# Infidel (2006) by Ayaan Hirsi Ali: the memoir, its story and its reception

> Ayaan Hirsi Ali's memoir Infidel (Mijn Vrijheid, 2006): what it covers from Somalia to the Dutch parliament, sales, praise, criticism and later books.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/books/infidel-hirsi-ali/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The book

**Infidel** (Dutch title **Mijn Vrijheid**, "My Freedom") is the autobiography of [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](/en/people/ayaan-hirsi-ali/). It appeared in Dutch in 2006 and in English in 2007, published by Free Press in the United States ([Infidel: My Life, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel:_My_Life)).

## What it covers

The book follows her life in order ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel:_My_Life)):

- Her childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
- Her flight to the Netherlands and her application for asylum.
- Her studies at Leiden University.
- Her work for the Dutch Labour Party, her move to the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and her election to parliament.
- The 2004 murder of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, with whom she had made the short film Submission.
- The controversy over her asylum application and Dutch citizenship, with which the book ends.

## Sales and reception

The first Dutch print run sold out in two days, and the German edition entered the top 20 of Der Spiegel's bestseller list ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel:_My_Life)).

Many reviewers in Europe and North America praised it. The New York Times called it a "brave, inspiring and beautifully written memoir"; Anne Applebaum in the Washington Post called it "a unique book"; Christopher Hitchens in the Sunday Times called it "remarkable" and wrote the foreword to the 2008 paperback ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel:_My_Life)).

The book and its author have also been the subject of controversy, and death threats were made against her in the 2000s ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel:_My_Life)). Her views and the debate around them are set out on her page, [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](/en/people/ayaan-hirsi-ali/).

## Before and after

It followed The Caged Virgin (2004) and was followed by Nomad: From Islam to America (2010), Heretic (2015) and other books ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel:_My_Life)).

## Where to read it

- In a library: [WorldCat](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Infidel+Ayaan+Hirsi+Ali)

## Related pages

- [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](/en/people/ayaan-hirsi-ali/)
- [Netherlands](/en/diaspora/netherlands/)
- [Somali authors and their books](/en/society/somali-authors-and-their-books/)

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