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    Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
    Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
    Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
    Audiobook11 hours

    Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations

    Written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

    Narrated by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

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    About this audiobook

    Internationally bestselling author Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells the stirring story of her search for a new life in America, recounting dramatic stories of her family and the challenges they faced adapting to Western society as Muslim immigrants.

    Ayaan Hirsi Ali captured the world’s attention with Infidel, her compelling coming-of-age memoir, which spent thirty-one weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Now, in Nomad, Hirsi Ali tells of coming to America to build a new life, an ocean away from the death threats made to her by European Islamists, the strife she witnessed, and the inner conflict she suffered. It is the story of her physical journey to freedom and, more crucially, her emotional journey to freedom—her transition from a tribal mind-set that restricts women’s every thought and action to a life as a free and equal citizen in an open society. Through stories of the challenges she has faced, she shows the difficulty of reconciling the contradictions of Islam with Western values.

    In these pages Hirsi Ali recounts the many turns her life took after she broke with her family, and how she struggled to throw off restrictive superstitions and misconceptions that initially hobbled her ability to assimilate into Western society. She writes movingly of her reconciliation, on his deathbed, with her devout father, who had disowned her when she renounced Islam after 9/11, as well as with her mother and cousins in Somalia and in Europe.

    Nomad is a portrait of a family torn apart by the clash of civilizations. But it is also a touching, uplifting, and often funny account of one woman’s discovery of today’s America. While Hirsi Ali loves much of what she encounters, she fears we are repeating the European mistake of underestimating radical Islam. She conveys an urgent message and mission—to inform the West of the extent of the threat from Islam, both from outside and from within our open societies. A celebration of free speech and democracy, Nomad is an important contribution to the history of ideas, but above all a rousing call to action.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMay 18, 2010
    ISBN9780743599139
    Author

    Ayaan Hirsi Ali

    Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born women’s rights activist, free speech advocate, and the New York Times bestselling author of Infidel, The Caged Virgin, Nomad, Heretic, and The Challenge of Dawa. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, she grew up in Africa and the Middle East, before seeking asylum in the Netherlands, where she went on to become a member of parliament. Today she lives in the United States with her husband and two sons.

