A Dutch politician and self-styled Muslim dissident urged Europeans to stand firm on Thursday in an international crisis over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, saying it was “necessary and urgent” to criticise Islam.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali praised newspapers in many countries which have printed the cartoons, considered blasphemous by many Muslims, but said others had held back for fear of criticising what she called “intolerant aspects of Islam”.
“Today I am here to defend the right to offend within the bounds of the law,” she told a news conference organised by her publisher during a visit to Berlin. “It’s necessary and it’s urgent to criticise Islam. It is urgent to criticise the teachings of Mohammad.”
See also BBC News, 9 February 2006
And over at Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer hails “More heroism from the great Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who in a sane world would be Prime Minister of the Netherlands”.