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June 27, 2006

Holland: Islam Critic Hirsi Ali Will Keep Her Citizenship

On May 16 we described the undignified saga surrounding Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and revelations made about her in a documentary aired on Dutch TV on Thursday May 11. It was revealed that Hirsi Ali, originally from Somalia, had lied about her age and her name when she applied for refugee status in 1992.

Since she claimed asylum, Hirsi Ali became naturalised in 1997, she became a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party, or VVD in 2003, and was one of Europe's foremost critics of Islam. She wrote the script for Theo van Gogh's film Submission, concerning the poor treatment of women in Islam. This work caused van Gogh to be stabbed and shot to death in a Dutch street on November 2, 2004, by ran Islamist of Moroccan descent named Mohamed Bouyeri. Pinned to the film-maker's chest with a knife was a list of people who were targeted for killing, including Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders, another MP.

Since that time, Hirsi Ali and Wilders have had to live in hiding, under tight security at all times. They have both received numerous death threats.

Following the May 11 television documentary, there were calls for Hirsi Ali to have her citizenship revoked by her opponents, and within a few days Hirsi herself had announced her resignation as an MP.

The Minister for Immigration and Integration, Rita Verdonk, also of the VVD, declared on May 15 that Ayaan Hirsi Ali should lose her citizenship status, as she had "lied". Despite this knee-jerk reactionon the part of Verdonk, Hirsi Ali had openly stated, years before the "revelatory" TV documentary, that she had initially lied to gain asylum.

A report in today's Expatica states that an agreement was made between senior Cabinet ministers late last night, which makes it now highly likely that Hirsi Ali will not lose her status as a citizen of the Netherlands.

The meeting was held in the apartment of the Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende. One of those present, Deputy Prime Minister Gerrit Zalm, said there was "good hope" that the issue will be resolved this week. Zalm had headed the VDD when he recruited Hirsi Ali to stand for parliament, representing the party. She admitted to him then that she had falsified her name. Her real name is Ayaan Hirsi Magan, but Ali is the name of her grandfather.

Verdonk received criticism at home and abroad when she had told Ayaan on May 15 that she had six weeks to show reasons why her citizenship of the Netherlands should not be revoked. Motions were called in parliament to ensure Hirsi Ali retained her citizenship.

Now, it appears that Verdonk, whose personal standing within the VVD dropped after the fuss she created, is changing her position, and is stating that in Somalia it is legal and acceptable to adopt the name of a grandfather.

Verdonk, at the time of her declarations against Hirsi Ali, had been a favourite to win the leadership of the party in an election campaign. She was defeated.

Today, states Expatica, Hirsi Ali is publicly exonerating Verdonk in a letter which will be debated by opposition MPs tomorrow, and claiming that she was responsible for the fiasco. In this letter, she says: "Contrary to what I have sometimes said in the past, the name Ali really does belong to me. I regret that I have put her [Verdonk] on the wrong track by this."

She writes that she has "complete understanding" of the manner in which Verdonk dealt with the issue.

Meanwhile, left-wingers are now claiming that if Ayaan Hirsi Ali can claim citizenship, then sixty other individuals who were stripped of Dutch nationality for lying should also be granted rights of citizenship.

UPDATE - 28 June: Expatica states that MPs of the VVD (Liberal Party) and the Christian Democrats, the main parties in the coalition government, have agreed they are happy with Verdonk's resolution of the Ayan Hirsi Ali citizenship issue, but this evening she is expected to be under fire from opposition parties.

Hirsi Ali said from the US last night that the statement which she had signed had been drafted by government officials. She is finalising her visa to the US, and was led to believe that visa finalisations would happen more swiftly if the issue of her Dutch citizenship was resolved.

Wouter Bos, the leader of the Labour Party has said that the Netherlands is a "banana republic" if Verdonk had pressured Ayaan Hirsi Ali to sin the document.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 27, 2006 6:07 PM

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Posted by: duvaldoxy at June 28, 2006 10:17 AM

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