Hirsi Ali gets several invitations from Denmark

The former Dutch politician and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali now gets a direct invitation from the Danish minister of Culture. Hirsi Ali has lived under police protection since 2004 due to threats from Muslim extremists. The reason for the invitation is connected to the fact that the parliament in Holland has refused to pay for the protection of the author in her present exile of the United States.

In 2004 Ayaan Hirsi Ali contributed to a movie called Submission, concerned with the subjugation of women under the Islamic code. Following the broadcasting of the movie the Dutch director Theo Van Gogh was killed by the Islamic fanatic Muhammed Bouyeri on an Amsterdam street. This also meant that Ayaan Hirsi Ali had to be protected against similar threats on a permanent basis.

In 2006 the author migrated to the US, where she has been working for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). - In an interview with Reason magazine Hirsi Ali mentions that she first hesitated at the idea of cooperating with the institute, since she does not consider herself a conservative or a religious person, but is an atheist and sees herself as a classical liberal; and she initially thought this would be a problem for the conservative think tank. However this was not the case, since her ideas and values according to her are respected at the AEI. In the interview with Reason Magazine one may also read that Hirsi Ali along with former UN Ambassador for the US, John Bolton believes that "talking to Iran is a sheer waste of time".

According to the Danish news paper Jyllands-Posten the invitation from the Danish minister may enjoy general support from the members of parliament including "the Danish Peoples party". The social democrats have nevertheless criticized the fact that an invitation to a specific individual is coming from a minister. They feel such initiatives should originate from elsewhere.

Odense, the home town of Hans Christian Anderson, has been named as a city that has a particular interest in the project of securing a safe haven for the Somali born Hirsi Ali, but local politicians from many others cities have expressed their interest as well.

From the Copenhagen Institute.