As the debate on Islam rages on and propagandists on all sides try to pass off dis-information as fact (Islam is a peaceful religion -- yeah, right) or the West has declared war on Islam (oh, we got bigger fish to fry) the name Ayaan Hirsi Ali keeps popping up.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali disavowed Islam and left the religion and has been outspoken and unafraid to actively campaign against Islamic practices and specifically Islam's subjugation of women and the cruel and arcane practice of female circumcision, also known as genital cutting or mutilation.  Radical Islamic Extremists have put out a  Fatwa (an Islamic death sentence) on her necessitating her to live under the protection of armed bodyguards.

Deborah Solomon's interview with Hirsi Ali, for the New York Times Magazine provides a brief, albeit basic, glimpse into who this amazing woman is and what she stands for.  Her answers are loaded with meaning that can only be found between the lines. 

Solomon's questions are in bold text and Hirsi Ali's answers are in regular. 

What Islam really needs is a reform branch -- Reform Islam, which, like the Reform Jewish movement, would reconcile an ancient faith with modern ways.

 

The problem is that those of us who were born into Islam and who don't want to live according to scripture -- we don't have what the Jews have, which is a rabbinical tradition that allows you to ask questions. We also don't have the church tradition that the Christians have.

 

You have the mosque.
The mosque is not the church.