An Open Letter to the American Enterprise Institute: Ayaan Hirsi Ali : ruthless self promotion v.s. real scholarship - Militant Islam Monitor




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	Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > An Open Letter to the American Enterprise Institute: Ayaan Hirsi Ali : ruthless self promotion v.s. real scholarship An Open Letter to the American Enterprise Institute: Ayaan Hirsi Ali : ruthless self promotion v.s. real scholarship August 21, 2006 " I know that I am alive because I had bodyguards and he (Theo van Gogh) didn't " "I feel guilty that I exploited his lack of fear because I knew that whoever touched the holy texts, would be in more danger than someone who just wrote columns." "Even if those columns were quite provoking". NRC Handelsblad 5/19/2006 http://www.nrc.nl/opinie/article323788.ece http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=aei82106%2Ehtm An Open Letter To The American Enterprise Institute, Regarding Ayaan Hirsi Ali August 21, 2006 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - We feel it essential to call public attention to this matter as the reputation of an esteemed institution, the American Enterprise Institute hangs in the balance. Mr. Christopher DeMuth c/o Ms. Veronique Rodman American Enterprise Institute 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Dear Mr. DeMuth: In an August 3 interview in the Jerusalem Post, aspiring AIE fellow Ayaan Hirsi Ali stated that your organization is totally supportive of her plans to make a sequel to Theo Van Gogh's movie "Submission." Ali also at that time underlined the need for her collaborators on the film to remain anonymous, declaring that "after Van Gogh's death "I've learned a lesson and that is, you have to make a film without putting the identity of the people out there. You have to be smarter then the killers." These statements prompt several observations and questions. Is the AEI aware that Hirsi Ali has already divulged the identity of the director of upcoming film - thereby endangering him - when she stated in an interview in Der Spiegel that "The director of my next film didn't like Van Gogh." Anyone familiar with this matter would immediately recognize that by this statement Ali is effectively screaming that the slated director of her new film is Leon de Winter, a Dutch filmmaker who has been a very vocal supporter of hers and had been passed over by her for the filming of the original Submission because she felt Van Gogh's name would get more attention. Her remarks are even more damning for De Winter since in an open letter to Ali, journalist Ebru Umar, a colleague of Theo van Gogh wrote this to her shortly Van Gogh's murder. "I just have one question for you Ayaan. Why did you ask Theo van Gogh? Why didn't you ask Leon de Winter? Isn't Leon your friend? Leon has ambitions for a film career, this could have meant his breakthrough. You didn't ask Leon, that I know. I think that is was for one reason alone, the international breakthrough of Ayaan. And that would work better with a director who was named Van Gogh. Or could it be that you didn't ask Leon because Leon is your friend, and you didn't want to expose a friend to extreme danger? Why Ayaan? Why? Besides the fact that Theo had given you 18,000 Euros - would Leon have done that Ayaan? Why did you use Theo, Ayaan? Although I saw no point in it, a mutual friend found that we should get to know each other. I didn't think anything would come of it. Because Ayaan, you are not interested in people that have an opinion, except for your own." Source - http://www.propriacures.nl/archief.php?artikelid=397 It is a well known fact in Holland that Leon de Winter "did not like Van Gogh," to the extent that he had a long running feud with him which included a lawsuit claiming anti-Semitism. Ali's remarks and Umar's letter are obvious clues as to the identity of De Winter, who has a family that is now also endangered. In a a widely circulated Wall Street Journal article after Van Gogh's death, Leon de Winter stated his antipathy to Van Gogh, and mentioned this lawsuit as well. In an article written this year in the NRC Handelsblad, Ali wrote that "I am alive because I had bodyguards and he - Van Gogh - didn't" and "I exploited his lack of fear". Does it concern the AEI that Ali has endangered Leon de Winter, the planned director of her next film by revealing his identity and in like manner is also jeopardizing the safety of the staff at AEI because she is using your organization to assemble and promote her planned film. Ali's brazen and mercenary admission that "I am alive because I had bodyguards and he [Theo van Gogh] didn't and I exploited his lack of fear" indicates a callous disregard for her co-workers and colleagues. Her record and many public statements prove this. It should not require a think tank to deduce from her remarks that Ali regards the AEI as nothing more then the Ali Enterprise Institute who will provide her with funding and the prestige required to pursue her pseudo-intellectual