Making it

Vincent C.’s e-mail, below, inspired this introduction (with apologies to Tennyson):

THE CONSERVATIVES AND AYAAN

Ayaan the dark, Ayaan the elegant,
Ayaan, the left-wing feminist of AEI,
High in her well-appointed D.C. office
Ensconced in the “right-wing” establishment,
Guarded by her Dutch security,
As she makes war on Christianity,
Which she equates with Nazi Germany,
Seeking to turn the West into a base
For secular leftist Muslims like herself,
Is finally featured in the Style Section.

Vincent C. writes:

Though it took longer than I expected, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has made it to the big time in the nation’s capital: the subject of an over-the-top front page story, along with a large photo, in the Style Section of The Washington Post. (March 7). Entitled, “True Unbeliever,” the article chronicles Hirsi’s past life in Somalia and the Netherlands, and her current life in the U.S., and is written in a manner reserved to those the Post defers to as its preferred celebrities, especially women. This kind of journalistic swooning was frequently used by The Post’s reporters in stories related to former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor. Hirsi Ali fits that bill.

After comparing Ali to other iconoclasts, troublemakers, provocateurs, opportunists and polemicists, we learn that Ali’s book is #7 on The NY Times bestseller list, “with lots of forward lean to the narrative,” whatever that means. Then we get our first quote from Ali: “Islam is a culture that has been outlived.” What follows for some length are quotes from adversaries who consider her a “Muslim basher,” as well as those “Western feminists defenders of free speech” who simply “adore” her. We also learn about Ali’s “ditch(ing) two husbands, losing her faith and being disowned by her family.” The Dutch author, Ian Baruma, whom I have read and believe a serious writer, is uncharacteristically quoted as saying that when Ali walks into a room, “Neoconservative, middle-aged white men swoon.” That was surprising, but even more so—at least to me—is that while an employee of the American Enterprise Institute here in Washington, Ali is shadowed by bodyguards employed by the Dutch government.

Ali does come across as savvy regarding the inherent jihadist tendencies in Islam. She says, for example, that the 9/11 attack was not the work of any “lunatic fringe,” but, from “…the core of Islam.” She is insistent that Muslims adapt Western values, and that the Netherlands should amend its constitution to ban faith-based schools in order to keep Muslim parents from sending their children to Muslim schools. No mention, however, is made of her ranting about Christianity; it is never discussed.

In the end, What Hirsi Ali really wants is … a green card. She wants to stay here after traveling over the last five years. “I’d like to buy a place, have a circle of friends around me, work, have a weekend. I’d like to try to be an average American.” Of course, one could ask on what basis could she apply? As a refugee? Seeking political asylum? Clearly she fits into neither category. I, for one, have no doubt that she will be successful in her effort to stay. The Post reports tell you why: Ali is “Smart, angry, tough, vulnerable: she’ll be a big hit in this country.”

The more serious question, however, is whether the country really wants or needs Hirsi Ali? Of that I have no doubt: we should make sure that she has a paid return ticket to the destination of her choice.

LA replied:

What makes you assume that Ali doesn’t already have a green card? I simply assumed, on the basis of her connection with AEI, that she already has one.

Vincent replies:

The article leaves no doubt that she does NOT have the green card. Here are the pertinent lines, under the paragraph titled, “American Dream:”

“She wants a green card. She says she wants to stay (my emphasis) and that she is tired, after five years of almost constant controversy.”

If she already had the card, “wants to stay” would not be raised; she would be legally here. If she were here as a green card holder, would the Dutch government pay for her protection?

My guess is, as I indicated, that either AEI and/or her “adoring” followers will seek refugee and/or asylum status for her, neither of which she is legally entitled to. But my hunch is, despite those obstacles, she will get one or the other. BTW, as a “refugee,” she would be entitled to (limited) government subsidy, something she obviously does not need: “I’d like to buy a place….” In this area, we’re not talking chump change here.

A recent decision to grant asylum to an African family (they attend my church) leads me to believe that, in addition to the breaking down of the immigration system, the asylum/refugee portals are wide enough to drive a Mack truck through.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 08, 2007 01:47 PM | Send