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    Reviews for Nomad

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    • 2/5
      Knowing I was taking a course on Islam, a dying friend gave two books by Hirsi Ali to me. So my expectations were high. After all, my friend was an intelligent person, not someone to cave in to religious fear-mongering or knee-jerk distrust of anything non-Christian. So I was surprised to find a remarkably unfair and simplistic book looking at the situation of Islam in the global realm.One thing cannot be denied: Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an amazing woman. She grew up in a rigidly conservative Muslim family in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, always on the move because her dad was a political target. Her family was incredibly dysfunctional, and all her siblings in one way or another were left unable to function in the adult world. When her dad sent her from Kenya to Canada for an arranged marriage to a distant relatively, Hirsi Ali escaped, finding political asylum in Holland. There she found a culture where (as she puts it) questions were encouraged over dogmas, women were valued as more than just baby incubators, and positive change and innovation took place over oppressive and rigid tradition. She became a member of Parliament until moving to America, where she is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. All this before hitting 40 ? wow.So understandably, much of Hirsi Ali?s career is devoted to exposing radical Islam on a global scale. She wants her audience to feel that global Islam is a dangerous threat, that the line separating violent Islamists from civilian Muslims is dangerously thin. This is where I must part with her. She always speaks of Muslims in the singular: ?all Muslims? are conditioned to be violent, ?Muslim women? are oppressed, etc. There is no problem that tribalism, extreme sexism, violence, and a lack of free speech are a part of the Islamic world. But she fails to qualify her statements. I have known half a dozen Muslim women, whose families come from three different Islamic countries, and only one of those six had the kind of upbringing Ali had. So already we can see that not every Muslim in the world is brought up in a family that fails to educate her, value her, etc.Oh, and as for violence ? I wonder what Hirsi Ali would make of John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed?s book What a Billion Muslims Really Think, in which they find that Muslims worldwide are not as radical as people like Hirsi Ali like to think. I?m also reminded of Reza Aslan?s point about ?Muslim Rage,? that it has more to do with political agendas and regimes than being Muslim. Hirsi Ali does not argue from statistics. For example, she cites a few cases of honor killing (a young Muslim woman murdered by a family member to protect family honor from her sexual transgressions) in the U.S., then argues that honor killing must be a major problem among American Muslims. This reminded me of Richard Dawkins? arguments that religion is intrinsically evil: find a few infuriating cases, get the reader angry, then jump to a broad conclusion. Basically, arguing from anecdotes.Her statements about the veil were equally ridiculous. She says that the headscarf and veil ?represent the mental and physical restrictions that so many Muslim women have to suffer.? Yes, in some (perhaps many) Muslim cultures, women are under immense social pressure to wear the veil, and may be legally or physically punished if they show their hair in public. But What a Billion Muslims Really Think shows that most Muslim women worldwide prefer some form of hair covering. My friends tell me that they feel more secure, more valued for their personality and intellect because men are not staring at their beauty. There?s just more ambiguity than Hirsi Ali wants to see.So, no I would not recommend reading this book for a good portrait of global Islam. Hirsi Ali is far too much of an ideologue with all the attendant lack of self-criticism. Though she made some good points, she would have been more effective had she tempered them with some ambiguity.
    • 5/5
      This is a five star book. I can only imagine people are giving it poor reviews for political reasons, which is a shame. She has such insight and knowledge.
    • 4/5
      Her unique point of view (Somali born, Muslim raised, european refugee) lend credibility to her challenging and difficult ideas about cultural assimilation and the Muslim world. Most striking to me in her ideas were the challenge to Western feminists, and the idea of tribal loyalty vs. individualism.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      It was interesting. The story of how she got from Somalia to America was fascinating. I was troubled by her not even bothering to acknowledge (only in the most dismissive terms) that her life was a privileged one. The leap that she expects other Muslim women to make, the one she made, is simply not possible.