and gratuitously provocative film. Who will be the designated Theo Van Gogh in this act of Ali's pageant? What will such a project hope to contribute to the serious debate underway in the West regarding radical Islam, aside from controversy? Such a project will serve only to divert attention from the threat. In large part Ali's film will be nothing but a promotional tool used to feed her apparently insatiable ego, as such it's simply a way of attracting attention. If the AEI is really so keen on courting controversy, as Ali alleged in her JPost interview, is your organization prepared to underwrite the massive security measures that will be essential to the protection of your staff, grounds and buildings? Ali is obviously aware of the physical danger this project poses to those associated with it: "Hirsi Ali - The conditions couldn't be more difficult (to make Submission ll). We're forced to produce the film under complete anonymity. Everyone involved in the film, from actors to technicians, will be unrecognizable. But we are determined to complete the project. The director didn't really like van Gogh, but he believes that, for the sake of free speech, shooting the sequel is critical. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to premier the film this year." Source – Der Spiegel, http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,399263,00.html Source – Jpost, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1154525796099&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Though it is doubtful that the identities of those involved with the making of the film will be unknown for long, AEI itself remains a stationary target, exposed and vulnerable. Ali has stated - "I gave them [AEI] a proposal, in which I mentioned how I was going to represent the Prophet Muhammad in New York and have him talk to a number of Western thinkers, and they said, 'No problem.' In summation, PipeLineNews has brought this to AEI's attention many times over the last few months via email, repeated telephone calls to your Director of Communications, the Internet and now through this open letter: 1. August 8, 2006 - Statement By American Enterprise Institute Scholar To Be - Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Raises Conservative Hackles 2. May 22, 2006 - Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 24 x 7 3. May 15, 2006 - Hirsi Ali Climbs Over Corpse Of Theo Van Gogh, Lands Gig At American Enterprise Institute Yet AEI persists in pursuing this self-destructive arrangement to the detriment of everyone affiliated with it. We strongly urge you to withdraw the fellowship which was offered to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, as we have stated in the past, "has neither the temperament nor the intellectual gravitas necessary for successful scholarship - in our opinion she is a train wreck just waiting to happen." Regards, William A. Mayer Editor & Publisher PipeLineNews.org --------------- MIM:Translation of an open letter by journalist Ebru Umar, who was a close friend and collaborator of Theo van Gogh, who writes that giving Ali Theo van Gogh's phone number "was the biggest mistake of my entire life". http://www.propriacures.nl/archief.php?artikelid=397 Open letter from Ebru Umar to Ayaan Hirsi Ali Dear Ayaan, It is more than a month ago that Theo van Gogh was ritually murdered, with a letter for you pieced with a knife into his stomach. Theo is no more. You have announced that you read and hear everything. I hope that you have also become aware of the contents of the letter which Theo had to receive for you. I am glad that this prompted you to be combatative. Someone had to die,and you are more combatative then ever. But still I am thankful to you Ayaan. You have the VVD members exposed as the most brainless Netherlanders. Didn't you have to laugh really hard at your standing ovation? A standing ovation for a woman who has polarised Holland and brought it to an extreme situation. A standing ovation for a woman who turned a private war into a national war. A standing ovation for a woman for whom Theo Van Gogh got twenty bullets fired at him, seven of which found their target. A standing ovation for a woman for whom Theo van Gogh had his throat slit? The VVD is not what it used to be Ayaan, thank you for making that clear. "To hell with the VVD" was the remark that I came to hear in September. To hell with the VVD, because you had to promote your film, the film which cost Theo his life, everywhere you came in the name of the VVD. To hell with the VVD, the party which held your held above water for two years, which invested a small fortune in your security,which did everything to pick op the pieces and from which you still think you are a voter magnet instead of a destroyer of your party. I would also say to hell with the VVD if I was you. It was not the first time that I heard you say something like this. But this time I almost had to vomit. To hell with the VVD. It confirmed my opinion that you were not sitting in the parliament because you wanted serve Holland. No, you