This is the memoir of a Somalia born Dutch politician who made a 10 minute film called Submission with Theo van Gogh. The film caused a stir in Holland and Theo was murdered in November 2004 because of it's criticism of Islam. This book details Ayaan's life from her childhood in Somalia, through years spent in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Holland.
Infidel is a powerful book. It is not a standard memoir of achievements and regrets. It is more than a human interest story. It asks lots of questions about culture, freedom, race, religion and rights. It is frank and open but told with a lot of love and warmth.
I found Infidel a refreshing read. It was not like a diary but more like an educational tour. Through the text I explored how clans in Somlia work and the importance of the family tree. The horrors of Female Genital Mutilation were fully explained…
The man, who was probably an itinerant traditional circumciser from the blacksmith clan, picked up a pair of scissors. With the other hand, he caught hold of the place between my legs and started tweaking it, like Grandma milking a goat. “There it is, there is the kintir,” one of the women said.
Then the scissors went down between my legs and the man cut off my inner labia and clitoris. I heard it, like a butcher snipping the fat off a piece of meat. A piercing pain shot up between my legs, indescribable, and I howled. Then came the sewing; the long, blunt needle clumsily pushed into my bleeding outer labia, my loud and anguished protests, Grandma’s words of comfort and encouragement. “It’s just this once in your life, Ayaan. Be brave, he’s almost finished.” When the sewing was finished, the man cut the thread off with his teeth.
...The oppression of women in Saudi Arabia was discussed. The differences between the cultures of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia were explored. Ayaan writes at great length about the freedoms and how nice the people are living in Holland. There is also a very good analysis of Islam and it's problems explained in a way that non-Muslims can easily understand.
On a lighter note, there are some lovely tales of her grandmother, a woman who had lived a hard life in basic and challenging environments…
My mother, Asha, was born sometime in the early 1940s, along with her identical twin sister, Halimo. My grandmother gave birth to them alone, under a tree. They were her third and fourth children; she was about eighteen, leading her goats and sheep to pasture when she felt the pains. She lay down and bore forth; then she cut the umbilical cords with her knife. A few hours later, she gathered together the goats and sheep and managed to bring the herd home safely before dark, carrying her newborn twins. Nobody was impressed by the exploit; she was only bringing home two more girls.
...Ayaan's writing is very good. I liked the structure of her book, the extensive detail given and her large, descriptive vocabulary. I learned a lot about African cultures and Islam from this book. Infidel is a very moving story and is very well written. Many a moment I had to remind myself that this was someone's real life and NOT a novel. There is a lot of sadness in this book and not just the killings but also the despair within the refugee camps in Kenya.
I found Infidel to be a very good and engrossing read. I agree with her conclusions about Islam and am pleased that although she has received many death threats and has been deported from Holland, she still has the courage to put her opinions and story into the public domain. I can find nothing wrong with this book and vote it the top score of 5 stars for giving me such a fulfilling read. It will also make it easier for me when I encounter Somali passengers on my coach!
Infidel is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2007.
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