Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights

Somali-born political activist Hirsi Ali (Heretic) argues in this contentious account that liberal immigration policies have led to an influx of young Muslim men bringing regressive cultural ideas and sexual violence to Europe. She blames German chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 suspension of European Union asylum protocols for Syrian refugees, and the criminality of failed asylum seekers, for increases in sexual violence in Germany; accuses European politicians of hiding crime data out of fear of losing liberal support; and argues that local law enforcement is too soft and unprepared to deal with sexually violent gangs. Western feminists don’t understand the regressiveness of traditional Muslim attitudes toward women, Hirsi Ali claims, or comprehend that basic public safety is a feminist issue. She also explains modesty culture and attacks Muslim immigrants for creating “parallel societies” and utilizing state welfare rather than productively integrating into European communities. Her proposed solutions include changing the asylum system to better assess immigrants’ likelihood to assimilate, tightening border patrols, and European military involvement in Iraq and Syria. Though she paints Islam with a broad and overly negative brush and risks intensifying anti-Muslim xenophobia, Hirsi Ali provides valuable, gut-wrenching testimony from victims of sexual violence. This harrowing polemic is sure to spark controversy. (Feb.)