It begins: "As Theo cycled down the Linnaeusstratt, Muhammad Bouyeri approached. He pulled out his gun and shot Theo several times. Theo fell off his bike and lurched across the road, then collapsed. Bouyeri followed. Theo begged "Can't we talk about this?" but Bouyeri shot him four more times. Then he took out one of his butcher knives and sawed into Theo's throat. With the other knife, he stabbed a five-page letter onto Theo's chest. The letter was addressed to me.
This compelling memoir of Ayaan's life tells about her life growing up in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, And Kenya in a strict Muslim family and the internal struggles she has with her faith. At 36, Ali fled to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. There she found work as a translator for social-service agencies, and she became very aware of abuse Muslim women were enduring at the hands of their husbands. She realized she couldn't remain quiet about their plight. She won a seat in the Dutch parliament in 2003 and championed a measure to protect Muslim women in that country. She even made the short film "Submission, which condemned the treatment of women in Islamic societies. Death threats soon followed and the director of the film, Theo, was murdered.
I thought this book was very interesting because it gives you a look at several different cultures, their daily lives, descriptions of the countryside, and their beliefs. I was also fascinated with Ayaan's journey of faith and the questions she was brave enough to ask. She has a great talent for recalling, describing and honestly analyzing the precise state of her feelings each stage of her journey.
Susan
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