In support of Ayaan Hirsi Ali

In defence of who??!!That was my first reaction when I read about Ayaan on Christopher Hitchen's Fighting Words column in Slate.com. I usually disagree with Hitchens, except when he's up on the soapbox pleading for freedom. This was one of those times, when the story he highligted was so arresting that I just had to discuss it here.
(The story link: http://www.slate.com/id/2141276/?nav=fo)
Ayaan fled Somalia, settled in Holland and has campaigned for the liberation and freedom of women trapped in Muslim societies. She wrote the script for the movie "Submission", directed by Theo van Gogh; an Islamic fanatic murdered van Gogh. There were also threats against Ayaan, forcing her into police protection and greatly curtailing her freedom.
I read a few of her interviews and its impossible not to agree with her views. Nor to watch the scene unfolding in Europe with anything but alarm. These days as the US has steadily swung towards the Christian right, it was Europe that remained the bastion of liberal and secular thought. But they have fallen prey to their own liberal beliefs, bending over backward to avoid insulting Muslims, even as the radical Mulims abuse their freedom and deny those freedoms to their own people trapped in the ghettos of Europe. To be fair, some of the problems, like honor killings, female genital mutilation and forced marriages ae less Islamic than tribal. But those who would control the immigrant masses have found that involing Islam works wonders - it stifles questioning from within and deflects criticism from without. Liberals are so scared of offending the religous sensibilities of the immigrants that they are bending over backwards, to the point of justifying violence and even murder. The recent surrender over the Mohammed cartoons is a typical case, as Ayaan mentioned in her interview with Der Spiegel. And her warning rings true, that Europe is handing over her freedom to a group of men (exclusively men, I'll wager) who hate freedom for anyone but themselves, despise liberal thought and secularism and will never speak the language of compromise.
I'm not advocating pogroms against the Muslims or any form of discrimnation. Rather I'm asking that the law apply uniformly to all, that religion not be used as a screen. We would not allow a Christian or secular kid to be forced into marriage or threatened with violence for daring to live their own life - its time to extend that freedom to everyone. If a man or woman at the age of reason and consent decides to give up their freedom and submit to religous authority, that is their business. But first, they have to follow the laws of the State that they reside in. And according society at large the same respect you ask for would be a nice thing.