sit in the Lower House because you want to serve yourself. You are certainly not the only member with that mentality Ayaan, but the only one who gets all the room, rightly or wrongly, to wage your private war. What significance do you have to the VVD as a House member? This spring I asked you during a lunch in Amstedam if you had reached your target group and if it might be more effective if you would change your plan of attack.You told me verbatim: "Ebru, I have closed myself off from all criticism. There are so many people who say what you say. Everyone says what you say. But if I let all of that affect me, I can't work. I do what I want.My way." And you waved my comments aside, precisely as you waved those of the Muslim women away in the NOVA broadcast. End of conversation. Do you remember Ayaan, that you 'spoke with"the Muslim women over their "emancipation" and the function of the film "Submission"? Do you remember how you derisively dismissed their remarks and called out "farewell" after one of the women who should have been emancipated by you stood up and left angrily? Because everyone is wrong, the only one who is right is Ayaan.Your being right is dead, slaughtered on the Linneausstraat. Your being right is all that counts, not the consequences. How many seats are you now gaining for the VVD? To hell with the VVD, now I am repeating your words. I have always found it strange that I haven't yet come across a Muslim women who was glad about your concern about their emancipation. Recently I have heard many say that they were happy with the ritual murder of Theo. You have done a service for radical Islam Ayaan, you can be proud of it. I just have one question for you Ayaan. Why did you ask Theo van Gogh? Why didn't you ask Leon de Winter? Isn't Leon your friend? Leon has ambitions for a film career,this could have meant his breakthrough. You didn't ask Leon, that I know. I think that is was for one reason alone : The international breakthrough of Ayaan. And that would work better with a director who was named Van Gogh. I think. Or could it be that you didn't ask Leon because Leon is your friend, and you didnt want to expose a friend to be exposed to extreme danger? Why Ayaan? Why? Besides the fact that Theo had given you 18,000 euros (would Leon have done that Ayaan?) Why did you use Theo, Ayaan? Although I saw no point in it, a mutual friend found that we should get to know each other.I didn't think anything would come of it. Because Ayaan, you are not interested in people that have an opinion,except for your own. I wasn't surprised by that. You are an an foreigner with a foreigner's mentality. You also think that a trap is being set for you everywhere by everybody, especially by other women, especially by other foreigners. Because anyone who does not agree with your main ideas, they are only to be found among native born Dutch. But still I found you amusing, there should be more people who should be able to chose their own path. I am thinking namely of paths that can strengthen each other, the more paths the better, and stronger. But as the despotic einzelganger it appears that you felt differently about that in the course of time. My personal antipathy towards you began during lunch,when I gave you the phone number of Theo van Gogh. The biggest fault of my entire life, but that is another story. You thought that I should attack Mirjam Sterk of the CDA because of her 'apartheid policy'. You found that Mirjam Stark encouraged black schools because she supported Article 23. And I was supposed to write a cynical piece about it for the website of Theo van Gogh. I refused categorically, I found that Mirjam Sterk was one of the strongest House members in years, who promoted integration. I even said I didn't understand why you didn't work together with her ,but kept looking for confrontation. You said: "Fighting is good. That's the way to score points in The Hague". Fine then, if you don't want to take on Mirjam, then write about her boss, the minister of education, Maria van de Hoeven." And then it was obvious: that's how one deals with the press. The press,the marionettes of Ayaan Inc. If you want to have power behind your fights in The Hague, call up a friend from the press, say "criticise this one and that one" and a fight is born. And the press, always happy to fill their columns and to be phoned by Ms, Hirsi Ali -Magen that is really your name isn't it Ayaan? - obediently types it up. But yes, why should I in gods name do what you dictate to me, especially if I don't agree with you? Your surprise bordered on rage. During the lunch you let your real character show. Your contempt for everyone with a another opinion that doesn't match yours is just a big as your contempt for orthodox Muslims and for those who think differently about things. The Koran teachers in Africa did a good job of ramming that down your throat. You are completely closed to discussion. Even more to the point: When did you last have a discussion? You only talk,there is no discusssion.Perhaps my memory fails me but