      The "tough love" approach to other Muslim women was something I found incredibly offensive. I doubt if it would have any effect in real life beyond losing a friend who desperately needed some friends at a difficult time in their life.
    • 4/5
      I'm struggling with this book, trying to reconcile it to my world view -- and trying to decide if I want to. I can see why this book is so controversial and upsetting to the Muslim community -- the author is an atheist who, while not critical of all Muslims, is certainly critical of Islam itself. She argues that Islam and its current worldview is a threat to world peace. She has an amazing life story, and she definitely explains how her experiences have shaped her views. I found many of her arguments convincing, but I also wonder if I should, or I'm letting my prejudices and fears overwhelm me. I've always been offended by evangelical proselytizing, yet Hirsi Ali argues Christians need to proselytize to prevent the spread of Muslim fundamentalism. But I was definitely convinced by her concern for Muslim girls and women who are victimized by their patriarchal, honor-based culture.
    • 4/5
      I read Infidel, by Ali, several years ago hoping to glean some understanding of the Somali culture. Our family has been very involved with a Somalian refugee family for several years, and their children have become dear friends with ours. My hope was to gain a greater understanding of the world from which they came. I was not prepared for the disruption in my own life that would occur. Nomad poses challenging questions around the role of the Western world as it pertains to welcoming and assimilating our Muslim friends into our Western culture. Her views are well-thought through and controversial to say the least. And I say "controversial" in the best light. She pushes us to think. She challenges whatever your existing paradigms might be. Regardless of where you ultimately land on the issues, Nomad provides fodder for thought and healthy debate. I'd suggest that it's an important read for us all.
    • 3/5
      I have mixed feeling about Hirsi Ali and this book. I really enjoyed Infidel and it was eye opening. This book on the other hand, I feel like was her recaping Infidel and then adding in all her opinions on Muslims and how they should change or other countries should change. I agree with a few things she states in this book, but on the other hand I don't agree in many aspects. I work with Muslims on daily basis and I see many of the things she refers too, but I have also met many men and women who were able to assimilate just fine. Though she brings up many very interesting points, sometime I cannot relate to her way of thinking.
    • 4/5
      In this follow up to her earlier memoir, Infidel, Hirsi Ali gives a brief update on her life since moving to the US, and updates on her intellectual work fighting global injustice done in the name of tradition (both Islamic and tribal).In the first section of the book, she examines various members of her highly dysfunctional family and their individual struggles. At first I wasn't particularly interested in these stories, until I saw how she was doing this to illustrate her main points. Each person was pushed, kicking and screaming, out of their extremely malfunctional society and toward a modern one, and each member, in his or her own way, failed miserably. As she goes on to expound on the problems of Islamic societies, she illustrates her points through her own experiences and those of her family.Hirsi Ali is a remarkable human who is incredibly brave and brilliantly intelligent. She is gifted at presenting her argument calmly, clearly and with great eloquence. Although she is controversial and has a vast number of detractors, I've yet to see anyone take her on who doesn't walk away looking foolish. One of her main goals is to end needless suffering--how can you argue with that?Recommended for: Anyone interested in the art of presenting an argument clearly and succinctly, whether you share her concerns or not. Also anyone who is interested in human rights, justice, women, and Islamic issues. If you haven't read Infidel yet, I'd recommend that one first, as it gives a fuller picture of her amazing life--Nomad is written for an audience who already knows her background.
    • 3/5
      This is a disappointing book, particularly when compared to the author's previous book entitled Infidel. In Infidel Ali spoke of her life in a fundamentalist Somali Muslim family with a politically active and then incarcerated father. She spoke of the tribal and traditionalist views of her grandmother, and how her family had relocated from one nation to another seeking a stable home. This first book contained many insights about those nations and about traditional tribal and religious views. It was also appealing in that it culminated in several chapters where Ali described how she had found the West, and, even more important, found the tradition of Enlightenment in the West. If the Infidel volume might be subtitled "the rise of Ali," the present volume should be subtitled "the decline of Ali." It contains long tedious laments about her family members, none of whom ever successfully adjusted to the influences of modernity as had Ali. It is not clear whether these chapters are written to close the stories of these family members or because Ali is having great psychological difficulties justifying to herself why they were destroyed by the transitions going on around them and she flourished. Ali's appreciation for and advocacy for the unique characteristics of the Enlightenment is largely absent in this second volume. Instead, Ali now seems to be championing the West, whether Enlightenment or post-Enlightenment, against Islam. One might almost say that she has declared Jihad against Islam. Her former orientation of "isn't it too bad that people are still living in medieval societies thinking medieval thoughts when they could live in modern societies thinking Enlightened thoughts," has become a crusade against a Threat To The West. It is apparent that Ali is so obsessed with what Islam (not Islam and traditional society but Islam alone) "did to" those who were close to her that she will go to any lengths to discredit and "combat" this Ultimate Evil. Although still an atheist, Ali now advocates for the Roman Catholic Faith as a weapon against Islam. One suspects that much of this change is due to a change in those with whom Ali surrounds herself. The Infidel book was written as she had left Dutch society, the birthplace of Enlightenment and perhaps the last remaining refuge of a largely Enlightenment views in the West. The new volume is written after years of association with the conservatives at the American Enterprise Institute and other such rightwing "think tanks". If one wants to understand the decline of Ali, one only has to look at what "conservatism" has become in America over the last 30 years.
