What is Ayaan Hirsi Ali?
[[File:Ayaan Hirsi Ali by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|Ayaan Hirsi Ali in 2016.]] '''Ayaan Hirsi Ali''' (born 13 November 1969) is a [[Dutch people|Dutch]]-[[Americans|American]] [[activist]] who was born in [[Somalia]]. She is known for being critical of [[female genital mutilation]] and [[Islam]]. She is the daughter of Somali politician [[Hirsi Magan Isse]]. In 2005 Hirsi Ali was in ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'' magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Hirsi Ali became an American citizen in 2013. She is married to British historian and public commentator [[Niall Ferguson]]. ==Early life== Hirsi Ali was born as '''Ayaan Hirsi Magan''' in 1969 in [[Mogadishu]], Somalia. Her father Hirsi Magan Isse was put in prison when Hirsi Ali was a baby. She had [[female genital mutilation]] done to her when she was five years old.<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/05/20/ayaan-hirsi-ali-on-injustice-of-female-genital-mutilation.html www.thedailybeast.com]</ref> Hirsi Ali's family moved with her to [[Saudi Arabia]] then [[Ethiopia]]. In 1980 they moved again to [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]. Hirsi Ali studied at a Muslim Girls' Secondary School. ==Life in the Netherlands and United States== In 1992 Hirsi Ali moved to the Netherlands. Between 1995 and 2001 she worked as a translator. She started working as a researcher for the Wiardi Beckman Foundation in 2001. In 2002 she became an [[atheist]]. She became a member of the Dutch parliament in 2003. Hirsi Ali wrote the script for a short film directed by [[Theo Van Gogh]] called ''Submission''. It was released in 2004. Mohammed Bouyeri killed Van Gogh on 2 November 2004. He left a note on Gogh's body. The note was a death threat to Hirsi Ali. In 2006 Hirsi Ali's second book translated in English, ''The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam'', was published. In 2013 Hirsi Ali became a naturalized US citizen. In 2014 [[Brandeis University]] decided to give Hirsi Ali an [[honorary degree]]. Then she was not given the degree beca