I cannot remember a tv program in the last year where you were in discussion with someone. Except for Muslim children and Islamic women, in front of a NOVA camera. You came off very badly in that.Very badly. I cannot remember any debating hall in the country, where you spoke with the public and a panel. No Ayaan, you listen to nobody and love to hear your own voice. So naturally it's "To hell with the VVD". I really admire how you do it.The media are your lackeys, it doesnt take much to get them to listen to the dictates of Ayaan. Your dictates mean nice pictures, and quotes which make the headlines. If they would say to you, as they say to me .that you are completely obsessed, and sometimes a bit crazy, because the war is in your head, you would banish them and the frontpages would be empty the next time. In the NRC where Submission was discussed, I noticed a sentence, maybe I was the only one who noticed it.It was a quote from Theo van Gogh , The context was as follows (I don't have the NRC handy for a verbatim quote)' Just a minute there Ayaan, there are now two capitans on the ship, and that won't work.On the set I'm the boss.' Theo's remarks brought the real Ayaan to the fore. Ayaan knows beter, everywhere and everytime, But yes, now Theo can naturally be the boss, because he had the courage to make the film. And he also paid you 18,000 euros for it. Ayaan, it is there is only one thing that concerns you: yourself. Would that it would be Holland, You are a nomad Ayaan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia,Kenya and Germany, Holland is just another transit station. It was never your intention to do something in Holland. You said it in the program 'Summer Guests".' I want to emancipate the women in Saudi Arabia and Iran'. Exactly, Ayaan goes international. Right. There is more fundamentalism then ever in Holland. The youth speak worse Dutch then their parents. Separate swimming is approved of by our rulers, Honor killings are still common and import marriages occur regularly. Black schools dominate the landscape in the big cities. The unemployment among foreign youth is immense. Men and women's inequality is being preached in the mosques. How much longer do I have to continue? This is the situation now in Holland and you, the Dutch house member for the VVD (To hell with the VVD) possibly have these points on the agenda, but are concerned about women in Saudi Arabia and Iran. You should be ashamed of yourself. Show some courage and move there. There you can finish your mission. Have the courage and shout it out. TO HELL WITH THE VVD. Ebru Umar 2004 -------------------------------- MIM: As was mentioned in the open letter above, Hirsi Ali , who claimed she had learned to be 'smarter then the killers' and to maintain secrecy about her projects for the sake of those involved, callously gave away Leon de Winter's identity as the director of her next film when she said in a Der Spiegel interview that , the next director slated for Submission ll "didn't like Van Gogh'. An obvious reference to Leon de Winter who had a long running feud with him involving lawsuits.. After the murder of Theo van Gogh, Leon de Winter wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal and reiterated his animosity towards the film maker in what appears to be a meanspirited attempt to get the last word in. De Winter is one of Ali's staunchest supporters in Holland, which makes Ebru Umar's accusation that Hirsi Ali chose Van Gogh to make Submission because she thought his name would get attention, and because he paid her 18,000 euros for the script,.(something De Winter would not have done) totally plausible. Instead of trying to get Submission I, the film which cost Van Gogh his life, released for circulation, after it was embargoed by the producer, Gijs van der Westerlaken, for 'security reasons' Ali courted media attention by announcing the plans to make her next film Submission II, while stressing the need for secrecy at the same time she gave a hint broad enough to reveal the identity of the planned director. In 2004 following Van Gogh's murder De Winter wrote in the WSJ : "...Mr. Van Gogh's pen could be vulgar and radical, and he managed to offend me more than once. In 1984, after I directed a feature film called "Frontiers," about a Dutch journalist who goes abroad to interview a terrorist and discovers his own violent side, Mr. Van Gogh accused me of "selling out my Jewish identity," although there was not a single Jewish character in the picture..." In a February 2006 Der Spiegel interview Hirsi Ali responded to a question about the security risks involved for those who, unlike her, would have to make do without bodyguards while making Submission II: Q:Will recent events make it more difficult to screen the film? "The conditions couldn't be more difficult. We're forced to produce the film under complete anonymity. Everyone involved in the film, from actors to technicians, will be unrecognizable. But we are determined to complete the project. The director didn't really like van Gogh, but he