caption children birth_place citizenship image_size party article_title birth_date notable_works known_for organization image spouse birth_name occupation alma_mater
ayaan , switzerland in 2012 speaking at university of st. gallen 1 mogadishu , somalia united states netherlands 280px 2001 2006 people 's party for freedom and democracy -- 2002 : dutch labour party 2002 -- ayaan hirsi ali
 13 november 1969 '' infidel '' '' heretic '' submission '' '' the caged virgin '' '' women of religion criticism of islam 's rights advocacy anti-female genital mutilation '' criticism aha foundation file : ali.png niall ferguson ayaan hirsi magan politician , author leiden university -lrb- m.sc . -rrb-
ayaan hirsi ali

ayaan hirsi ali -lrb- , born ayaan hirsi magan , on 13 november 1969 -rrb- is a somali-born dutch-american dual citizen activist , author , and politician .
she is critical of female genital mutilation and islam ; and supportive of women 's rights and atheism .
hirsi ali is the daughter of the somali politician and opposition leader hirsi magan isse .
she and her family left somalia in 1977 for saudi arabia , then ethiopia , and later settled in kenya .
in 1992 , ali sought and obtained political asylum in the netherlands .
following graduate work , she published articles on her political views and spoke in support of muslim women , becoming an atheist .
in 2003 hirsi ali was elected a member of the house of representatives -lrb- the lower house of the dutch parliament -rrb- , representing the people 's party for freedom and democracy -lrb- vvd -rrb- .
a political crisis related to the validity of her dutch citizenship led to her resignation from parliament , and indirectly to the fall of the second balkenende cabinet in 2006 .
ayaan has been a vocal critic of islam .
in 2004 , she collaborated on a short movie with theo van gogh , entitled `` submission '' , the english rendering of the word `` islam '' .
the documentary sparked controversy , which resulted in death threats against the two and the eventual assassination of van gogh later that year by a dutch muslim .
in a 2007 interview , she described islam as an `` enemy '' that needs to be defeated before peace can be achieved .
but in her latest book `` heretic '' -lrb- 2015 -rrb- she moderated her views of islam and now calls for a reform of the religion by supporting reformist muslims .
in 2005 hirsi ali was named by `` time '' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world .
she has also received several awards , including a free speech award from the danish newspaper `` jyllands-posten '' , the swedish liberal party 's democracy prize , and the moral courage award for commitment to conflict resolution , ethics , and world citizenship .
hirsi ali has published two autobiographies : in 2006 and 2010 .
hirsi ali emigrated to the united states , where she was a fellow of the american enterprise institute .
she founded the women 's rights organisation the aha foundation .
she became a naturalised u.s. citizen in 2013 and that year was made a fellow at the kennedy government school at harvard university and a member of the future of diplomacy project at the belfer center .
she is married to british historian and public commentator niall ferguson .
