Hirsi Ali to remain Dutch

All's well that ends well, it seems. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is not to be stripped of her Dutch citizenship after all.

It turns out that she was, according to Somali law, entitled to use the name Ali so the lie that threatened her status (that she'd used Ali instead of her father's surname, Megan) turns out to be illegal in intention though not in fact. This legal nicety was uncovered by a Parliamentary enquiry into the affair; Hirsi Ali herself was unaware of it.

"I didn‘t know it, but legally speaking, I was allowed to use the name Hirsi Ali in the Netherlands. So I shouldn‘t have said that I lied about that. In the end I wasn‘t lying ... I was dumb," she said.

Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk announced this triumphantly in Parliament as a resolution within the law of a thorny problem. Previously, the Parliament had voted that, should Ali have her citizenship revoked, it must immediately be offered to her again.

Tagged: Ayaan Hirsi Ali