NYT Sunday Magazine featured a very interesting profile of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born, Kenya-raised, Dutch politician, whose views on Islam and feminism have stirred up controversy, to say the least.
The profile, written by Christopher Caldwell, is sympathetic and revelatory. Ali reminds me of another Islamic feminist, Irshad Manji, whose book has just been released in paperback in the U.S. There seems to be just the possibility that somewhere in the "clash of civilizations" debate Islamic feminism might get a word in edgewise. Ali seems far more of a breakthrough for African immigrant politicians in the West than the ballyhooed but timid Barack Obama.
posted by Tavia @ 11:36 AM
4 Comments:
Care to elaborate on the timidity of Obama?
Oh I was thinking of his vote to confirm Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State.
Yeah, that was clearly because he just didn't want to deal with all the stupid "Senate's only black member votes against Rice" headlines. That's not even fear, it's just like beginner's fatigue or something. Weak.
I was also thinking about Obama's general demeanour in interviews and public speeches since the election, which are all characterized by an intense calculation and caution -- like he is keeping himself in reserve for a future moment that may never come, as it never came for Colin Powell -- and how much that stands in abrupt contrast to a larger-than-life politician like Ali. I don't see Obama as a beginner at all, but more as a consumate political player in the great American tradition of timidity and triangulation. Not fear exactly, unless it is the fear of rising to the occasion his historic election represents.
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