try to silence me, to protest against my public appearances, to stigmatize my views and drive me off the stage with threats of violence and death? It is not because I am ignorant or ill-informed. On the contrary, my views on Islam are based on my knowledge and experience of being a Muslim, of living in Muslim societies - including Mecca itself, the very center of Islamic belief - and on my years of study of Islam as a practitioner, student, and teacher. The real explanation is clear. It is because they cannot actually refute what I am saying. And I am not alone. Shortly after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, Asra Nomani, a Muslim reformer, spoke out against what she calls the "honor brigade" - an organized international cabal hell-bent on silencing debate on Islam. The shameful thing is that this campaign is effective in the West. Western liberals now seem to collude against critical thought and debate. I never cease to be amazed by the fact that non-Muslims who consider themselves liberals - including feminists and advocates of gay rights - are so readily persuaded by these crass means to take the Islamists' side against Muslim and non-Muslim critics." - Ayaan Hirsi Ali from the Introduction to her 2015 book Heretic