    • 4/5
      In this book, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, speaks of being a nomad; a wanderer going from place to place trying to find herself and where she belongs. Being born Muslim, she has since rejected her faith and has become outspoken about the faith and its abuses toward women. She is regarded as a heretic and her life has been threatened. In this book, she speaks of her family in more depth and tells of the tragedies that befell them due to their upbringing in the Islamic religion. She came to America, after seeking asylum in Holland and living there for many years, because she felt that America had values that were more consistent with the freedoms she wanted to pursue. Since coming to America she has begun a campaign on making people aware of the tragedies that befall women of the Islamic faith. She believes that if the West would take a stand and impose their standards and beliefs to Muslims instead of sitting idly by, things would be different and change would occur. She has sought help from universities, religious institutions, and feminist groups to help with her crusade. Although I see her point I can't totally agree with her solution of placing Christian values at the core of the remedy. I feel that it is replacing one calamity for a less destructive one, at least at this point in time because history does speak differently, but none the less still a calamity. A point that she made in the book that I felt summed up the entire book was "All human beings are equal, but all cultures and religions are not." The goal being to find that ground where the culture and the religion interact freely with the human being to guarantee equality amongst all.
    • 5/5
      I have recommended this book be required reading for all future students taking the course on Islam. I also will be purchasing my own copy and re-reading it, taking notes, and thinking through the numerous issues that Ali challenged my thinking on... I honestly cannot recommend this book enough, to everyone EVERYWHERE, but particularly to Christians who may find themselves more ignorant than they think when it comes to Islam and world issues. Ali is a former Muslim who is now an atheist, and as a refugee who has gone through unspeakable horrors in her lifetime, she provides a unique perspective on Islam, its treatment of women, and how the Western world often harms refugees with its 'openness' and 'tolerance' of other religions and cultures.I found myself very forcefully challenged by many of her ideas and perspectives, and I am still struggling to figure out where I stand on many of the issues she raised. A lot of things I thought I knew -- or believed firmly -- about refugees, tolerance, and cultural awareness have been torn to shreds after reading this book, and I'm still trying to fit the pieces back together. Ali's life experiences (including FGM) will shatter you, rip your heart out, and force you to confront the way Western society approaches Islam and hidden social injustices right within our cities. You think female circumcision is something that happens "over there" across the ocean? Think again. You think giving money to refugees is always a good idea? Consider that it's a cultural norm to send all that money back home to help support their relatives, and because they have no understanding of finances whatsoever, they remain in poverty here in our rich nations. And we wonder why there are immigrant ghettos.I could talk for hours about this book and why everyone in the West needs to read a copy, but hopefully I've given you enough here to entice you to pick up a copy and give it a shot. Be prepared to have your mind opened and your perspectives challenged. And that's a good thing.
    • 5/5
      Terrific insight and courage. Must read I believe if anyone wishes to understand current Islamic strife with the west.
    • 3/5
      This is not just a straight linear story of Ayaan's life, or volume 3 thereof. She follows several of her family members, giving their story and showing their problems, quite simply how Islam messed with their heads, all of them and prevented them leading a 'normal' life. All this is interweaved with her own history but much more reflective than her previous volumes as to the how and why. For that reason it's slightly less accessible than Infidel. She identifies the three key problems facing Muslim refugees as 'sex, violence and money' due to the completely different attitudes towards them in the West'. Her experiences in the Netherlands working with refugees give weight to what she says.Ayaan is uncompromising in her description of the violence and subjugation of women that Islam produces. She is also uncompromising in her denunciation of Western tolerance towards Islam, its welcoming of all things multicultural and the West's refusal to criticise Islam lest it upset people.As an atheist I find her suggestion that Christians ought to proselytise more in order that Muslims can transfer their religious beliefs from Allah to God unpleasant but understandable. It strengthens the need for atheism to be seen as a positive force rather than a vacuum.She writes clearly and concisely in a very calm manner considering the tale that she is telling. This strengthens her voice and makes it louder. She is impassioned and yet reasoned. This is a book that everyone ought to read, not just women, not just westerners.
    • 4/5
      A critical look at the many facets of Islam and Mid-East tribalism from one who has lived the life and escaped from it. Hirsi Ali is an accomplished writer with an important story to tell. I can understand why she travels with body guards.