believes that, for the sake of free speech, shooting the sequel is critical. "I'm optimistic that we will be able to premiere the film this year" BY LEON DE WINTER Friday, November 5, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST Wall Street Journal AMSTERDAM--It was only two years ago that an animal-rights extremist assassinated the populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, explaining later in court that he did so, in part, to stop Fortuyn from using Muslim immigrants as "scapegoats." Now the Netherlands is once again in shock. On Tuesday, the filmmaker and newspaper columnist Theo van Gogh--a distant descendant of the artist Vincent--was murdered, allegedly by a Muslim immigrant (now in police custody). On Wednesday the police arrested eight Islamic radicals in connection with the slaying. The Netherlands prides itself on being a liberal and tolerant country. What is going on? Like Mr. Fortuyn, whom he admired, Mr. Van Gogh was a radical libertarian, a champion of free speech who refused to be constrained by taboos or social codes. I know from personal experience what it felt like to be the target of his invective. Mr. Van Gogh's pen could be vulgar and radical, and he managed to offend me more than once. In 1984, after I directed a feature film called "Frontiers," about a Dutch journalist who goes abroad to interview a terrorist and discovers his own violent side, Mr. Van Gogh accused me of "selling out my Jewish identity," although there was not a single Jewish character in the picture. Writing elsewhere about Jewish writers or filmmakers, he made Holocaust-tinged jokes like: "Hey, it smells like caramel today--well then, they must be burning the diabetic Jews." Such attacks went on for almost 20 years. (Mr. Van Gogh was 47 when he died.) To be clear: Mr. Van Gogh did not limit himself to Jewish topics. He attacked Christian values and symbols as well. Theodor Holman, another Dutch columnist, once wrote that "every Christian is a criminal," and a storm of controversy broke out. Mr. Van Gogh came to his defense by writing that people offended by those words were only "the fan club of that rotting fish in Nazareth." After viewing Mel Gibson's recent film, Mr. Van Gogh remarked in the daily Metro: "I just went to see 'The Passion of the Christ,' a film as bad as an LSD trip which shows once again that also in the sewers of Christianity collective daftness just leads to mud." After the death of Mr. Fortuyn, who warned that Holland's open culture would clash with its growing Muslim community, Mr. Van Gogh turned his attention to Islam, spewing invective in his columns and earning many enemies. Many people went out of their way to avoid him, including me. Even so, Mr. Van Gogh remained a member of the artistic establishment. He worked for the leading Dutch television companies, for newspapers and magazines. In August he caused a sensation by collaborating with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali who fled to Holland 10 years ago and who eventually won a seat in Parliament. Two years ago, Ms. Hirsi Ali declared that she no longer considered herself a Muslim. Death threats followed, and she was given round-the-clock protection by the Dutch secret service. Certain segments of the public hailed her as the true heir of Mr. Fortuyn. She certainly has a charismatic persona: She is black, beautiful and elegant--and knows Islam inside-out. It was the film that Mr. Van Gogh and Ms. Hirsi Ali made, "Submission"--the title is a literal translation of the Arabic word "Islam"--that appears to have led to Van Gogh's murder. In his 20-minute movie, based on Ms. Hirsi Ali's script and screened on television in August, Mr. Van Gogh portrayed written passages from the Koran on partially clothed female bodies to accentuate the texts' hostility to women. The intention, of course, was to provoke a discussion among female Muslims. And provocative the film was, but in the context of Holland's often brazen filmmaking culture it was reasonably cautious and subtle. In fact, it led me for the first time to write something positive about Mr. Van Gogh. I thought the negative reaction to "Submission" was unfair. In Elsevier magazine I wrote that the "people who are offended by this film have a big problem." I noted that it did not openly show naked women--as so many critics had claimed--and that it was rather modest in its style, subdued and carefully made. In his own statements, Mr. Van Gogh made no concessions to the sensibilities of Holland's Muslim immigrants. He was an artiste provocateur--troublesome, offensive and hyperbolic but, it should be said, accepted within the wide boundaries of Dutch culture. But not by everyone. On Tuesday, a 26-year-old observant Muslim named Mohammed B. (officials are withholding his family name) decided to act, unable to accept that unbelievers like Mr. Van Gogh might be led to criticize or ridicule Islam. The son of immigrants who had found work, prosperity and freedom in the Netherlands, he had a history of violence and, it now appears, was allied