Posted on 05/16/2006 8:34:01 AM PDT by LibWhacker
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch politician known for her outspoken criticism of Islam, plans to leave parliament and move to the United States after admitting she lied to win asylum in the Netherlands.
Hirsi Ali, 36, sought asylum in the Netherlands in 1992, claiming to be escaping from an arranged marriage. She gained Dutch citizenship in 1997 and was elected to parliament in 2003.
A storm erupted about her asylum application last week after a Dutch television documentary interviewed members of her family about her background. They said she had not been forced into an arranged marriage and had had nothing to fear.
Asked whether she had falsified her asylum application, Hirsi Ali told the program she lied about her name, age and how she came to the Netherlands, prompting calls for her to leave parliament.
Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk said on Monday that Hirsi Ali's naturalization had likely been invalid.
"I have told the person concerned by letter that based on this program and the facts as they are known, the preliminary assumption must be that she is considered not to have obtained Dutch citizenship," Verdonk said in a written reply to questions from a member of parliament.
The lawmaker will have six weeks to respond to the letter from Verdonk, who is vying to be the lead candidate in the 2007 general election of the VVD liberals, also the party of Hirsi Ali.
Dutch public broadcaster NOS said doubt over her citizenship could complicate Hirsi Ali's plans to move to the United States.
Hirsi Ali came to international prominence in 2004 when an Islamic militant killed filmmaker Theo van Gogh after he directed a film she wrote accusing Islam of suppressing women.
Hirsi Ali's office declined to comment on reports in the Dutch media on Monday that she was leaving, but said she planned to address a news conference on Tuesday.
"I think it is a painful loss both for Dutch society and for politics that Ayaan leaves parliament," said Jozias van Aartsen, a former parliamentary leader of the VVD, which is part of the center-right government.
"I think it says something about the state of the country: overly sensitive and provincial," Van Aartsen told Dutch radio.
"People always complain about gray parliamentarians, a parliament that seldomly voices its opinion. Here we have somebody who did that ... and then we have trouble dealing with it as well."
SECURITY RISK
The Volkskrant newspaper said Hirsi Ali would start working for the conservative American Enterprise Institute in September after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities about her security.
The paper said Hirsi Ali had also been in negotiations with two other institutes, the Johns Hopkins University and the Brookings Institution, over the past months.
Dutch Radio 1 said the move had been planned for some time, but was brought forward because Hirsi Ali has to leave her heavily guarded home in August after a court ruled she must move because neighbors had complained of the security risk.
She went into hiding after Van Gogh's killing due to death threats and only returned to parliament months later.
Hirsi Ali, whose real name is Hirsi Magan, pretended she had come to the Netherlands from Somalia, rather than via Kenya and Germany. Refugees are usually required to apply for asylum in the first safe country they reach after fleeing.
Immigration has been a hot topic since 2002 when populist Pim Fortuyn said the country could not absorb more foreigners. He was killed by an animal rights activist later that year but mainstream politicians have since taken up his ideas.
Europe just won't stand for *anyone* blaspheming the ROP..regardless of how well informed he/she might be on the subject.
It is interesting the only one they are cracking down on is the courageous reformer. More suicidal behavior from our enlightened European brethren. Fraudulent asylum claims are rampant in the Muslim community, and European authorities usually look the other way.
Hmm, she might have to sneak in over the southern border. It looks as if she has too many skills to come in legally.
Adept at lying = promising political career.
Pay close attention to the details of her application but ignore the truth she tells about Islam.
Alas, I'm not sure we're ready to listen here in the USA either Ms. Ali.
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