As Hamas on October 7, 2023 demonstrated in tortures, beheadings, raping and murders, Ayaan Hirsi Ali was and is precisely right about the terrifying threats of Muslim males to the world. ( )

This book was a real eye opener for me. As a left wing liberal I was totally opposed to Bush's invasion of Iraq. And I'm still opposed to the reason U.S. troops were sent in. Lets face it the U.S. didn't invade Iraq to spread democracy, we went in for the oil.
But what I learned from reading Nomad is that perhaps offensive actions against Islam do need to be taken. Liberals believe in acceptance of foreign cultures. That it's wrong to force our beliefs and ideas on cultures universally. But what if the beliefs of a culture or a religion are just plain wrong ? Hirsi Ali, telling her story of escaping the abuses she experienced first hand, makes it painfully clear that the systematic abuse of hundreds of millions of Islamic women is just plain wrong. And while she by no means suggests that the West wage an all out military war against Islam, she discusses a number of ways in which The West does have to wage a full scale offensive war of propaganda against Islam, not only to protect ourselves from the terrorists threats, but to put and end to the modern day enslavement of countless Islamic women. Why should we allow this to occur ?

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This book is really the tale of two books, the first half, which was languid and largely repetitive of Infidel, and a fascinating, thoughtful and gripping second half. This is why I gave the book four rather than five stars.

The second half of the book explores several salient and indeed urgent issues: 1) the origin of Islam as a successor to tribal religions; 2) the role of "honor" in Islam and its baleful effect on women; 3) the role of Islam in oppressing people and especially women; 4) the role of violence in Islam; and 5) why the Arab-Israeli conflict is not soluble by a giveaway of territory.

The author was brought up Muslim. She fled to the West, away from a marriage arranged by her father. After a short stop in Germany she wound up in the Netherlands. She quickly learned the ropes and was elected to Parliament. Thereafter she fled to the U.S. after the threats on her life became burdensome to Dutch authorities.

In the U.S. she joined American Enterprise Institute, become a leading spokesperson for female rights and the rights of individual Muslims to resist deadly pressure from within. This book is a must read, even if the beginning is a slog. ( )

Another excellent book from Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Love her writing, her clarity, bravery and willingness to go out on a limb for the sake of truth. ( )

I just adore Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I admit that I kind of have a crush on her. She's outspoken and incredibly brave. She's an enduring target for abuse and threats from both sides of the political aisle, yet she carries on with remarkable consistency and a calm demeanor. She's not afraid to open herself up to that abuse and stand up to it.

Her writing wanders a bit, but there's always a point to it, so I don't mind. Plus, her stories are fascinating.

Her relationship with her grandmother tugs at my heart in ways that her relationships with the rest of her family doesn't. Rightly, she has a great deal of sadness about her siblings and parents. But her grandmother is presented as a strong woman with deeper ties to a tribal Africa without the colonial religions of the Middle East. Ali understands her grandmother's need for kinship.

This book goes over a lot of the same ground as [b:Infidel|81227|Infidel|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388256729s/81227.jpg|1133588] and reinforces the ideas she put forth in her earlier work. It also adds depth and dimension to her decisions after her expulsion from Holland. Her decision to work for The American Enterprise Institute was refreshing. She made the decision because they left her studies and opinion up to her. It blows me away when people misrepresent her social positions based on the Institute's positions.

There was one part of the book that I was uncomfortable with. I wish that she had spent more time talking about the radicalization process and what happens in the mosques and churches that are similar. Because they are. The difference is only in the outcome. I think that there would be a far greater understanding from her critics if she'd done this instead of praising Christianity in such effusive terms. It's unfortunate, but her audiences is firmly in the Anglosphere and is far more familiar with Christianity than Islam and would make the jump much more readily. ( )