Hirsi Ali returns to the Netherlands

October 1, 2007

Former Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali returned to the Netherlands, from the United States because she can no longer be protected in that country. The Dutch government has stopped paying for her protection in the U.S. as of October 1, and the American government is not willing to pay for her security.

Hirsi Ali left for the United States in 2006 in order to work for the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.. Now she has returned back to the Netherlands and she will continue for the American think tank. The Dutch government has agreed to continue paying for her protection, now that she is back on Dutch soil.

Hirsi Ali has needed protection because she has been uttering critical remarks on Islam for which she received several threats. Ali wrote the script for Submission, a movie about the Muslim culture and its treatment of women in 2004. Shortly after, Theo Van Gogh, the creator of the film was assassinated by Muslim extremists who also threatened to kill Ali.