with a group of radical Muslims. Having shot Mr. Van Gogh while the filmmaker was riding his bicycle, and clutching a knife in both hands, Mohammed B. tried to cut off Van Gogh's head--"as if he were slicing bread," as one eyewitness related. For the deed, he had dressed himself in traditional Moroccan garb and, it seems, attempted to ritually slaughter the infidel, like an animal. He stuck a note on Van Gogh's chest with a knife. The minister of justice announced yesterday that the note was a letter addressed to Ms. Hirsi Ali, threatening her and filled with threats and anti-Semitic remarks. The letter, he noted, "shows an extreme religious ideology; it says that its enemies should fear for their lives." The minister of the interior, for his part, remarked that the letter was "a direct attack on the Dutch democratic system." And so it seems to be. In a strange and appalling way, Mohammed B. did to Mr. Van Gogh what Mr. Van Gogh did to the actresses and extras in "Submission"--the essential difference being that the actresses could wash the words away and leave the studio without a care, while the words on Mr. Van Gogh were pinned by his murderer to his dead flesh. This difference highlights what many in the Netherlands see as an enormous problem with the fundamentalist parts of Arab-Islamic cultures: an inability to view the world according to abstract principles, to transcend the literally militant passages of sacred texts. To some, the Koran to this day offers no prospect of a free interpretation, or a tolerant one, that can exist alongside the free speech of a liberal society. In the heyday of their multicultural utopia, the Dutch political and intellectual elites believed that radical Muslims and radical libertarians could exist peacefully together in the same society. In recent years it has become clear that such a belief was an illusion, although the politically correct media long tried to avoid the whole subject. Mr. Fortuyn, in his outspoken political career, broke the taboos surrounding the problems of immigration and paid with his life. Mr. Van Gogh paid the same price for a provocation that, had it been directed at Christianity rather than Islam, would have hardly raised an eyebrow. --------------------------------------------------------- MIM: Orignal text of Ebru Umar's open letter to Hirsi Ali . Beste Ayaan, Het is nu meer dan een maand geleden dat Theo van Gogh ritueel is afgeslacht, met een brief aan jóu op zijn buik vastgespietst. Theo is niet meer. Jij laat weten dat je alles leest en hoort. Ik hoop dat je ook kennis hebt genomen van de inhoud van de brief die Theo voor jou in ontvangst heeft mogen nemen. Ik ben blij dat die je strijdbaarheid heeft aangewakkerd. Er moest iemand dood, maar jij bent strijdbaarder dan ooit. Toch ben ik je dankbaar Ayaan. Je hebt de VVD –leden ontmaskerd als de meest hersenloze Nederlanders. Heb je niet heel erg hard moeten lachen om die staande ovatie? Een staande ovatie voor een vrouw, die de polarisatie in Nederland tot extremen heeft weten te brengen. Een staande ovatie voor een vrouw die een privé-oorlog tot nationale oorlog heeft weten te verheffen. Een staande ovatie voor een vrouw, voor wie Theo van Gogh 20 kogels om de oren kreeg, waarvan er zeven doel troffen. Een staande ovatie voor een vrouw, voor wie op het lichaam van Theo van Gogh met een mes een brief in zijn buik werd gespietst. Een staande ovatie voor een vrouw, voor wie Theo van Goghs hals werd doorgesneden. De VVD is niet meer wat ze geweest is, Ayaan, dank je voor het duidelijk maken daarvan. ‘To hell with the VVD' dat was jouw uitspraak die mij in september al ter ore kwam. To hell with the VVD, omdat jij jouw film, die Theo van Gogh het leven kostte, moest promoten, overal waar je uit naam van de VVD kwam. To hell with the VVD, de partij die jou nu al bijna twee jaar de hand boven het hoofd houdt, die een godsvermogen in jouw veiligheid investeert, die alle zeilen bijzet om de door jou gemaakte brokken bij elkaar te rapen en die nog steeds denkt dat jij een stemmentrekker i.p.v. een partijvernietiger bent. To hell with the VVD, zou ik ook zeggen als ik jou was. Het was niet de eerste keer dat ik je zoiets hoorde zeggen. Maar deze keer moest ik bijna overgeven. ‘To hell with the VVD'. Het bevestigde mijn mening dat jij duidelijk niet in de Tweede Kamer zit omdat je Nederland wilt dienen. Nee. Jij zit in de Tweede Kamer omdat je jezelf wilt dienen. Je bent zeker niet de enige in de kamer met die mentaliteit, Ayaan, maar wel de énige die alle ruimte –terecht of onterecht- van haar partij krijgt voor een privé-oorlog. Wat heb jij eigenlijk betekend voor de VVD als kamerlid, Ayaan? Dit voorjaar vroeg ik jou tijdens een lunch in Amsterdam of je je doelgroep wel bereikte en of het niet effectiever zou zijn om je aanvalsplan te wijzigen? Je zei letterlijk: ‘Ebru, ik heb mezelf afgesloten voor kritiek. Er zijn zoveel mensen die zeggen wat jij zegt. Iedereen zegt eigenlijk wat jij zegt. Maar als ik dat allemaal tot mij door laat dringen, dan kan ik niet werken. Ik doe wat ik wil. Op mijn wijze.' En je wuifde mijn opmerking weg, precies zoals je de repliek van de moslimdames in de NOVA uitzending wegwuifde. Einde gesprek. Weet je nog Ayaan, dat je ‘in gesprek' ging met moslimdames over hun ‘bevrijding' en de functie van de film ‘Submission'? Weet je nog dat je hun argumenten en opmerkingen denigrerend wegwuifde en ‘de groeten' riep toen zo'n door jou te bevrijden dame boos opstond en vertrok? Want iedereen heeft ongelijk, de enige die gelijk heeft, is Ayaan. Je gelijk is gebleken Ayaan. Je gelijk is dood, ritueel afgeslacht op de Linnaeusstraat. Jouw gelijk telt, de gevolgen niet. Hoeveel zetels levert jouw gelijk momenteel op voor de VVD? To hell with the VVD, nu zeg ik je dat zeker na. Ik heb het altijd al raar gevonden dat ik nog nooit een moslimvrouw heb horen zeggen dat ze blij zijn met jouw bemoeienis over hun emancipatie. Ik heb de afgelopen tijd wel velen horen zeggen dat ze blij zijn met de rituele afslachting van Theo. Heb je toch nog iets goeds gedaan voor radicale moslims, Ayaan, wees er maar trots op. Ik heb maar één vraag voor je Ayaan. Waarom heb je Theo van Gogh gevraagd? Waarom heb je niet Leon de Winter gevraagd? Leon is toch je vriend? Leon ambieert een filmcarrière, het had zijn doorbraak kunnen betekenen. Dát je Leon niet gevraagd hebt , weet ik. Ik denk dat het je om een ding te doen was: de internationale doorbraak van Ayaan. En dat lukt beter met een regisseur die ‘Van Gogh' heet dan met een regisseur die ‘De Winter' heet. Denk ik. Of heb je Leon niet gevraagd júist omdat Leon een vriend is, en omdat je niet wilde dat een vriend aan extreem gevaar blootgesteld zou worden? Waarom Ayaan? Waarom? Anders dan dat Theo die 18 duizend euro gelapt heeft (zou Leon dat gedaan hebben Ayaan?)? Waarom heb je Theo gebruikt, Ayaan? Hoewel ik er geen heil in zag, vond een wederzijdse vriendin dat wij elkaar moesten leren kennen. Ik dacht niet dat het tot iets zou leiden. Want Ayaan, jij bent niet geïnteresseerd in mensen die een mening hebben, anders dan de jouwe. Ik was daar niet verbaasd over. Je bent en blijft een allochtone vrouw met een allochtone denkwijze. Ook jij denkt altijd en overal dat je een loer gedraaid wordt, vooral door andere vrouwen, vooral door andere allochtonen. Want iemand die het in hoofdlijnen met je eens is, die bestaat alleen onder autochonen. Toch vond ik jou wel grappig, er zouden meer vrouwen moeten zijn die een eigen pad bewandelen. Ik denk namelijk dat die paden elkaar kunnen versterken, hoe meer paden hoe beter, hoe sterker. Maar als despotische einzelgänger bleek in de loop der tijd dat jij daar anders over dacht. Mijn persoonlijke afkeer voor jou begon tijdens de lunch, waarin ik jou het telefoonnummer van Theo van Gogh gaf. De allergrootste fout uit mijn leven, maar dat is een ander verhaal. Jij vond dat ik Mirjam Sterk van het CDA moest afkraken vanwege haar ‘apartheidsbeleid'. Jij vond dat Mirjam Sterk zwarte scholen stimuleerde door achter artikel 23 te blijven staan. En daar moest ik maar een cynisch stukje over schrijven, voor de website van Theo van Gogh. Ik weigerde pertinent, ik vind Mirjam Sterk een van de sterkste kamerleden op integratie sinds tijden. Ik zei zelfs dat ik niet snapte waarom jij niet méér met haar samenwerkte, maar continu de confrontatie opzocht. Jij zei: ‘Ruzie is goed. Daarmee scoor je punten in Den Haag. Nou goed, als je Mirjam niet wilt aanpakken, schrijf dan over haar baas, de minister van onderwijs, Maria van der Hoeven.' En toen daagde het: zo ga jij met de pers om. De pers, de marionetten van de BV Ayaan. Als je je ruzies in Den Haag kracht wil geven, bel je een persvriendje, zegt ‘kraak ff die en die af' en een rel is geboren. En de pers, altijd blij om de kolommen te vullen en gebeld te worden door mevrouw Hirsi Ali – Magan heet je toch eigenlijk Ayaan?- tikt het braaf op. Maar ja, waarom zou ik in godsnaam doen wat jij mij dicteert, en zeker als ik het totaal niet met je eens ben? Jouw verbazing grensde aan woede. Tijdens die lunch liet je je ware aard zien. Jouw minachting voor iedereen die een andere mening is toegedaan dan de jouwe is net zo groot als de minachting van orthodoxe moslims voor andersdenkenden. Dat hebben die korandocenten van je in midden Afrika er goed ingeramd. Jij staat helemaal niet open voor discussie. Sterker nog: wanneer heb jij voor het laatst gediscussieerd? Jij praat alleen maar, maar een discussie is er niet bij. Misschien laat mijn geheugen mij in de steek, maar ik kan mij uit het afgelopen half jaar geen tv -programma herinneren waar jij met iemand anders in gesprek was. Op moslimkinderen en islamitische vrouwen na, voor een NOVA camera. Dat ging je trouwens erg slecht af. ERG slecht. Ik kan mij verder geen debatzaal in het land herinneren, waar jij met het publiek en het panel in gesprek ging. Nee, Ayaan, jij luistert naar niemand en hoort het liefst je eigen stem. Vandaar ook natuurlijk ‘To hell with the VVD'. Ik heb oprecht bewondering voor hoe je het doet. De media zijn jouw lakeien, zij hebben weinig moeite om gehoor te geven aan de geboden van Ayaan. Jouw geboden leveren mooie plaatjes op, en quotes die voorpagina's sieren. Als ze ook tegen jou zouden zeggen, zoals ze tegen mij doen, dat jij totaal bezeten bent, en zeker niet altijd goed bij je hoofd, omdat het oorlog is in je hoofd, zou jij ze in de ban doen en zouden de voorpagina's de volgende keer leeg blijven. In NRC waarin Submission besproken werd, viel mij een zin op – waarschijnlijk viel die alleen mij op. Het was een uitspraak van Theo van Gogh. De strekking was als volgt (ik heb de NRC niet bij de hand voor het letterlijke citaat): ‘HO even Ayaan, er zijn nu twee kapiteins op het schip, en zo werkt het niet. Op de set ben IK de baas.' In Theo's uitspraak doemde de ware Ayaan weer op. Ayaan weet het beter, overal en altijd. Maar ja, nu mocht Theo natuurlijk de baas zijn, want hij had de moed om dit filmpje te draaien. En schoot ook maar meteen 18 duizend euro voor. Ayaan, het is jou om een ding te doen: jouzelf. Was het je maar om Nederland te doen Ayaan. Je bent een nomade, Ayaan, na Somalië, SaoediArabië, Kenia en Duitsland, is Nederland slechts een te passeren station. Het is jou nooit om Nederland te doen geweest. Je zei het zelf in Zomergasten: ‘ik wil de vrouwen in SaoediArabië en Iran emanciperen.' Juist, Ayaan goes international. Right. Er is meer moslimfundamentalisme dan ooit in Nederland. Jongeren spreken slechter Nederlands dan hun ouders. Gescheiden zwemmen wordt nog steeds goedgekeurd door onze regenten. Eerwraak is nog aan de orde van de dag. Importhuwelijken komen nog altijd voor. Zwarte scholen domineren het beeld in de grote steden. De werkloosheid onder allochtone jongeren is immens. M/V ongelijkheid wordt gepredikt in de moskeeen. Hoe lang moet ik nog doorgaan? Dit is de situatie in Nederland en jij, Nederlands kamerlid voor de VVD (To hell with the VVD), agendeert misschien deze punten, maar maakt je druk over vrouwen in SaoediArabië en Iran. Je moet je schamen. Heb het lef en verhuis naar die landen. Kun je daar je missie afmaken. Heb het lef en schreeuw het uit: TO HELL WITH THE VVD. Ebru Umar ----------------------------------------------- MIM: The article below was one in a series from the NOS nieuws which appeared in 2005 after the Van Gogh murder. It begins with Ali stating that "I feel guilty that I went to Theo van Gogh with the script for Submission" and ends with "she will not be held back from working on the sequel to Submission, only this time the director will remain anonymous". Hirsi Ali opgejaagd maar niet uitgespeeld http://www.nos.nl/nieuws/achtergronden/theovangogh/van_gogh_rol_hirsi_ali.html Ik voel me schuldig dat ik naar Theo ben gegaan met het script van 'Submission'. En dat hij daarom gedood is", schrijft Ayaan Hirsi Ali daags na de moord op Van Gogh in een open brief in NRC Handelsblad. De film over de koran is immers wat de filmmaker en de politica bindt. De brief aan Hirsi Ali die de moordenaar achterlaat op het lichaam van Van Gogh windt er ook geen doekjes om. Hij verzet zich tegen haar 'kruistocht' tegen de Islam. "Dit is een open brief aan een ongelovig fundamentalist, Ayaan Hirshi Ali", schrijft de dader. "U bent constant bezig om de Moslims en de Islam te terroriseren met uw uitlatingen." Woedend Hirsi Ali zegt boos te zijn dat zij wel werd beveiligd, maar Van Gogh niet. "Ik ben woedend dat hij dood is en dat ik leef. Ik weet dat ik leef omdat ik persoonsbeveiliging heb en hij dat niet had. Ik ben woedend dat hij een rituele slachting heeft moeten ondergaan." "Ik ben woedend erachter te komen dat de moordenaar van Theo van Gogh een bekende was van de AIVD. Ik vermoed dat er een dom kunstmatig onderscheid werd gehanteerd tussen politici en opiniemakers." In een brief die ze eind november aan haar partij de VVD stuurt, laat ze weten dat de moord haar nog strijdbaarder en sterker maakt. Diezelfde boodschap brengt ze ook als ze op 18 januari weer terugkeert in de Kamer, na een afwezigheid van tweeëneenhalve maand. Zij heeft al die tijd ondergedoken gezeten omdat haar leven in gevaar was. Gevlogen Op 10 november was de politica in het geheim door het ministerie van Defensie met een Orion naar het buitenland gevlogen om onder te duiken. Het is de dag van de belegering van een woning in de Haagse Antheunisstraat, die volgt op de arrestatie van vijf terreurverdachten in Amersfoort en Amsterdam, die tot de zogenoemde Hofstadgroep behoorden. Na een urenlange belegering in de Haagse Antheunisstraat worden twee terreurverdachten gepakt. Met hun arrestatie zou een aanslag op Hirsi Ali en Geert Wilders zijn verijdeld. De arrestanten hadden contact met Mohammed B. Door Als Hirsi Ali na het kerstreces terugkomt in de Kamer is haar boodschap: "Ik ga door." In de persconferentie die ze bij haar terugkeer houdt, zegt ze haar strijd tegen de radicale islam voort te zetten en haar toon niet te matigen. De boodschap is duidelijk: de politica laat zich niet intimideren. Ze laat zich er dan ook niet van weerhouden door te werken aan een vervolg op 'Submission'. Alleen zal ditmaal de regisseur anoniem blijven. Printer-friendly version Email this item to a friend